F**K retailers and F**k cheap Chinese manufactoring.

[Bigb23]

Just a rant, and tongue in cheek. [[Not what you think!). But the crap factor has gone beyond belief.


There has been complaints on here before, but when the Chinese ban everything we make - and try to export, what now? They are all we have, politically, economically, and militarily. I can't take it anymore, I'll just put my head in the sand for 50 years.

Okay, my old room heater went out after ten years, I get that. But to replace it, I stopped at several stores that claimed it was a “seasonal” item, and would not be available for a couple months. I presume after the Halloween season.


Now – I stop at K-Maryter, the place with no employees, and I find one for a reasonable price, and at the checkout, the woman would not let me leave without my personal info, for a “program” they offered, and held up the line. Four no's and I finally gave up. I did it. Just to get the hell out of there.


Anyway – I get home and try to set up the heater, and guess what? Two of the four wheels needed were not there ! Did they beat the wrong worker? Was somebody out with Diphtheria? Was a baby born at that moment? I want answers, America!


I'll try to make do with spare parts from the old heater. But let's have better sweat shops in the future.


No excuses. The worst $38 I've ever spent.

[ddaydetroit]

I am in Asia right now people do not buy things made in America becuase they can afford them. Everything is dirt cheap over here [[except in Japan) there work very long hours and make very little money.
I myself try to buy American while in the states it almoat impossible at many stores and with many items

[gazhekwe]

I believe Vornado is still made in the USA.

[Johnnny5]

I believe Vornado is still made in the USA.

Thanks for the heads up on Vornado! I try to buy American made whenever possible. If I can't find items made in the U.S then I try to be buy them used.
It makes little sense to me why the outsourcing of our manufacturing base is hardly being discussed as a cause of our current economic problems.


From the Vornado website. "Expect more from Vornado. Company engineers are creating the next generation of products that will continue to raise performance standards in a wider bandwidth of consumer product areas. From our ever growing Andover headquarters, American engineers innovate, and American workers painstakingly research, build, test then deliver. Customers can expect to see the most progressive Vornado products ever introduced - but amidst all of this innovation, one thing will never change; Vornado will forever stand for unmatched performance, continuing its legacy as a Leader In Air Flow Technology."

[gazhekwe]

We have several Vornado fans, not heaters. They are beautifully made and work well.

[Bigb23]

There was a documentary from not too long ago, that had millions of Chinese "having" their "vacation" [[new year?) at one time. They were backed up into the train station, with riot cops, and sticks controlling the crowd. This is you're Walmart and others. Barracks and "Instructors" to control cheap labor is not worth it to me. But now, what else can we buy?

[East Detroit]

Who says you have to buy anything?

[Detroitej72]

As long as big chains like Walmart dictate to companies that they must meet their price and as long as corporate CEO's put profits ahead of country, things will only get worse as more and more American manufacturer's will be priced out.

Welcome to Reaganomics 101!

[old guy]

There's no possible way to compete with the cost of goods manufactured in China. There are a few politicians that would like to try though. For a real eye opener, google Foxconn. It's the largest factory in China with about 600,000 employees. They manufacture the iphone there and workers earn 75 cents an hour. Seems odd that the iphone 4G, 32 GB sells for about $300. Nobody's passing on any savings there.
The employees live in barracks at the factory/city. Recently there have been so many suicides that the company is reportedly making employees sign a form saying they won't commit suicide at work.
Now they're in the process of adding 3,000,000 robots so they can keep up with the demand for computer products.
I've been a Mac person for over a decade because they are good products, but this kind of puts a cloud over all the tech products. The factory manufactures phones and computer products for most of the tech companies.

Apple is earning around 6 billion a quarter right now and Microsoft is posting quarterly earnings of about 5.5 billion. I guess it's not just the Chinese that are screwing us.

Two of the most profitable companies in the world are American owned and have figured out a way to pay 75 cents an hour for labor. That's sad.

[Jimaz]

Recently there have been so many suicides that the company is reportedly making employees sign a form saying they won't commit suicide at work.

Or else what? Do they hold their families as collateral? What monsters have we become?

Just when you think slavery is dead for good [[that's actually not true), it comes back creeping in the back door in the form of paychecks asymptotically approaching zero.

Shame.

[Patrick]

We have become addicted to cheap goods and it seems to have hastened America's rather painful conversion into a knowledge-based economy. China will eventually need to do the same and my bet that Africa will become a version of America's China.

[Detroitej72]

We have become addicted to cheap goods.

And yet folks still shop Walmart.

and it seems to have hastened America's rather painful conversion into a knowledge-based economy.

Knoeledge-based economy?

Like the Tea-Bagger's?

Thanks, but I'll take my chance's with the opposition!

