how can northern tools compete against harbr freight?

[Mark Page]

Not everyone shops on price alone. Shipping rates, availability, country of manufacture, warranty and return policy all come into play. How many people could care less where an item is made as long as they get that lower price, cheap, cheap, cheap rules the day. It's what keeps Walmart in business, cheeeeeeper. Start buying the higher priced American made products and the Chineese will dry up and blow away. Unfortunatly that will never happen, because you got to get it cheeeeeper.
Shop value not price.
Ask yourself "would I be willing to work for Chineese wages?" . If so we can compete with the Chineese. Employers can then find the cheeepest labor and produce the cheeeeepest products right here in the good Ole' USA. You could buy your new 40 horse Mahindra for $4,000. Oh wait!! If I work for 25 cents an hour I'd never be able to afford my American made 40 horse $4,000 tractor, or the fuel to run it. Keep shopping for those cheap prices. I don't have the patience for it.
Capital will always chase cheap labor.

 

[brin]

Interesting thing about socialist countries such as china. If a manufacturer needs to tool-up for a commodity-type item (say a pipe wrench).....the socialist government will pay the tooling costs and the "nationalized" tool is then "community property". Anybody is able to buy those items and put their label on it (Vs proprietary tooling (Apple / Milwaukee that is owned by those firms). Thus often you have many labels on the same "made in china" products.

When I manufactured things....my USA made products were shown in Taiwanese "chop shops" just waiting for a competitive American firm to give an order to the company who would knock my products off and re-brand them. And they did....patents and intellectual values be damned....not to mention my profits. Why should I or any American firm want to invest in producing new products in America???.....when after putting all the work into a product the Asians will knock it off for less and sell it to the competition? :confused2:

Yep the consumer gets a deal....while our economy goes broke....and no business is left to pay the taxes. Tell me how this is a good deal for our country?? :confused2:

And.....we wonder where our high paying jobs went? Duh!

Foggy....You are exactly right...I saw an article the other day that Russia had sold China one of their latest fighter jets but with the caveat and guarantee by China in writing they would not copy and manufacture the jets....I got a kick out of that...2 commie countries and can't trust each other....The Chinese and Asians in general copy and counterfeit anything they can....without knock offs of our inventions they would still be in the 1800's or maybe before....I have no clue why our supposed leaders allow it ....none !

 

[foggy1111]

We have been exporting ALLOT of manufacturing for many years. Just take a look at statewide New York for all the shuttered plants from our youth. (I still remember the Sat morning offers of widgets for .50 cents and two box tops....and send it to New York, New York). Many of the plants that made our TV's, microwave and appliances were shipped overseas many years ago. Next in line were manufacturing powerhouse cities like Milwaukee, Cinci, and Detroit.....all shuttered and abandoned now.

America could not manufacture ALL the goods the world wanted.....but we sure as **** could and should manufacture some of the goods. All our citizens aren't cut out to be Lawyers and Doctors and Teachers and Wall ST Execs (thank goodness). Some of us were born to make stuff....and run small business. Bills like NAPTHA and others systematically GAVE away ALL our jobs and we got little in return.....except for cheap consumer items. Whoop-de-do.

Now even those items are getting hard to afford on low pay jobs many are forced to take. I'm glad I'm retirered......but I sure feel sorry for the future generations. Its bad now....but it's gonna get ugly if we dont change things soon....IMO.

 

[foggy1111]

Foggy....You are exactly right...I saw an article the other day that Russia had sold China one of their latest fighter jets but with the caveat and guarantee by China in writing they would not copy and manufacture the jets....I got a kick out of that...2 commie countries and can't trust each other....The Chinese and Asians in general copy and counterfeit anything they can....without knock offs of our inventions they would still be in the 1800's or maybe before....I have no clue why our supposed leaders allow it ....none !

Truth be told....I feel a bit guilty. I used to love what I did....and I was good at it. I manufactured my own designs for hunting and shooting products....and made 'em right here in the good old USA. Shipped em world-wide to most everyone you can immagine....plus many more. I had 25 pieces of IP and about 25 employees. Very successful and I paid high taxes, good wages, and was growing by leaps and bounds. I was at the top of my game. Then suddenly EVERYONE was making stuff overseas for 1/2 price and the corperate raiders came looking for little guys like me (??) to buy....and if they couldnt buy you....they would knock you off with copies from Asia. Heck, even my best customers would knock off the products I was selling them....as they all have overseas connections. NO HONOR WHATSOEVER.

Well.....I aint always the sharpest knife in the drawer...but I could sure see the handwriting on the wall.....as could most everyone else at the time that manufactured most any products here in the US. It was ALL going overseas. I had a HOT product line.....and I got paid well to give it up. I did my level best to keep the new entity here in the US with promisses to keep my employees, building lease, yadda yadda. But they met their contractual obligations.....and then pulled the plug in favor of Asian sources. I came out "whole"....but my employees went looking for work and the tax base of my little enterprise changed a whole bunch over a few years.....to "0".

My employees all have moved on....some better / some worse.....but it makes me sick to think what might have been....and wonder how high we could have soared....if for just a little co-operation from our government. (My ex-employees still tell me what a wonderful job they had working for / with me. But they also understand the way it is / was.) I suppose I could have stuck it out....and went slowly broke.

So....much less is now paid in taxes by me....there is no promise of growth and the future.....and the jobs my ex-employees now have are not what many of them aspired to do. Same story at so many plants across the US.

But for a little good-will, and fair business policy by our government this would not have happened. It simply was / is not a level playing field for USA based business. Sorry.....I digress.

 

[JoeBuyer]

The politicians are doing what private enterprise lines their pockets to do. The US has things backwards.