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Scotty Dog

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The wife and I go to the Hobo Railroad yesterday. https://www.hoborr.com/

In the gift shop they have all kinds of cute little bears and moose and engineers and puzzles and train sets and on and on.
All the gifts were themed towards NH and the railroads.
Again,stuffed bears,trainsets,wooden moose and maple leafs, engineer hats,baby cloths and bibs with pictures of trains printed on them,ect
Thing is...I could NOT find one item that was made in USA. NOT A ONE!!!!!!!!!!
Now the thing that gets me..theses gifts are special ordered/made because of the insignias/names/pictures ect stitched or printed on them.
So, why is this?
Has it gotten so bad that you cant get a stuffed bear or a toy trainset or even a little stick pin of a maple leaf made in USA?
Anywhoo, despite that I was a little P.Oed about it, we did take the train ride and it was fun.
And I guess, in this case, it was good for me cuz I refused to buy a thing from the gift shop and it saved me some coin.

So there you have me rant for today. I like sharing...ha ha ha ha ha ha
 
We consumers decided years ago to buy cheap!

Cheap means buying on a subscription plan. Buy cheap and then 1 to 2-years later buy it again, when it breaks = Subscription plan!

At least we get new products again and again, instead of like the old Made in the USA stuff that would keep working.

Mike
 
Which reminds me...I need to return some rotten produce to the World's Largest Retailer.Walfart.jpg
 
This reminds me of the providence in china that changed its name to U.S.A. , that way they could legally print , made in the U.S.A. on all there products.

Eric
 
If you shop at Wal-Mart and buy based primarily on price, like many/most people, you support Chinese manufacturing.
We make Jolly Logic stuff here in the USA, but there are some components (batteries, displays) we can't get here. I try to minimize the off-shore stuff.
 
I buy local as much as possible and always look for made in USA. Heck, I get ridiculous with it and know what conglomerates my products are made by so I can try to avoid spending money into businesses that I purchase. I buy toilet paper based on which corporation owns the company that owns the company that makes it. A lot of work up front, but...
I doubt the masses put that much thought into it.
And, let's not forget, many many many people would like to spend more fit better but must buy as cheaply as possible because they simply don't earn enough, even when they work full time or multiple jobs.
 
I can recall a trip about 15 years ago to Phoenix when we drove up to the top of South Mountain to take in the view from the observation tower. In the parking lot a group of First Americans had a stand set up and were selling Native American themed merchandise...none of which originated in the US.

I was hot and gave them a piece of my mind in several dialects. Turns out they weren't First Americans at all but they did speak Spanish pretty well for all their American Indian garb.
 
Well, Hell...

For me, buying local would mean buying Chinese... However, I 1) can't find it (due to my lack of ability to read Chinese) or 2) can order it (from an English language website) but I can't get it shipped directly to me due to one of the many restrictions on products that can be produced and sold here.

BTW... I've found (IIRC) 4 Estes kits (such as the Swift, and the Wizard), that I can purchase here, BUT... they cost over $30 USD each (a trio of A8-3's are about the same).
 
It's about what people are willing to pay. Take socks for example. A six pack of standard white cotton socks made in ____ is something like 4 or 5 bucks at the local just-a-step-up-from-Wal-Mart. Now I'm here to sell you on the best damn socks I've ever had, that will outlast every single one of those six-pack socks and you'll be more comfortable doing it. They're made in the US, support our military overseas, and have just about everything you might want. Heck, they've even got fire resistant socks for those sketchy trips to the away cell. :) https://https://www.foxsox.com/defaultEcomm.aspx. Now, they do cost $8-$12/pair. Buy three pair and get free shipping, or get on their mailing list and get 30% off every couple of months. So how many of you look at that price and say that you'll skip it and get the 6-pack?

That's why a lot of consumer stuff isn't made here. But seriously, try those socks out. I have no connection to the company other than being a satisfied customer.

All that said, the US makes a ton of stuff. In Seattle, manufacturing is bigger than biotech and close to software, but it's not sexy enough to make the news.
 
It's about what people are willing to pay. Take socks for example. A six pack of standard white cotton socks made in ____ is something like 4 or 5 bucks at the local just-a-step-up-from-Wal-Mart. Now I'm here to sell you on the best damn socks I've ever had, that will outlast every single one of those six-pack socks and you'll be more comfortable doing it. They're made in the US, support our military overseas, and have just about everything you might want. Heck, they've even got fire resistant socks for those sketchy trips to the away cell. :) https://https://www.foxsox.com/defaultEcomm.aspx. Now, they do cost $8-$12/pair. Buy three pair and get free shipping, or get on their mailing list and get 30% off every couple of months. So how many of you look at that price and say that you'll skip it and get the 6-pack?

That's why a lot of consumer stuff isn't made here. But seriously, try those socks out. I have no connection to the company other than being a satisfied customer.

All that said, the US makes a ton of stuff. In Seattle, manufacturing is bigger than biotech and close to software, but it's not sexy enough to make the news.

Dig around that Fox Sox website enough and they do sell regular sports type socks for $3 per pair, I like it, thanks for sharing Boatgeek. BTW the link above was broken for me, but searching Fox Sox found the main website easy enough.
 
Wow, great Sox!

Putting an order together. Was going in next weekend to get some from China Mart. Now don't have to.

Bought some black winter socks back in 1982 from the local PX when in the Army. They were made with wool and ploypropylene blend, they look like new after 30-decades of use in the winter. Would like to find more of them, maybe this site has something similar.

Last ones bought of the China versions, cost was $12 for 10 pair. Lasted approx. 8-months.

