Bucket hooks

[chim]

If you want quality bolt-on stuff, buy Ken's. My BIL bought some and they're top notch.

If you're a DIYer I've been happy with the approach below on the three tractors they've been mounted on.

 

[WranglerX]

If you want quality bolt-on stuff, buy Ken's. My BIL bought some and they're top notch.

If you're a DIYer I've been happy with the approach below on the three tractors they've been mounted on.

Nothing against Kens products as they appear to be top quality and he does publish test results!

In Blacksminting areas I am associated with, we have found casting flaws in working surface of VEVOR anvils that have been welded up and ground down, and in non working surfaces flaws filled with body filler and painted over..... And there you have it about quality of low end VEVOR anvils...

My approach to bucket hooks has nothing to do with poor quality of 3rd world manufacturing by child or prison labor, or top quality from Kens but I chose to go a different route because I had the time and the materials...

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't work in the industry, and I'm sure I used the wrong term, but when Group A takes Group B's product and produces a direct copy for a quarter of the price because profit literally means nothing, Group A is an *******.

Does that work?

Yeah, I hear you. But that's just life in the business of an "also-ran". Produce any very simple product, that anyone can churn out from their own garage, and you can't expect to be exclusive.

It sucks, I deal with this problem everyday in my own business, but it's reality. Dog eat dog, and all...

The folks at BOH are doing it right, distinguishing themselves with high quality and excellent customer service. These are two of the very few ways left to stay competitive, in this type of business.

 

[5030]

The issue is simply, the Chinese can produce it cheaper because their built in overheads are less.

Like EV's. I read that no matter how much tariff is placed on them, they can still make a profit. You are gonna see a literal flood of Chinese EV's in this country shortly and they will sell substantially less than anything made here. Old Elon is gonna tale a hit as well. The largest EV builder in China is government owned I believe.

 

[5030]

The underlying issue is...

People in general want it cheaper and the Chinese comply.

The baked in cost of domestically produced goods (wages, benefits, union dues and the general attitudes of the labor force) makes domestically produced hard goods not competitive. Good example is the price of vehicles today.

IMO, no vehicle today is worth the asking price, don't matter who built it either and inflation is eating away at that cost as well.

So long as the economy remains inflationary, the prices of hard goods will keep rising and become less and less available for those who's wages are stagnant. Look at the cost of new housing for another example.

Nothing much anyone can do about it other than can the current administration in DC and install a more conservative one.

Why I always maintain, get out and vote. Only voting and not whining about it will do anything to change the current morass we are in.

Sadly, we have become a nation of whiners and not doers.....

 

[jyoutz]

The underlying issue is...

People in general want it cheaper and the Chinese comply.

The baked in cost of domestically produced goods (wages, benefits, union dues and the general attitudes of the labor force) makes domestically produced hard goods not competitive. Good example is the price of vehicles today.

IMO, no vehicle today is worth the asking price, don't matter who built it either and inflation is eating away at that cost as well.

So long as the economy remains inflationary, the prices of hard goods will keep rising and become less and less available for those who's wages are stagnant. Look at the cost of new housing for another example.

Nothing much anyone can do about it other than can the current administration in DC and install a more conservative one.

Why I always maintain, get out and vote. Only voting and not whining about it will do anything to change the current morass we are in.

Sadly, we have become a nation of whiners and not doers.....

Explain what any administration can do to change the facts that China builds and sells cheaper goods than the U.S. No administration can lower wages, benefits, and other employee costs, and tariffs are paid by the U.S. consumer. U.S. companies are responding to the focus of maximizing shareholder value. The U.S. will never focus on manufacturing cheap consumer products again, just higher value products.

 

[chim]

...................................IMO, no vehicle today is worth the asking price, don't matter who built it either and inflation is eating away at that cost as well..............................

Which is why I drive a Trailblazer with 268,000 miles on it. There's a 2002 Olds Alero in the garage with 50,000 miles on it in case something happens to the Chevy I can't fix.

We bought a CD and set it aside for a new Tahoe three or four years ago. Not sure if it'll end up being a Tahoe or something else. Maybe it won't even be a new vehicle. We're not being forced into replacing anything and maybe when people realize how upside down they are a real bargain could come along.

 

[dkmc]

Yeah, I hear you. But that's just life in the business of an "also-ran". Produce any very simple product, that anyone can churn out from their own garage, and you can't expect to be exclusive.

It sucks, I deal with this problem everyday in my own business, but it's reality. Dog eat dog, and all...

The folks at BOH are doing it right, distinguishing themselves with high quality and excellent customer service. These are two of the very few ways left to stay competitive, in this type of business.

That's a great point. US companies have been copying each other for decades. Even with patented products. Shouldn't be a surprise when a foreign country does it and US patent laws don't apply to them.
There used to be a news rag racing parts paper called Parts Peddler. Filled with companies that made and sold racing parts. Throughout the year, you see the different shops advertising their latest innovation or gizmo. A month later, there's another shop with an 'improved' version of the same part. Then there's another shop with nearly the same part but it's 10% lower cost. A few of the products said 'Patent Pending' and they were still copied. Interesting to watch, super glad I was not involved.

 

[kennyd]

Here is was gets me...

We sell a hook with G8 hardware for $25.00. Laser cut steel plate, forged hook, robotically welded, and plated all here in the mid-Atlantic/NEPA region. Haven't raised that price in 8 years or so, mostly because I didn't want to jump on the CV19 train and just raise them because everyone else was. Our profit margin went down, but we made up for it in selling volumes and doing large quantity manufacturing batches. Like we get the 5/16" hooks forged 15,000 at a time. Plus it helps that we have very low overhead compared to other companies. We also cater to some specialty needs for Kubota and other buckets that wont support a regular hook. Ours even have the smallest footprint of any other hook on the market.

But, back my point since I'm not here to convince anyone to buy ours, even the OP is not interested in them...but it does relate a bit to the JUF 'copy' mentioned and linked by the OP @dkmc

We sell a hook for $25, so 'most' customers buy two at a time, that's $50 plus shipping since we don't play the 'free' shipping game-as if there was such a thing. Now on the big "A", you can find a pair (two) of hooks for +/- $30 or so. That hook has to be shipped overseas, import duties paid, marketed and sold on Amazon which takes a cut (up to 15% I believe), then shipped 'free' to the customer. Oh, and the seller needs to make a profit right? So how much is the product really worth, and how can it done well with even moderate quality materials for that little cost? It's just fascinating to me! Same for the JUF copies that are "1/4 of the cost" as one poster said.

 

[5030]

Shipping costs are eating smaller businesses alive today and rates are only going to go up. I just quoted a customer in Europe on my patented bike stand and the shipping was more that the stand cost was. Crazy stuff.