Had to support the Chinaman last night. :(
Don't know if any of you have purchased luggage lately but we went to the mall yesterday to buy some. Went to JCPenny's (because we received a large gift card for a special occasion) to pick out luggage. Everything's 50% off. Ok, whatever. Anyway, there's about 6 different brands available. Now I've purchased a small Samsonite tote before that I'm very happy with. It's plain black with the extendable handle, 1 pair of wheels, small, and it was a hundred bucks.
Now we're back to look for more. I start looking through all the brands and what I found was shocking! I believe Samsonite are US made so of course, that is my first choice. Besides this, they had some of the neatest looking luggage (colors and design). Then we find this luggage called Protocol, made in China. Ok, sounds cheap right? But it's not. It's really nice stuff. Well made. Wheels are the same. And here's the part that blows me away.
We could get a really cool, red, 21" Samsonite tote for 150.00. The one I was originally going to try and talk my wife into getting. Then she finds that other line. Is their 21" tote a little cheaper you may ask?? NO! The same 150.00 gets you an entire 5 piece set!! A large, maybe 30" tote w/ 4 wheels, a smaller one inside that, a 21" tote inside that, and two carry on bags. And it's nice stuff. No, it doesn't come with a 10 year warranty, but why do I need that? We take about one long vacation every few years. Nothing's going to happen to this stuff.
I felt guilty about it, but the value comparison left me powerless. Even if I had wanted to win the battle, there's no way I could have. If I compare the 21" tote I got with the Samsonite one, I'd have to say they're equivalent with eachoter accept the fabric had a cooler color on the Samsonite and the handle extened in two sections instead of one. So, I'm sorry people, but I had to support the Chinaman. I guess I'm a bad consumer. [V]
Now we're back to look for more. I start looking through all the brands and what I found was shocking! I believe Samsonite are US made so of course, that is my first choice. Besides this, they had some of the neatest looking luggage (colors and design). Then we find this luggage called Protocol, made in China. Ok, sounds cheap right? But it's not. It's really nice stuff. Well made. Wheels are the same. And here's the part that blows me away.
We could get a really cool, red, 21" Samsonite tote for 150.00. The one I was originally going to try and talk my wife into getting. Then she finds that other line. Is their 21" tote a little cheaper you may ask?? NO! The same 150.00 gets you an entire 5 piece set!! A large, maybe 30" tote w/ 4 wheels, a smaller one inside that, a 21" tote inside that, and two carry on bags. And it's nice stuff. No, it doesn't come with a 10 year warranty, but why do I need that? We take about one long vacation every few years. Nothing's going to happen to this stuff.
I felt guilty about it, but the value comparison left me powerless. Even if I had wanted to win the battle, there's no way I could have. If I compare the 21" tote I got with the Samsonite one, I'd have to say they're equivalent with eachoter accept the fabric had a cooler color on the Samsonite and the handle extened in two sections instead of one. So, I'm sorry people, but I had to support the Chinaman. I guess I'm a bad consumer. [V]
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You were right to go for the better value. That is the true heart of capitalism and the only way the US will be forced to lower its' manufacturing cost basis. If we here in America want to stop loosing our competitive edge then we will have to break the backs of the labor unions and start producing products in a cost-effective manner. Unskilled labor is over valued in the US marketplace and that makes it impossible to win a price competition with foreign manufacturers who are smart enough to realize that an unskilled laborer isn't worth $30/hr, regardless of what standard of living he feels entitled to. 0 -
Will your new luggage stand up to the rigorous abuse of a gorilla? I'll bet you didn't ask your self that before you made your purchase. [:D] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by sarge_3ad
Will your new luggage stand up to the rigorous abuse of a gorilla? I'll bet you didn't ask your self that before you made your purchase. [:D]
Yea them gorilla's allways seem to get ahold of the luggage first![:D][:D][:D]
I personally will stay with my US Army issue duffle. It has traveled well over 2 million miles with me (it was also in the cab of my big trucks while I was working) and survived the test!0 -
What's wrong with what you did? JC Penny's - an American company - is being supported by your purchase and it directly benefits their employees and their stockholders. It also helps support the drivers that ship the goods in, the real estate management companies that rent them their store space, the credit card services that process the purchases, and a whole host of other things.
As is, a lot of "made in America" relies upon foreign-sourced items. Ford and GM, American companies for example, use more Mexican parts in their cars while Toyota, a Japanese company, uses more American parts.
Buy what suits and benefits you and feel no guilt over it.0 -
quote:Originally posted by vess1
Don't know if any of you have purchased luggage lately but we went to the mall yesterday to buy some. Went to JCPenny's (because we received a large gift card for a special occasion) to pick out luggage. Everything's 50% off. Ok, whatever. Anyway, there's about 6 different brands available. Now I've purchased a small Samsonite tote before that I'm very happy with. It's plain black with the extendable handle, 1 pair of wheels, small, and it was a hundred bucks.
