Why Buy American?

[RaceDeck1]

In another thread and in a number of email letters from customers there is a lot of talk why you and I choose to buy American and then there are many posts who do not believe it makes a difference. I thought it would be interesting to hear views on this subject and I am sure not everyone sees eye-to-eye on this-

My view
As many of you know, we manufacture all of our modular flooring products right here in Salt Lake City, Utah and I get emails all the time thanking us for keeping it here in the USA and how do we do it? I also have seen many comments on this forum and elsewhere about buying products that were manufactured in a factory 7000 miles outside of our country and see no reason why we should not to save money.

Here is my take ( for what it is worth ) of why I choose to make an effort to buy American and why I strongly believe in being a company that creates jobs right here in the USA - For me, It is not worth the $.50 to a couple of bucks savings for a tool (or whatever) to buy a copy-cat import product Vs. a quality USA products. Our country has lost millions of jobs, factories are closing and even entire towns disappearing due to these companies copying a USA engineered products and having them made in a country where there is no regard for human rights and the enviromental impact to the global community. By buying American whenever you have a choice, you are supporting your neighbor, your town, your country.

Could we make our floors for less and put more money in my pocket? sure, but I will have put almost a 100 families out of work, I would not be using local services- now multiply 100-1000-10,000 +++ and so on of similiar Compaines who decide to do the same thing to make a few pennies more. Instead, we are 100% in-house with all of our manufacturing. We buy USA raw materials, We engineer and machine all of our own molds, and We manufacture all of our products. We also keep all of our customer service and support staff in-house. Now more than ever this is a great challenge, but the rewards are far greater.

I also want to mention a new trend I am seeing in our industry and I am sure in others as well. There are companies who claim their products are Made in USA, they have it plastered all over their web site and promtional literature- Whent the truth is they may have only 1 of many products they offer being made in America, or worse they import products then re-pack them and place a sticker or print Made In USA on the box. Then there are those who play with the name of thier company or use their location as if it were made there. I find these tactics really imoral. We actually mold into our product the Made In USA and hav done so for over 20 years. Many of our competitors can not do this due to the legal ramifications of being caught importing a product stamped with this.

So, whenever I make the effort to buy a USA made product, I look for the permanent made in USA logo on the product itself. not a sticker or a clever name that Insinuates is was made here in our country

 

[Need4racin]

You really should put the Made in USA emblem in a better spot on your website. I had to really look for it to find it.

 

[RaceDeck1]

Good Point!
We do have the Made In USA on every page and the About Us page which shows our facility http://www.racedeck.com/about.html

I am going to see what we can do to make it more visible

 

[rsanter]

I may get some heat for this but....its nice to buy american and I try and prefer to buy american but we cannot always do that.
sometimes better stuff is made overseas.
sometimes the cost difference is so great that I either have to buy the foreign stuff or do without.
I think it is the responsibility of the american manufactures to make a good product that is priced right. and if they do that I will buy their product
I drive a Ford F150 that was made here, I prefer snap on tools but sometimes have to settle for Cman. I have a Bport mill (verses the chineese copy) but what am I going to do about the TV I want? how about the dewalt tools, does someone make something here that can compete?

we can split it up a little more...
is it better to buy from a US company that has their stuff made overseas or a foreign company that makes their stuff overseas? at least some of the money is staying here if the company is US based.
or what about the foreign company that makes their stuff here (toyota) but the money goes home to japan, which is better

if the US goverment stopped sending so much foreign aid overseas ans used that money for domestic company aid, just what do you think we could accomplish then....A LOT

OK, now that I have set the pot to boil......

bob

 

[rsanter]

Good Point!
We do have the Made In USA on every page and the About Us page which shows our facility http://www.racedeck.com/about.html

I am going to see what we can do to make it more visible

Ok, here is a free product idea for you.
how about a special series of your tiles that have the U S A as the anti skid pattern.
you can sell a kit that has the right number of tiles in red, white, and blue to make a flag

bob

 

[sammerdog]

rsanter -

I don't think many Americans would want to park on and/or walk on the American flag. Maybe in California, but not back here in the Midwest. Call me old fashioned, but I would not.

