What do you buy? (Country of origin.)

[CheezeFlixz]

I tend to be a country loyalist, I'm American and I try to buy "Made in USA" first. I know we have member of other countries so I don't want to 'disclude' them.

I find that if I can't find it "Made in the USA" I tend to buy from other English speaking countries before others. With the exception of Japan and Germany which tend to believe in quality. Granted I don't see a lot of products made in Australia or New Zealand or the UK for that matter.

Why? Maybe that makes me a 'groupist' but I don't care.

I know I'm sick (no pun) of dangerous and poison toys, goods and food from China, not to mention ripoffs, bootlegs and faulty products from them. Fish raised in unhealthy conditions from Chili, tainted vegetables from Mexico and central America.

I don't want junk made from child labor in India, Indonesia, Taiwan (China), Honduras, or any other of a number of countries.   

Now I have no problem with the people of these countries, but for many, many years I worked for a big Japanese Machine Tool Company going all over the world installing assembly lines until they moved and I took a buyout. Traveling to China, Mexico and everywhere else really opens your eyes to who cares about quality and who doesn't.
Mexico and China just want the line running first and meeting spec's (quality) second, safety third.  So I avoid there products when ever I have a alternative which is becoming harder and harder to find at time.

But that's why companies go there to operate, few rules and regs, cheap labor and big profits. Just look at all China is doing to "clean up it's act" for the Olympics I've read they've temporarily closed over 400 factories around the Olympic site to improve the air and water quality, but it might be to little to late.

So do you try to buy from your home country or pay little attention to it?

[Menard]

There's only one label I can afford to look at right now, and that's the price sticker.

If I don't buy something, it has nothing to do with the country in which it's made, to me, it has to do with recognizing a brand name with which I have had poor service.

Usually, in the past when I could afford to make more choices, I would be more brand loyal when I found a good item at a good price. This isn't the past anymore and my car consumes more of my budget than I do.

Sorry if I'm not selective enough for you, but there are plenty of people who are just trying to make it till the end of the week. I would guess that many of us don't give a damn if a gook, spic, darkie, or whatever other designations you may want to place on people, put their hands on it before we got it.


BTW....

(You never tire of that, do you?)

[trekgeezer]

I love you Menard (no, not that way!)

[Jack]

Other than trying to avoid Chinese stuff, I guess I don't really pay attention.  Of course, the wife just bought two fans made in China:  One makes a high pitched noise, the other is out of balance and vibrates a lot when turned to any speed other than the lowest.  If they even turned the freakin' things on before they left the factory, it would be impossible to miss.  I guess I'll put them next to the made in China microwave that died after 8 months, and the made in China wall clock that died after about 36 hours.  Just hanging on the wall, it's a clock.  It lasted a day and a half.  Whatever.  At least the cat is still alive.

[CheezeFlixz]

There's only one label I can afford to look at right now, and that's the price sticker.

If I don't buy something, it has nothing to do with the country in which it's made, to me, it has to do with recognizing a brand name with which I have had poor service.

Usually, in the past when I could afford to make more choices, I would be more brand loyal when I found a good item at a good price. This isn't the past anymore and my car consumes more of my budget than I do.

Sorry if I'm not selective enough for you, but there are plenty of people who are just trying to make it till the end of the week. I would guess that many of us don't give a damn if a gook, spic, darkie, or whatever other designations you may want to place on people, put their hands on it before we got it.

Perhaps you wanted just be trying to make it to the end of the week if you supported your local economy. Perhaps you have a better job in a more secure job market, but this buy it as cheap as I can mentality is exactly why you get what you pay for as Jack noted.
You get what you pay for and you end up replaces some cheap piece of crap 5 or 6 times when you could have bought a higher priced item of better quality once and in the end you've spent more money buying garbage. But people would rather go to Wal Mart and buy some crap 10 times for $10 than to go to a local store that supplies quality goods and pay $75 once.

But if folks want to tolerate rolling back the quality along with rolling back the prices and watch their jobs go overseas it's there business, just don't be surprised when you buying habits of shopping sticker verses quality lands you in you in the unemployment line, because those good manufacturing jobs have gone off shore.

I don't expect you to agree because your to stubborn and hardheaded to admit your own buying habits have had a direct impact on your quality of life.

I love you Menard (no, not that way!)

Other than trying to avoid Chinese stuff, I guess I don't really pay attention.  Of course, the wife just bought two fans made in China:  One makes a high pitched noise, the other is out of balance and vibrates a lot when turned to any speed other than the lowest.  If they even turned the freakin' things on before they left the factory, it would be impossible to miss.  I guess I'll put them next to the made in China microwave that died after 8 months, and the made in China wall clock that died after about 36 hours.  Just hanging on the wall, it's a clock.  It lasted a day and a half.  Whatever.  At least the cat is still alive.

Why shouldn't they keep making cheap crap, most people will just go buy another one ... it's job security for the Chinese.

[RCMerchant]

Zombie movies from Italy. Kung Fu from Hong Kong. Giant rubber monsters from Japan,and good ol' US of A Expliotation!
Oh yeah...and Hammer Gothics from the UK! OH-OH-Mexican wrasslers vs. monsters! And Coffin Joe from Brazil! Silent horrors from Germany! And lotsa other junk I forgot or have yet to see!

