Made in ?
04-19-2005, 02:09 PM
#21
Guest
Posts: n/a
To all the 'holier than thou's' - how much of what you sell everyday is made domestically?
Honestly now. You make your money selling foreign goods every day - and not just foreign but OFFSHORE (heavens!
) goods as well. Get off that high horse and put it in the closet.
I work for a small independent company selling predominantly North American made goods to predominantly North American owned commercial and industrial companies. Are the companies I sell and sell to specifically CANADIAN? No, not many - maybe 15-20% of our business is 100% domestic.
BUT - It keeps me a Canadian and the actual people I deal with - also Canadians - employed.
[ April 19, 2005, 03:25 PM: Message edited by: Dukk ]
Honestly now. You make your money selling foreign goods every day - and not just foreign but OFFSHORE (heavens!
) goods as well. Get off that high horse and put it in the closet.I work for a small independent company selling predominantly North American made goods to predominantly North American owned commercial and industrial companies. Are the companies I sell and sell to specifically CANADIAN? No, not many - maybe 15-20% of our business is 100% domestic.
BUT - It keeps me a Canadian and the actual people I deal with - also Canadians - employed.
[ April 19, 2005, 03:25 PM: Message edited by: Dukk ]
04-19-2005, 04:08 PM
#22
500 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 756
Most of what I sell is not made in Canada, at all. That is, I can't get these products made in Canada, period. We always try for Canuck products, they just don't exist, or are far to expensive. And I'm not about to manufacture them, that's a different business completely. I'm a retailer. Besides, most Canadian manufacturers get their supplies from... well, you take a guess...
I could be buying (and therefore selling) Canadian made automotive batteries, at 20-30% more per unit than what we do buy. And (without naming names) most Canadian made batteries I've ever seen are unreliable, their warranty ratio is over 20%! That's 1 in 5 batteries failing in their warranty period! (the line of batteries we do sell, our warranty ratio is less than 2%) This would kill my business completely...
"Your battery is $129.99 ma'am."
"Wal-Mart only wants $75!".
"Mine are made in Canada though Ma'am."
"So? Is it any better?".
"No, it's just made here. And actually, it's not better, the Korean one is better."
"..."
Or,... "I'd like an Optima please."
"Sorry, they're not made in Canada, nor is there any alternative made here that would suffice. I do have one I can sell you though, it was made in the USA. That'll be $189 + GST ma'am."
"What? Wal-Mart has them too, for only $150! Why are you so much more?"
"Because we're a small Canadian retailer Ma'am. Thirteen years ago, when Optimas were a new product and major chains didn't have them, I sold more of them in Canada than any other retailer. Then Wal-Mart bought 1000 (or whatever) skids of Optimas directly from Optima and shipped them to all their stores all over North America at a fraction of the cost of normal purchasing avenues. This is how most of Wal-Mart and other major chain stores are able to reduce prices. And I just speant half an hour with you explaining all this, and how to maintain and properlly care for your battery, so with your new knowledge you can get 6 or 7 years out of it instead of just 3 or 4. The guys at Wal-Mart know nothing about batteries, they'll just sell it to you."
If a retailer said that to you, would YOU really buy that Optima, just because it came from a small guy Canadian retailer? Ya-huh.
Most of my automotive is made in Korea, some in Tailand, some in Mexico. I've had Chinese batteries before, but they're crap. I haven't seen very many products out of China that are actually a good quality product, not just batteries. My button cells and cell phone batteries and whatnot, mostly in Thailand. The go-karts, Misssissppi USA. The quads & dirt bikes, China.
My connectors, battery terminals, cables, etc. are mostly made in Canada, one of the few things that are. This is because it's a small niche business that just makes little lead connectors and things, all he'd need is some casts and a torch
, I'm sure their "maufacturing plant" is actually a room in John Doe's basement in Toronto.