 

[RaceDeck1]

rsanter - though I may not totally agree with you, I do believe that a USA manufacturer should make a better product at a fair price.
An example would be the choice I made this weekend - I was in Home Depot ( the modern day local hardware store) and was looking at two choices of adjustable wrenches, the one made in the USA was $13.99 and the Husky China version was $11.99
For me it was worth the $2.00 even though at a glance they looked almost identical. As a manufacturer I also know the China made wrench at $11.99 probably has twice the margin in it for the company & store...THey know the average customer will more than likely just grab the one that is cheaper.

 

[sammerdog]

Howdy RaceDeck -

Everyone's thinking it, but no one dares ask....

...so what's in your personal garage?
...so what brand of truck is backed up to your docks?

 

[RaceDeck1]

I drive a Dadge Ram 3500 series diesle and we have a Jeep SRT8
I also have aquired a few toys over the years such as - a 1932 Bonneville landspeed roadster (Ford) and a 1965 Corvette Historic road racer.
The trucks at our plant vary, a large GMC flatbed and a couple of smaller Chevy pick ups.

For the record, I am not opposed to some of the imports who have built factories here in the USA and employ USA workers ( Toyota, BMW, Hyundai, Honda, etc).

 

[sammerdog]

The Saltillo plant down in Coahuila Mexico makes a heck of a truck in the Ram3500 doesn't it? I had a Mexican made Ram 1500 that I loved, but sold off a few years back. I have a pair of Mexican made VW's and have pretty good luck with them too.

 

[bgott]

My Ram 2500 is made in St. Louis, Mo.

 

[The Alchemist]

I have a question about racedeck, feel free to PM me if you wish. Can I put a 4 post lift on it? I move the lift from time to time, and it would be a pain to have to pick up and move the tile, so it would be much easier to be able to let the lift rest on the tile. It's a 8000lb capacity lift, but the heaviest car that goes on it is my wife's suv which is ~5000lb. So we're looking at ~1300lb at each leg, which is about 1sq/ft each.

Thanks.

 

[RaceDeck1]

The Alchemist - You should have no issue whatsoever. If you look in our website photo gallery you will see many photos of lifts. see http://www.racedeck.com/racedeckgallery/index.html and go to photos 01 ,09 16 , 106 , 126 for a few examples of lifts and heavy loads

 

[hguerrero]

now your truck might have a dodge, a chevy or ford badge
...but not every part on that truck is made in this country...
i'm sure you understand we live in a global economy...
as we import as well as export tons of product
everyday....

 

[ripsnortMN]

I buy quality wherever its made. I have a Makita cordless lithium drill. It isnt made in the usa but it sure is a nice quality drill at $320. A craftsman drill of the same type might be made in the usa (i doubt it) but it would not be anywhere near the quality of the makita. But then agian does craftsman even make a cordless drill in the price range of $320?

 

[dfndr]

dfndr
Senior Member


Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 123 Re: RaceDeck Presidents Sale

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This buy American thing is interesting. First, you are selling something made in America that I would classify as a "double difficult" task. You are actually manufacturing a product, and one in a difficult area--using chemicals and petro products AND competing with cheap overseas labor. You have many labor and EPA requirements and are not poisoning your nieghbors, ruining the earth for generations to come or giving young children(or others) and their families cancer by having them working unprotected in hazardous situations with dangerous products. AND YOU ARE TURNING OUT A BETTER PRODUCT THAN THE OVERSEAS MANUFACTURERS AND DOING IT AT A COMPETIVE PRICE!

This is in stark cointrast to the whining big US manufaturers who want us to buy their inferior "American Made" products, much of which are made of overseas "outsourced" parts and serviced by a call center in India. Then these fat cats go broke after personally making tens of millions a year and ask the government to give them bilions and then take bonuses.

WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TWO HELPING GET OUR COUNTRY BACK ON TRACK.