As far as food goes....I shop SAVE-A-LOT. Cheap canned and dry goods. Not sure where they all originate from...though I like Mexican hot sauce more than US brands (sorry Lousiana). Michigan has the best horseradish,though.  Philly cream cheese. Basically...if it's affordable and good,that's what I buy.

[Allhallowsday]

Zombie movies from Italy. Kung Fu from Hong Kong. Giant rubber monsters from Japan,and good ol' US of A Expliotation!
Oh yeah...and Hammer Gothics from the UK! OH-OH-Mexican wrasslers vs. monsters! And Coffin Joe from Brazil! Silent horrors from Germany! And lotsa other junk I forgot or have yet to see!
...

  I love you BELA.   

I buy Neo-realist Italian films, and some of the French New Wave, British HAMMER Horrors... I like Australian movies and have been eyeing Brazilian CIDADE DE DEUS (CITY OF GOD ) for a while, as well as COFFIN JOE flix...   

[dean]

You know what I really would like to hear from? People who live in non-first world countries.  I think their perspective would add quite an interesting side to the discussion. 

I really want to get into this discussion, but it's almost midnight here, and my brain doesn't seem to be making all the connections necessary.

Vague argument in loose dot points: 

Ideally, countries would be self-sufficient.   Buy local and support local.  That way the wheel spins alot more close to home.

Add complaint that here in my country something that would cost $1 in the US, even if manufactured locally, will invariably cost alot more, let's say $1.50, yet our economy is booming, and our Australian dollar will buy .95 US cents.  Go figure that one.  Why should I buy something locally when I can get it for half the price over the internet?  Cost of production may be the same, the only person making the profits are the companies, and I don't see them passing it down to their employees over their own pockets.  [BTW I do realise this isn't indicitive of all things, just certain products]

How many times will people say that cost is going up because of things like weak economy, drought killing crops [a big one here] and fuel prices, yet if our dollar is going so well stacked up to the US based on a commodoties boom here, why aren't prices of imports coming down??  They're very quick to raise them if things are going bad, but very slow to go down when things are going good. 

The way I figure it: even if you buy local, companies are all about profits, and the reality is the rich countries use the poorer ones for cheap labour.  Add to that, the traditional first world problem of a basic skills shortage, and sometimes you have no choice but to bring in foreign talent.  Again, you need to encourage local business, but if you can do something for 20 cents in China that would cost you $1 locally, well, it's tough to argue with that.  As an employer, you need to do what you can to keep the company afloat, but this is easily abused for 'easy profit at the expense of the "little guy".

Funny thing is, cost of products in other countries aren't so much.  Eg go to China and buy a shirt that cost you $5, yet the exact same shirt gets exported, and marked up and sold for $30.  So sure, they're making things cheaply but their cost of living is cheaper so I'd think that theoretically it would even out for them right? 

If so, why can't a Tomato cost the same in China as it does in the US?  Or a piece of plastic?  EH, this s where my brain starts hurting...

In this situation, do you think the exporter severely marks up the price and the importer is just having to mark up to maintain profits?  I don't think so...

Eh this was all way to vague and I'll look at this tomorrow and edit severely, realising I was talking total s**te, but mmm, we'll see.  I ain't know economist.  Clearly.


So yes, I'd like to buy locally, but I hate clearly being ripped off.  It annoys me enough that most things cost me more here than they do in other countries for no apparent good reason.  I just wish we could all press a reset button and have everyone start at square one again.  Maybe the Europeans don't have such a bad idea after all with the Euro... 

ONE WORLD ECONOMY!   


[Apologies again for the very vague, uninformed rant.  Even when my brain can't turn on properly, it spews forth without stopping anyway]

I'll be more 'with it' in the morning...  One of these days I'll enter a political off topic discussion with intelligent points in hand and a clear head...

[Trevor]

I tend to be a country loyalist, I'm American and I try to buy "Made in USA" first. I know we have member of other countries so I don't want to 'disclude' them.

I find that if I can't find it "Made in the USA" I tend to buy from other English speaking countries before others. With the exception of Japan and Germany which tend to believe in quality. Granted I don't see a lot of products made in Australia or New Zealand or the UK for that matter.

Why? Maybe that makes me a 'groupist' but I don't care.

I know I'm sick (no pun) of dangerous and poison toys, goods and food from China, not to mention ripoffs, bootlegs and faulty products from them. Fish raised in unhealthy conditions from Chili, tainted vegetables from Mexico and central America.

I don't want junk made from child labor in India, Indonesia, Taiwan (China), Honduras, or any other of a number of countries.   

Now I have no problem with the people of these countries, but for many, many years I worked for a big Japanese Machine Tool Company going all over the world installing assembly lines until they moved and I took a buyout. Traveling to China, Mexico and everywhere else really opens your eyes to who cares about quality and who doesn't.
Mexico and China just want the line running first and meeting spec's (quality) second, safety third.  So I avoid there products when ever I have a alternative which is becoming harder and harder to find at time.

But that's why companies go there to operate, few rules and regs, cheap labor and big profits. Just look at all China is doing to "clean up it's act" for the Olympics I've read they've temporarily closed over 400 factories around the Olympic site to improve the air and water quality, but it might be to little to late.

So do you try to buy from your home country or pay little attention to it?

I do try and buy South African if I can, but the reality is (unfortunately) that so little is made locally and all the good stuff goes for export, so I have to buy what I can and what i can afford.