Then there's the companies that try to hide it... For example, go to www.orioncaraudio.com and try to figure out where they make their speakers. Looks like they're made in Vista, California, yes? No. My Orion H2 subwoofer showed up brand new, eleven months ago, in a box with "Made in China" all over it. Inside, and on the sub itself, there is no markings about where it came from (I think that's a no-no right there too). And now, I "wonder" why they won't recone my blown one or stand behind their "H2's are virtually indestructible" statement... Duh. They're made in China man... They're just crap products too. I just got sucked in by all the hype... They actually tricked me, indestructible my ***... had I known they were made in China when I was in the market for it, I never would've bought it. And now that the sub has died, I have to eat it, Directed (the company that owns Orion) won't even return my emails or talk to me, I assume because deep down they know it's just crap China product too.
Buyer beware. We can, and do, all get hosed from it once in a while. You just gotta be on your guard ALL the time. As a consumer, ask questions, research, etc. Don't just read a website like I did... Phone them and find out where they are made. As a retailer, you just gotta be honest as you can be. "Yes, it's made in China. Even though it has all the same features, no, it's not as good a product as your friend's Yamaha. However, it's half the price of a Honda or Yamaha."
Funny... my sub was made in China, AND it's at the top end of car audio prices. Boy did I get hosed big...
I could be buying (and therefore selling) Canadian made automotive batteries, at 20-30% more per unit than what we do buy. And (without naming names) most Canadian made batteries I've ever seen are unreliable, their warranty ratio is over 20%! That's 1 in 5 batteries failing in their warranty period! (the line of batteries we do sell, our warranty ratio is less than 2%) This would kill my business completely...
"Your battery is $129.99 ma'am."
"Wal-Mart only wants $75!".
"Mine are made in Canada though Ma'am."
"So? Is it any better?".
"No, it's just made here. And actually, it's not better, the Korean one is better."
"..."
Or,... "I'd like an Optima please."
"Sorry, they're not made in Canada, nor is there any alternative made here that would suffice. I do have one I can sell you though, it was made in the USA. That'll be $189 + GST ma'am."
"What? Wal-Mart has them too, for only $150! Why are you so much more?"
"Because we're a small Canadian retailer Ma'am. Thirteen years ago, when Optimas were a new product and major chains didn't have them, I sold more of them in Canada than any other retailer. Then Wal-Mart bought 1000 (or whatever) skids of Optimas directly from Optima and shipped them to all their stores all over North America at a fraction of the cost of normal purchasing avenues. This is how most of Wal-Mart and other major chain stores are able to reduce prices. And I just speant half an hour with you explaining all this, and how to maintain and properlly care for your battery, so with your new knowledge you can get 6 or 7 years out of it instead of just 3 or 4. The guys at Wal-Mart know nothing about batteries, they'll just sell it to you."
If a retailer said that to you, would YOU really buy that Optima, just because it came from a small guy Canadian retailer? Ya-huh.
Most of my automotive is made in Korea, some in Tailand, some in Mexico. I've had Chinese batteries before, but they're crap. I haven't seen very many products out of China that are actually a good quality product, not just batteries. My button cells and cell phone batteries and whatnot, mostly in Thailand. The go-karts, Misssissppi USA. The quads & dirt bikes, China.
My connectors, battery terminals, cables, etc. are mostly made in Canada, one of the few things that are. This is because it's a small niche business that just makes little lead connectors and things, all he'd need is some casts and a torch
, I'm sure their "maufacturing plant" is actually a room in John Doe's basement in Toronto.Then there's the companies that try to hide it... For example, go to www.orioncaraudio.com and try to figure out where they make their speakers. Looks like they're made in Vista, California, yes? No. My Orion H2 subwoofer showed up brand new, eleven months ago, in a box with "Made in China" all over it. Inside, and on the sub itself, there is no markings about where it came from (I think that's a no-no right there too). And now, I "wonder" why they won't recone my blown one or stand behind their "H2's are virtually indestructible" statement... Duh. They're made in China man... They're just crap products too. I just got sucked in by all the hype... They actually tricked me, indestructible my ***... had I known they were made in China when I was in the market for it, I never would've bought it. And now that the sub has died, I have to eat it, Directed (the company that owns Orion) won't even return my emails or talk to me, I assume because deep down they know it's just crap China product too.