 

[sammerdog]

now your truck might have a dodge, a chevy or ford badge
...but not every part on that truck is made in this country...
i'm sure you understand we live in a global economy...
as we import as well as export tons of product
everyday....

...yup. It'll drive one nuts trying to figure out what's foreign, what's domestic, etc...
For a vehicle's final point of assembly, the first digit of the VIN correlates to:
1- USA
2- Canada
3- Mexico
5- USA
K- Korea
J- Japan

I forget what Europe's designation is... 4 perhaps? And I've encountered the H designation a few times as well - Hungary?

I was all jazzed up a few months ago on a Buy American kick. Thought I'd grab a basic GMC half ton with the 4.3. Went over to the dealer's lots and all the WT series were foreign built.... Didn't do it this time around. I'd like a WT, but it'd feel nicer to get a USA one.

The local GM stamping plant is shutting down in 09. Confusing to see the guys at shift change shuffling over to their Mexican built HHR's....

 

[48548]

Damn it, my Silverado and firebird both were made in the canada... But my Pionner TV was made in USA, what is wrong with that picture? But at least I did try to buy american and not go straight to japan for the vehicles, but on the TV, I was lucky I noticed a few years after I bought it, it was made in the USA.

 

[BuickBoy]

My View...

I run a bicycle shop, many of our frames are made in Taiwan or China.

This is a common question from customers, and this is my response.

My brand (Giant) is designed in California by Americans. When I order my products from them I speak to an American. When they submit my order to the warehouse an American processes it. That product was taken off of a boat, generally captained by an American, and unloaded by Americans. Once my order is processed it is shipped to me by UPS, Americans. It is then in my store and assembled by Americans. When customers purchase the products as Americans, the money is staying within my American business.

The only part of the equation that is NOT American is the country of origin of the frame and some other components.

Regarding tools and other retail industries the less expensive cost is for retail centers the more of that product they are going to stock. Less cost in products equals an overall lower operating cost. However, I do believe that having American made products is important because for those customers who request them, they are available. Due to the overwhelming number of products that are not American made these days the customers searching for the products are lower due to the products being less available. They just get used to it in a way.

I'm a huge supporter of local business, but getting stuck on where the product is made over quality and ignoring the principle of local support is ridiculous.

 

[RaceDeck1]

Some of the decisions of top managment to outsource America is up for debate, I agree.

The whole car issue is complicated because of the 1000 + parts that go in and we as consumers have no knowledge if what comes from where. I also agree that if you want a high quality item and the only ones on the market are from overseas, then you have no choice

The goods I am talking about are pretty easy to make a decision on ( tools, parts, furniture, paint, etc ) . If you have a choice and the price difference is not outrageous and the quality is better or atleast equal, then it is really and easy choice for me.
As for being a global economy- I agree but American manufacturers don't even come close to the cheap china imports, it is absolutely not an even playing field

 

[ovilla]

My View...

I run a bicycle shop, many of our frames are made in Taiwan or China.

This is a common question from customers, and this is my response.

My brand (Giant) is designed in California by Americans. When I order my products from them I speak to an American. When they submit my order to the warehouse an American processes it. That product was taken off of a boat, generally captained by an American, and unloaded by Americans. Once my order is processed it is shipped to me by UPS, Americans. It is then in my store and assembled by Americans. When customers purchase the products as Americans, the money is staying within my American business.

The only part of the equation that is NOT American is the country of origin of the frame and some other components.

Regarding tools and other retail industries the less expensive cost is for retail centers the more of that product they are going to stock. Less cost in products equals an overall lower operating cost. However, I do believe that having American made products is important because for those customers who request them, they are available. Due to the overwhelming number of products that are not American made these days the customers searching for the products are lower due to the products being less available. They just get used to it in a way.

I'm a huge supporter of local business, but getting stuck on where the product is made over quality and ignoring the principle of local support is ridiculous.