Mike
 
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If you shop at Wal-Mart and buy based primarily on price, like many/most people, you support Chinese manufacturing.
We make Jolly Logic stuff here in the USA, but there are some components (batteries, displays) we can't get here. I try to minimize the off-shore stuff.

Same here, but like you said some overseas sourcing is unavoidable. There are actually some parts, such as the AI Thinker ESP8266 wireless modules, that are made exclusively by Chinese companies. Yes, there's some cheap stuff made there, but they have some good stuff too. I always sample a few from Chinese vendors before I commit to buying any significant quantity. Shoot, if you buy components from a US-souced manufacturer there's a good chance they're made in China anyway.
 
Made in USA Socks? You guys gotta look at Darn Tough, made in Vermont! Pricier, but with a Lifetime Guarantee. I've worn a few pairs threadbare after almost a decade and I dunno if I'd have the guts to ask for a replacement, they still don't have holes! If I'm not mistaken, they're even knitting socks for the USMC.

https://darntough.com
 
My wife's GM car is built here in Michigan just did brakes with AcDelco brake rotors and pads sad to see "made in China "

I was expecting to see Mexico on the boxes
 
Happy 4th all. Funny this has turned into a socks thread.....thread pun.....badaboom

anyway- about half my socks are Thor-Lo. Also made in the USA, best I've ever owned.
https://www.thorlo.com/?gclid=CjwKE...JtPHgmsTcdafiXKIay3yYr3J22iNcsVvCoRoCkO_w_wcB

However- the best piece of clothing I currently own, most well made, comfortable etc, is an American Made sweatshirt. You can search reviews- there are articles all over of it being the best sweatshirt ever. I have one, and have bought them for many friends, you will love me for it, again, pay up, but love it.
https://www.american-giant.com/on/d...O--U5ZdTZRisfwRWuvjV09jl8LODg7pDzoxoCZG_w_wcB
 
I don't lock in on only buying made in USA products. I buy what I think is the best product that I can afford. It might be made in the USA or Japan, China, Germany, Italy, wherever. I don't believe in buying the same thing over and over again because I bought cheap. I much rather pay more and keep it a long time.

I buy my socks from REI they cost in a range from $12-$18 a pair. These are good socks and they are made in the USA.
 
For simple manufactured things like socks, you can be pretty confident that if you look at the label, you know where they were made. But for larger and more complex manufactured goods, you don't really know. Parts may be sourced from multiple different countries. Individual parts and subassemblies might actually cross borders more than once for different manufacturing steps. The final assembly takes place in one location, but the labor and jobs are spread all over the place. When shopping for a car, you might face a choice between a Japanese brand assembled in the US or an American brand assembled in Mexico. And both will be made from parts sourced worldwide.

On on the socks question, I wear Darn Tough. They are awsome socks, but relatively expensive.
 
Isn't there also a rule, that if 51% of the component is "made / assembled" in a particular country, it can therefore be labelled as being 'made' in that country..

I also want to think back to 2008, when we had that, uhm, slight financial hick-up and a few auto manufacturers need a bit of a loan to help them get by. While we all want cheap socks & cheap toys for our kids, we also want the 50K+ salary, the pension plan, the ... So, if I really want the $2 toy, I can't expect the person making it to make $25/hr + pension & benefits..

Didn't the various car manufacturers try to renegotiate said salaries & pension? To try & be more competitive in a market where pensions & a few other perks were slowly being phased out.. And that 20 cent of each dollar earned was put towards said pension plans, bonuses, perks, etc...
 
Here are a couple of alternate views of the same issue.

Until I retired I used to work for an aerospace company. We sold parts to Embraer in Brazil for their regional jets. Embraer had a requirement that our products which were made in the USA had to have "some Brazilian content". We hired a guy in Brazil to be our on site representative. That satisfied them - sort of. Since we assembled everything in Ohio we couldn't really include any Brazilian content and they knew that, but it was Brazilian law that a certain percentage of everything they put in their planes had to have some Brazilian content or they had to pay a fine or some other penalty. As far as I know, we couldn't even buy screws or other small parts as they simply weren't available from a reputable firm in Brazil that could make parts to aerospace standards.

Several years ago my wife was on a business trip to Germany. She had a day to do some site seeing and ended up in a little shop because they had stuffed animals (one of her weaknesses). She was looking through the selection and would flip over those that she liked. The shopkeeper came over to her quickly as he knew two things about her before he spoke to her:
1) She was an American (for some reason we are really easy to spot in Europe)
2) She was looking at the tags to see where they were made. Without her having to ask he assured her that all the stuffed animals were locally made. She bought two.
 
I just found a small oufit near Bangor Maine that has a goal of making and selling 10,000 USA flags.

Unsure if they do mailorder so once I find out, I will post their business address.

BTW a 3x5 flag sells for $30.00 with shipping inluded.

EDIT: https://www.mainestitching.com
 
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I live in Dublin, CA, near the city of Livermore, about 40 miles from San Francisco. Livermore has a large outlet mall that was built about 3 years ago, and it's called "San Francisco Outlets." That seemed like a really odd name, considering how far it actually is from San Francisco, but I think I've figured it out. Every time I've been there I've noticed literally bus loads of Asian tourists pull into the parking lot and unload for a day of shopping. I think San Francisco is probably part of most tour itineraries and the mall just wanted to name itself something the tourists can identify with. I think it's funny to watch these hordes of tourists stocking up on piles of merchandise that was probably made in their home country, shipped thousands of miles to Livermore, so that they could fly all the way out here to buy it and bring it back home.
 
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