Buyer beware. We can, and do, all get hosed from it once in a while. You just gotta be on your guard ALL the time. As a consumer, ask questions, research, etc. Don't just read a website like I did... Phone them and find out where they are made. As a retailer, you just gotta be honest as you can be. "Yes, it's made in China. Even though it has all the same features, no, it's not as good a product as your friend's Yamaha. However, it's half the price of a Honda or Yamaha."
Funny... my sub was made in China, AND it's at the top end of car audio prices. Boy did I get hosed big...
04-19-2005, 04:20 PM
#23
^Every Rockford Fosgate amplifier and subwoofer is still manufactured in North America (USA).
That being said, I still believe that a good product can come out of China.....China has many skilled labourers.
It would be interesting to see what the average factory wage at a car audio factory in China is compared to one in India and also how they compare to the average wages in those countries.
It is possible that working in a car audio factory in India is a well paying job.
The best we can do is buy Canadian and support Canadians when we can. (you cannot buy a Canadian made clock radio, electric razor or calculator)
That being said, I still believe that a good product can come out of China.....China has many skilled labourers.
It would be interesting to see what the average factory wage at a car audio factory in China is compared to one in India and also how they compare to the average wages in those countries.
It is possible that working in a car audio factory in India is a well paying job.
The best we can do is buy Canadian and support Canadians when we can. (you cannot buy a Canadian made clock radio, electric razor or calculator)
04-19-2005, 06:48 PM
#24
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,770
Originally posted by Dukk:
Honestly now. You make your money selling foreign goods every day - and not just foreign but OFFSHORE (heavens! ) goods as well. Get off that high horse and put it in the closet.
Honestly now. You make your money selling foreign goods every day - and not just foreign but OFFSHORE (heavens!
) goods as well. Get off that high horse and put it in the closet.sorry for being pro canadian
04-19-2005, 08:59 PM
#25
500 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 756
Sorry for my "little" rant up there...
Oh for sure, China's labourer's are great. The quads and mini-bikes I sell are put together top-notch. No loose bolts, everything works, nothing "falls off".
That being said, it's the overall quality... The basic design itself, the quality of components, the quality of steel used, the preciseness of "joint A" meeting "joint B", etc. They were made to be full featured yes, but made the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way possible. Quality takes the back of the bus. Take one of the quads I sell and compare it with an equivalent Suzuki, Honda, Polaris, etc. It's like comparing a bottle of Dom Perginon with a magnum of Ripple. Sure, they're inherently "the same thing", but there's just no comparison.
I still believe that a good product can come out of China.....China has many skilled labourers.
That being said, it's the overall quality... The basic design itself, the quality of components, the quality of steel used, the preciseness of "joint A" meeting "joint B", etc. They were made to be full featured yes, but made the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way possible. Quality takes the back of the bus. Take one of the quads I sell and compare it with an equivalent Suzuki, Honda, Polaris, etc. It's like comparing a bottle of Dom Perginon with a magnum of Ripple. Sure, they're inherently "the same thing", but there's just no comparison.
04-20-2005, 01:59 PM
#26
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally posted by pinhead:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Dukk:
Honestly now. You make your money selling foreign goods every day - and not just foreign but OFFSHORE (heavens! ) goods as well. Get off that high horse and put it in the closet.
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Dukk:
Honestly now. You make your money selling foreign goods every day - and not just foreign but OFFSHORE (heavens!
) goods as well. Get off that high horse and put it in the closet.sorry for being pro canadian </font>[/QUOTE]I'm not saying that it is bad to be pro-Canadian. I always try to be as well. Just stating an obvious evil.
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