Just curious. Is there even an all USA designed/built/distributed bike available to consumers? Also, I read a ton of literature on Trek and later discovered that even though the company is based out of Wisconsin, all of their bikes are imported from China. So, why the crazy high prices for these? Their cheapest bikes start in the $300 range.

 

[Defender Chassis]

Just curious. Is there even an all USA designed/built/distributed bike available to consumers? Also, I read a ton of literature on Trek and later discovered that even though the company is based out of Wisconsin, all of their bikes are imported from China. So, why the crazy high prices for these? Their cheapest bikes start in the $300 range.

Price points......your not paying for the cost to manufacturer plus a reasonable markup, your paying what they can get for the product/reputation.

 

[Rickster]

...yup. It'll drive one nuts trying to figure out what's foreign, what's domestic, etc...
For a vehicle's final point of assembly, the first digit of the VIN correlates to:
1- USA
2- Canada
3- Mexico
5- USA
K- Korea
J- Japan

The first three of the VIN are the Manufacturers Identification code. This is assigned by the SAE for the US. The Europeon Manufacturers ID is also the first three characters, but their manf ID is a little different and uses the home office of the euro vehicle company.

 

[Kev442]

I find it hard to believe how people can't see what made in USA applies to. If you buy a tire made in USA, you are buying from the company that made the tire, whose headquarters are in the USA. All the white collar workers in that town, all the people that built that headquarters,all the materials that went into that headquarters. All the people that supply utilities, office supplies and maintenance to that headquarters. The taxes paid locally for that headquarters.
Now, you can move on to the plant that made the tire and apply it all again, Wow!

Now you can move onto all the raw materials mined, refined and supplied to that factory. Don't forget to add in all the employees there, taxes paid and trucks hauling. Those companies all have a headquarters too.

Now, let's look at the imported tire. 2 longshoremen. 1 trucker. 1 distribution center with (?) employees. Another trucker. The tire shop.

Gee, 10,000 US employees vs maybe 50. Enjoy your foreign made tire, I hope the $2. you saved was worth it!

 

[RaceDeck1]

BuickBoy - They charge the high prices for the American Brand / Made In China bicycles because their customers will pay it. These companies do not go to China out of the kindness in thier hearts to save the consumer money, they do it to make bigger margins and knock out the USA Made competition.
For Walmart, their prices may seem so low but if you knew how they use their sheer buying power to get the absolute lowest price, you would be amazed. If Walmart were a country, they would be the 5th largest importer in the world. Some of the vendors who do business with them are lucky to make even 1-2% profit and there are a long ****** line of vendors who are now out of business.

KEV442 - Well put

 

[rcleaver]

Most of you seem to think this is a simple issue. I don't. Consider these examples:

- I bought a HF hammer drill to help me install a toilet in my basement. It cost less than a rental. So if it only lasted for one use I'm still ahead. It turned out to be a rugged tool and now I can use it for another project. It's a win-win situation for me.

- As the OP said, how do you know you can trust anyone who says their products are made in the USA? In fact, I don't know the OP and his name sounds German to me. Should I believe someone I don't know? Look at the purported success of the Nigerian scammers. Who could be so dumb or greedy to be taken by them?

- if I buy American and, say, spend more for a product that I hope will last longer and function better, and it doesn't happen, then what? It seems most people generalize that experience, avoiding that product brand forever. Maybe he/she just got a bad one. How are we to know?

- Should I rely on Consumer Reports? I've read their metnodology on many products and I think they are clueless.

So, what's the answer? To me there isn't one. I evaluate each situation on it's own.

But, if all other things are equal, I will buy American.

 

[USMCvet]

Howdy RaceDeck -

Everyone's thinking it, but no one dares ask....
...so what's in your personal garage?
...so what brand of truck is backed up to your docks?

I shall dare answer.......

1970 Chevelle SS
2006 Infinti


In the driveway:

1992 Toyota 4WD pick-up
1997 Nissan
2003 Hyundai
2005 Lexus


Parked on the street:

2009 Chrysler

 

[greg]

Just curious. Is there even an all USA designed/built/distributed bike available to consumers? Also, I read a ton of literature on Trek and later discovered that even though the company is based out of Wisconsin, all of their bikes are imported from China. So, why the crazy high prices for these? Their cheapest bikes start in the $300 range.