[firstandten]

No it's more like " Do you want fries with that shake" economy. How can we become a knowledge based economy when the Repubs are choking the life out of public education. We have so many low information people walking around the US it's not funny.

[Downriviera]

Norfolk Southern recently completed a 191 million dollar project rebuilding tunnels through West Virginia to accomodate double stack container trains. This just ahead of a rebuilt Panama Canal. When thats done more ship traffic of foreign goods will have a direct route to the ports on the east coast in Virginia and a direct shot to Columbus, Ohio [[where they spent an additional 68 million to build a new intermodal terminal). More goods will flow through here to Detroit and Chicago and elsewhere in the midwest.

[Roq]

And yet folks still shop Walmart.

Exactly. I don't approve of Wal-Mart's business practices so I don't shop there. I would rather pay an extra few coins and support Meijer or Target but so many people are only concerned about where they can get something for the cheapest price; never mind the real costs of this mindset.

[gazhekwe]

You get what you pay for, as well. Maybe you spent $40 at Walmart. You will likely end up buying two or three more of the same as they fail. Pay a bit more for a better quality item and only buy one for the same time period. Been there, done that. Won't shop at Walmart.

[Patrick]

Yea, but the vast majority of people don't give a shit about Wal Mart's business model. They just want cheap goods. Underneath all the patriotism and flag-waving...most Americans are greedy and care about themselves and how much bang they can get for their buck. It's interesting to see my cousin bitch and moan about the economy and how "them foreigners" are taking our jobs, but the nimrod still shops nat Wal Mart.

[Gannon]

I watched this decimate my lifelong industry to the point that I am now seriously pondering leaving it entirely. The hifi and video business has been forever changed for the worse due to this wholesale slaughter of manufacturing outside of mainland China.

I remember saying here that it was the perfect economic judo move ever. Only a Communist could view labor as a weapon, and they turned our greatest strength into a huge weakness that we may never escape. China's lockhold on us appears to be complete. They beat Corporate Capitalism by appealing to the bean-counter's basest instincts! They took all the positives of our economic system and turned us on our heads by making 'em negatives. It really was a brilliant move, and we were seriously out-gunned in forward planning and execution.


We are undone...one shitty broken appliance at a time filling our ever-growing landfills.


<sigh>

[Downriviera]

There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.

John Ruskin

[Gistok]

Norfolk Southern recently completed a 191 million dollar project rebuilding tunnels through West Virginia to accomodate double stack container trains. This just ahead of a rebuilt Panama Canal. When thats done more ship traffic of foreign goods will have a direct route to the ports on the east coast in Virginia and a direct shot to Columbus, Ohio [[where they spent an additional 68 million to build a new intermodal terminal). More goods will flow through here to Detroit and Chicago and elsewhere in the midwest.

When you have Maersk ships [[Maersk, a Danish company, is the largest shipping company in the world) like the Emma Maersk and her 7 sister ships... each capable of holding 11,000 cargo containers... it boggles the mind at the volume of goods that can be imported....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Maersk

Gotta love the details about this ship... in 2006 she was bound from China for Britain loaded with Christmas goods.... and on the return voyage she was loaded with recycling waste...

[old guy]

Does anybody remember when Wally town started out with their Made in America slogan? Then it was like a shell game. Over here, no, over here and suddenly it was all Chinese crap. With no explanation, no excuses. Pretty slick right from the beginning.

[Relayer76]

I don't know about you folks but up here in Canada, it seems that packaging regulations do not even require that the country of origin be printed on the box. There was a time when I used to look for made in Canada goods as opposed to made in the US. Now I am overjoyed on the rare occasion when I find something that is made on this continent! As for looking for quality and not shopping at Walmart, both of these suggestions are impossible. Quality is very rare these days, you may pay extra for what was traditionally considered a better brand but it is all made in China. In most cases, the only difference between the cheaper item and the more expensive brand is the profit made by the corporation that sells it. In Canada [[other than high end stores like the Bay and Sears) the only places to shop are Walmart or Zellers and in either case everything is made in China so I just go to the one closer to home which is Walmart.

[lit joe]

I use to buy cars made so they say in U S A . The last was a dodge power wagon, meryers snow plow with a 10 speed salt thrower on the back. Had to carry it back 17 times before they fix the dam junk. I sold it. And joined the wonderful world of Toyota. And thats made in Ky.

[Bigb23]

I use to buy cars made so they say in U S A . The last was a dodge power wagon, meryers snow plow with a 10 speed salt thrower on the back. Had to carry it back 17 times before they fix the dam junk. I sold it. And joined the wonderful world of Toyota. And thats made in Ky.

Ouch - my back and mind hurts just thinking about that.

[rb336]

Exactly. I don't approve of Wal-Mart's business practices so I don't shop there. I would rather pay an extra few coins and support Meijer or Target .

Target is not much better