1Bear

iTrader: (1)

I have some of the same feelings a lot of you have towards cheaper imported products, especially when it comes at the cost to safety. It can just be a simple little product that breaks apart in your hand with no significant consequences or material that is going in a pipeline or chemical plant that puts hundreds of people’s life at stake. Big corporations are taking the same stance as individual customers, where taking the risk of a failure out weights the justification of paying more. I see it every day where it it’s gotten to the point of where the client has chosen to go with poorer quality engineering from India or like countries in lieu of home based engineering, as they feel it’s cheaper to pay to have whatever problems that arise resolved on site than it is for quality engineering. The whole stance of do-it-right the 1st time goes out the window doesn’t it? It used to be where just about all of our clients required special permission be given for use of material that was of foreign origin, but since just about everyone has gone global, things have relaxed tremendously. I’ve recently seen where a client that explicitly forbid Chinese products changed their stance when they found out their valves had a 6-week delivery on them if they went with approved parts. I could speak for hours on this subject as I deal with it daily, but changing people’s pre-determined feelings on the subject is likely not to happen. I see it with US based products and services on a day-to-day basis as well, I personally feel one area that corporations fail to recognize is that while skilled employees may cost more per hour, they generally have a high unit output and ultimately safer to boot, as an employee that really knows is job is less likely to be hurt, as long as they don’t become complacent in their job. Every company says you can’t put a price on safety, but they do. You see it when they hire a few more unskilled people with the idea that the additional manpower will produce a little more output, as long as they can get them for less than what skilled a craftsmen will cost them. It apparently doesn’t matter that quality is down and safety right along with it. Of course when something does happen, everyone blames the craft pool for being poor. No one brings up the fact we quit teaching the youngsters coming up years ago and the fact it’s only going to get worse, due to becoming a country of buyers instead of builders. Everyone used to work under the assumption that you would get future work based entirely off your reputation; if you did a good job, did it on time, for a good rate and were safe, all of which was true until the bean counters got involved and reduced it pretty much down to price. I’m even starting to feel the only reason for safety is being injuries cost money in the form of fines and law suits and not because it’s the right thing to do.

Bottom line is while you think your simple little purchase only effects you and your pockets, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Of course bindingly saying you won’t purchase anything but US goods isn’t the answer either. While I would applaud your intestinal fortitude, I would have to remind you of the Global Economy and now that we have so much invested with some of these places, if we were to let them fail it would still hurt us. Too bad, as it shouldn’t have ever gotten this far, to the point where you can’t pull the plug. Sensible trade is a good thing, but we no longer are in the trade business, we are in the buy cheaper sell higher business.

GMCSIERRA5.3

Craftsman sucks..snap on ftw

Bill Reid

iTrader: (14)

Didn't know Ace Hardware sells Craftsman - at least the one near my house... could they be "parting out" Sears before they close it?

Chevy_freak

This is why the toolbox and its contents in my garage say snap-on. I use craftsman stuff at work and while i beat on it all the time and it doesnt break, its not the same quality. Ive also got to the point where a craftsman ratchet goes in the scrap bin. Too many broken knuckles/fingers for me to not fork out the the $60 for a better ratchet.

1FastBrick

iTrader: (17)

They have been selling there crap for a while now. As does OSH