A lot of Treks bikes are still made in Waterloo Wisconsin , it tends to be the higher end bikes though . I ride a Specialized that was made in Taiwan , and I am ok with that as they are a democracy . I wont ride a Chinese bike and I avoid Chinese products even if it means I have to buy older stuff and refurbish it . My next frame will be a Turner and they are 100% us made frames but to my knowledge there is no 100% US gruppo so you cant make a 100% US bike .

Not buying Chinese is becoming more difficult but as much as possible I will buy USA 1st follwed by Japan Taiwan and Europe . I vote with my dollars and would rather have one good USA item than ten China ones for the same price .

 

[hoarder1212]

Racedeck I like the look of your product, and after reading all this I will be getting some for the house garage. I would also be interested in some for my automotive shop but I was wondering how friendly it is in that atmosphere, can you role a floor jack on it, jack up a car, set jack stands on it,how well does it take the abuse of sparks from welding cutting and grinding? Keep up the great work and I'm proud to know a real American Manufacturer!

 

[JerseyJim]

I responded to this topic when it was posted the last time. You all make excellent points. As both a manufacturer and consumer, my view on this is mixed in both areas.

As a manufacturer, we employ about 75 Americans nationwide. In general, the actual cost of products may only be about 35 percent of our full cost. The rest tends to be transportation and getting it through the distribution chain. I previously explained our dilemna of having less and less metal shops available to do the work and their problem of having less and less available skilled tradesman to allow them to bid the work. Out of necessity, we have move a small amount of simpler work offshore not because of price but more to relieve the pressure on our remaining suppliers and give them the time to work on the more critical items.

Most of the small metal shops we work with are owned by people who are 65 years old and are keeping the places going in order to provide jobs to their employees. Their children don't want to take over the business and their aren't very many younger people coming through the trades any more. So they have generally been unable to develop any sort of succession plan. When the owner finally packs it in, these shops close. They all have more work than they can handle. They simply lack the skilled employees needed to get it done. So it's not as simple as saying it's cheaper to go over seas.

In my mind, the bigger issue is the big box stores in this country. These are 800 pound gorillas that are taking your choices away. These outfits strangle suppliers and force them to consider every possible cost savings there is just to survive. The DIYs pickup appliances and now you see the appliance chains folding just like the mom & pop hardware stores before them.

I try to build and buy American. It's getting tougher every day. I'm buying a lift next month. It will be made in China. My only other choice is a used American lift (haven't been able to find one) or have to pay more than I can really afford for the only hobbyist lift I know of that is still made here.

I drive American cars and I won't waste my time with the content thing. It's not worth the effort. My son won't have an American car. He cites the quality thing in order to defend it. He has no experience with bad American quality. For him and a lot of younger people, it's simply being raised with labels... Air Jordans, Nike, Ocean Pacific, Banana Republic. He wants to be cool. Even in a better economy, this attitude is severely hurting American car manufacturers. It allows foreign competitors like Toyota to make more money on their cars. So manufacturing costs are not the entire picture here either.

Just my long winded two cents.

 

[dfndr]

Ovilla, U.S. bike---Serrota from New York or some place back east. Some San Francisco Bay Area custom makers. Litespeed, Seven, if thry're still in business. Not much here.

 

[ddrewyor]

BuickBoy If Walmart were a country, they would be the 5th largest importer in the world. Some of the vendors who do business with them are lucky to make even 1-2% profit and there are a long ****** line of vendors who are now out of business.

KEV442 - Well put

There was a show on Wal-Mart on Discover? about a year ago and it showed their server farm. They have more computing power than the US government according to the show. Whether it was true or not, the buildings took up acres of space and had rows and rows of servers as far as one could see. Tracking every purchase real time as they do takes serious computing power.