Now we're back to look for more. I start looking through all the brands and what I found was shocking! I believe Samsonite are US made so of course, that is my first choice. Besides this, they had some of the neatest looking luggage (colors and design). Then we find this luggage called Protocol, made in China. Ok, sounds cheap right? But it's not. It's really nice stuff. Well made. Wheels are the same. And here's the part that blows me away.
We could get a really cool, red, 21" Samsonite tote for 150.00. The one I was originally going to try and talk my wife into getting. Then she finds that other line. Is their 21" tote a little cheaper you may ask?? NO! The same 150.00 gets you an entire 5 piece set!! A large, maybe 30" tote w/ 4 wheels, a smaller one inside that, a 21" tote inside that, and two carry on bags. And it's nice stuff. No, it doesn't come with a 10 year warranty, but why do I need that? We take about one long vacation every few years. Nothing's going to happen to this stuff.
I felt guilty about it, but the value comparison left me powerless. Even if I had wanted to win the battle, there's no way I could have. If I compare the 21" tote I got with the Samsonite one, I'd have to say they're equivalent with eachoter accept the fabric had a cooler color on the Samsonite and the handle extened in two sections instead of one. So, I'm sorry people, but I had to support the Chinaman. I guess I'm a bad consumer. [V]
Guilty? That's just what the liberals want you to feel.0 -
Elmuerto: Yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing as you. It is supporting JCPenny's and the dock workers and the truck drivers and the store employees. I guess there's nothing wrong with that.
Yeah, I'd rather have a Samsonite set just because they looked neater but it would have ran me over 800 dollars for the same 150 dollar set I got.
I'd be real interested to see why the cost difference here. If a foreign company can ship a 5 piece set halfway around the world, sell it for 150 and be profitable, why can't Samsonite? Even if the Samsonite set would have run me an extra 100 dollars more for the same set, I would have got them instead. But it's not even close while the quality is very close.
On the other hand, I don't know how the other place could be making a profit. I'd think the material cost would be at least 50-60 dollars alone, when you consider all the fabric, hardware, etc.. then shipping. Somebody out there's getting the shaft.0 -
The person getting the shaft is the worker in China......I've been to the factories there. They work on tiny plastic chairs, or standing up, on concrete. Most work 12 hour days, 6 days a week.
Thats why Chinese stuff is cheap. An endless supply of young Chinese women who work for $1-2 a DAY. They live in company housing, eat company food, and are virtual slaves.
Even seeing this first hand, what can I do? I still sell/buy Chinese made products. Thats what the consumer wants/prefers, so they shall get it. I would LOVE to sell nothing but "American Made" products, but I'd be out of business in less than a month.
Also, not all Samsonite products are still made in the USA.....
Merc0 -
Do what you want, I do not support the Communist Chinese, period. 0 -
I personally will stay with my US Army issue duffle. It has traveled well over 2 million miles with me (it was also in the cab of my big trucks while I was working) and survived the test!
A large amount of US uniforms and gear are made in US prisons. When you're only paying the guy on the sewing machine 7 cents an hour, you can compete with China and Indonesia. At the same time, that guy sewing for 7 cents an hour is taking the job of somebody in North Carolina or Missouri who'd be making $7 an hour.
Enjoy your duffel bag, but remember it was probably made by a hard-working drug dealer!0 -
I seem to LIVE on airplanes. Fly anywhere from 100-150 times a year. If I buy the very best luggage the local stores carry, it lasts about 6 months. If I buy the cheap stuff, it lasts about 180 days. The ONLY thing the airline baggage gorilla has NOT been able to destroy is a Pelican case that I use for equipment- and they HAVE banged the bejesus out of it. They even dented an aluminum case I had. Have watched them RUN OVER suitcases with their tractor when they fell off their wagon.[}:)] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by mlincoln
I personally will stay with my US Army issue duffle. It has traveled well over 2 million miles with me (it was also in the cab of my big trucks while I was working) and survived the test!
A large amount of US uniforms and gear are made in US prisons. When you're only paying the guy on the sewing machine 7 cents an hour, you can compete with China and Indonesia. At the same time, that guy sewing for 7 cents an hour is taking the job of somebody in North Carolina or Missouri who'd be making $7 an hour.
Enjoy your duffel bag, but remember it was probably made by a hard-working drug dealer!
It's not like I bought it! It was given to me courtesy of Uncle Sam!
But it has given me lots of years and miles of service.[:D]0 -
IT ALL ABOUT PROFIT, CHEAP LABOR MEANS CHEAP PRICES, LOOK AT WALMART FOR EXAMPLE, TONS OF CHINESE, INDIAN, THAI VIETNAMESE GOODS ON THE SHELVES.
OTHER STUFF USA - JAPANESE GOODS 30 YEARS AGO WHERE THE SAME WAY, CHEAP, NOW LOOK AT THE STUFF THEY SELL. TAKEN OVER MANY OF THE MARKETS HELD BY USA COMPANIES.
WATCH WHAT YOU BUY, UNION - NON UNION MAKES SOME DIFF TODAY, NOT LIKE BEFORE0
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