Dave
________
HONDA GL1500I

 

[coachrick]

Just curious. Is there even an all USA designed/built/distributed bike available to consumers? Also, I read a ton of literature on Trek and later discovered that even though the company is based out of Wisconsin, all of their bikes are imported from China. So, why the crazy high prices for these? Their cheapest bikes start in the $300 range.

Most Cannondales are still made in USA(some of the more pedestrian[get it?] models are from Taiwan) but the company was recently bought by a Canadian group. Same group owns Schwinn and Mongoose, both having gone mass-market after some years as 'specialty' lines. Who knows what will happen to C-dale in the future. As mentioned in an earlier post, you can't really buy American made component groups to build out your American made frame so no bike readily available is 'Made in USA'.

 

[ripsnortMN]

I have a Trek 4500 mountain bike and its says "assembled in Milwakee" which doesnt mean squat to me. Mainly because I know its made overseas. Its just put together in Wisconsin.

 

[hguerrero]

another thing to consider in this exchange of ideas/opinions...
we live in a society that consumes disposable products almost religiously..
when i was growing up (still am in some peoples minds)....

my mom and dad would keep a TV forever...meaning until they couldn't put up with the bad picture or audio anymore
these days we buy a new TV every 4 or 5 years...and we have one in several rooms in the house including the garage...

we would buy toys and repair them when they broke...
now my children break their toys and we buy new ones...different ones.

we would keep the lawn mower around until the wheels fell off...
now it's almost cheaper to buy a new than it is to repair it...

i still have tools my father gave me as a kid...
but now i also buy tools sometimes that are cheap enough if they break i can toss them and replace them without blinking...

unfortunately there are very few mass produced things i want to keep around forever...very few.

a lot of this...most of this... due to companies over seas

 

[garfunkle24]

A lot of Treks bikes are still made in Waterloo Wisconsin , it tends to be the higher end bikes though . I ride a Specialized that was made in Taiwan , and I am ok with that as they are a democracy . I wont ride a Chinese bike and I avoid Chinese products even if it means I have to buy older stuff and refurbish it . My next frame will be a Turner and they are 100% us made frames but to my knowledge there is no 100% US gruppo so you cant make a 100% US bike .

Not buying Chinese is becoming more difficult but as much as possible I will buy USA 1st follwed by Japan Taiwan and Europe . I vote with my dollars and would rather have one good USA item than ten China ones for the same price .

Shimano is Japanese though right? Had a 2 Turners myself, nice bikes

 

[milkovich]

if all other things are equal, I will buy American.

Same for me.

I buy the best product I can afford. Sometimes it's German or Japanese or even Taiwanese.

90% of the time it's American, 1% of the time it's mainland China (paint brushes) but I'm only loyal to value and the ammount of sweat I have invested in each one of my dollars.

Even American manufacturers' aren't exempt from making garbage these days because everything is built to a price point, not to a spec.

I don't owe anyone anything other than an objective evaluation of the individual product they're offering me because that's all they're going to give me. THAT'S HOW CAPITALISM WORKS. No crying, no bail-outs, no tariffs.

All that said, there's no other country on earth I'd consider living in and FWIW I've never owned a foreign car (I like fast cars unfortunately and every one knows they only come from Italy or America... and I'm still a few years away from buying Italian.

 

[kwright]

Same for me.

90% of the time it's American, 1% of the time it's mainland China (paint brushes)...

Paint brushes... consider buying PURDY, American-made, top quality and they lay down a nice finish. I've had several Purdy brushes for years, and if taken care of, they'll last a good long time, like any quality tool.

 

[hoarder1212]

Jersey Jim what kind of metal shops are you talking about? Machine shops? I bet there are hundreds of them scrounging for work around the Detroit area. If it is sheet metal work I would almost expect the same. Maybe you should consider bringing some of you overseas work back to the country in these tough economic times. I don't know what kind of products you have but I bet you might even gain some customers from it. just my $.02

 

[Stephenw]

I see you're based in Salt Lake City. I was wondering how many wives you have?















Just kidding.

Great post.