Open Question: Does it matter to you if a manufacturer moves "US" product overseas?

If I buy something, I want to know where it is made.

I may purchase it, no matter where it comes from, but I don't like lying SOBs or deceitful practices.

Tell me UP FRONT where it is from.

jrsamples3 said:

I have seen that this major company is now marketing imports under it's "American Made" trademarked name.

It bothers me...

Does it bother any of you?

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Yes it bothers me. Apparently they are trying to hide it...or at least let buyers believe the product is US made.

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HawaiianEye said:

I may purchase it, no matter where it comes from, but I don't like lying

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^^ this.

if something says "American made" it better be American made


if something doesnt say where its made, I assume its made somewhere else.

Businesses in America have been allowed to do this for years. Not only that they have been encouraged to do so by the folks that we elected. They lied to us, the businesses lied to us and it has become the American way. Yes it sucks, Yes I don't like it and I attempt to purchase things that are made or is it assembled in America whenever I can. America today is nothing at all like it was when I was a young man. It's very sad.

What I have noticed is that sometimes the imported product, is better made, better wood, better machining, better fit and finish. That is what bothers me.

The price never reflects the cheap labor cost in other countries, especially China. They're money hungry marketing experts and think nothing of charging a custom cue price for banged out product. Most buyers don't know the difference.
As you grow older, you'll be able to examine anything and easily tell that it's an import.
Remember the old saying "Let the buyer beware."
I personally have a great deal of respect for any cues or pool products made in Japan. They not only meet high standards, but exceed US made, in quality, value and performance.

Jr,

Having spent 38 years in the consumer electronics business beginning in the 60's, I remember when Japanees manufacturers used to have "made in usa" on the boxes. Notice usa not USA? It was a city in Japan. We bought the goods anyway. Who is responsible for the current mess? YOU, ME and everyone who valued price more than where a product was manufactured. For many, many years our government has been complicit in giving the imports an advantage. It was always the fault of the Republicans or Democrats. No, it was you and me!

Perhaps you remember Lucky Gold Star products? Some were laughablely cheap imitations of major American brands. Today that company is LG. They are everywhere and most of their products are excellent. Honda and Toyota are more American made than Ford or Chevy.

Sam Walton was one of the smartest businessman ever! He took an entire business and went from only American made products to basically nothing but Chinese. People flock to Walmarts for the cheap prices not realizing it is destroying their jobs and their country. I've said it many times in the past here but it deserves one more reminder. As HL Mencken once said, "no one ever lost a buck UNDERESTIMATING the intelligence of the American public". Although predating our current President by one hundred years, he also said "for every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and WRONG"!

Lyn

Jr, Is your phine number BR 549?

I'm with most people on this thread....if it says it's made in the USA then I expect it to be truly MADE in the USA, from manufacturing to assembly. What you find sometimes is a product with the words "Assembled in the USA", which means the parts were manufactured overseas where labor is a fraction of the cost. Or the product was made overseas and then assembled in the USA. It's a pure money maker for the company because none of this reflects the price of the product!!

Not pool-related, but a good example is GM. The company sells cars in something like 120 countries world wide. So instead of exporting American-made cars to every overseas market, they expanded manufacturing overseas. I believe GM is the largest foreign manufacturer in China today. If US demand for GM vehicles exceeds US manufacturing output, does GM import their China-made vehicles to offset the shortfall? Probably. But do the imported GM vehicles, which costs much less to make in China, have a lower price tag at your local US dealership? Of course not. And the consumer has no clue where the car is made unless they ask.

If the manufacturer touts a product as "Made in the USA" and said product doesn't meet the strict legal definition of such, I suspect they're exposing themselves to all kinds of potential problems.

Are you 100% positive this is going on as blatantly as you state it?

Would you share the manufacturer's name with us? If it's really going on there should be no problem in so doing, and you might be doing some of us a big favor.

From the OP I get the impression that the manufacturer is not actively lying, just not coming clean about the source. They may have removed the 'made in America' label but continue to use the brand name that is associated with the old production.
As far as producing overseas, watch a couple of episodes of Shark Tank. The billionaires on that show are always asking if the products are made overseas, and if the answer is no, they want to know why not? I've seen them totally pass on great business ideas because the owners won't move production.
As far as made in America goes, they need to figure out a happy medium. I was listening to a piece about an American company that made clothing from American cotton in the US, so I hit up their website. A t-shirt was $35. You had better have a pretty compelling argument if you want common people to buy $35 t-shirts.

Sent from my STV100-1 using Tapatalk

Until and unless the OP comes forward and clarifies specifically what manufacturer he's talking about and what evidence he has, I'm not biting on this.

So far, crickets...

I won't drink a Budweiser. Good beer and I don't even care that they sold out overseas. It bothers me that they added "America" to the label as a cheap marketing tactic to confuse or distort the notion that it's a foreign beer. That in itself is insulting to my intelligence, and therefore I will not drink. I'll gladly have a Heineken or Corona instead. They are what they are, openly. Business is business and I get that. If Budweiser hadn't relabeled as, "America", after selling out, then I'd still drink it. Just leave it as Budweiser and all would be fine. Insult my intelligence by assuming I'm an ignorant hillbilly who won't know the difference, and we got troubles.

Guys,

Believe I made an error in my earlier post on this thread. Sam Walton's original plan had primarily American made products in his stores. After his passing, his successors began to change the philosophy to cheapest you can buy. Walmart knows their clientele very well. In doing this, Walmart helped to destroy American manufacturing of small goods. In every town and city Walmart entered, the mom and pop retail stores were the first to fail. All in the name of "low prices". Isn't unfettered capitalism great! Sorry for the error.

Lyn

I play golf. My set of clubs are PING because they are made in Arizona, USA.
I just bought grips to replace mine. The grips all have the PING logo but they
are made in Malaysia. Putter grip is Golf Pride PING logo also not made USA.

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qbilder said:

I won't drink a Budweiser. Good beer and I don't even care that they sold out overseas. It bothers me that they added "America" to the label as a cheap marketing tactic to confuse or distort the notion that it's a foreign beer. That in itself is insulting to my intelligence, and therefore I will not drink. I'll gladly have a Heineken or Corona instead. They are what they are, openly. Business is business and I get that. If Budweiser hadn't relabeled as, "America", after selling out, then I'd still drink it. Just leave it as Budweiser and all would be fine. Insult my intelligence by assuming I'm an ignorant hillbilly who won't know the difference, and we got troubles.

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Bud is made in America still. I don't much care who owns them, as anyone else could have stepped up to the plate and purchased them. Bottom line, is it is still American's brewing, canning and delivering the goods. Plus, the guys/gals that repair the machinery, who work in the offices, etc. etc. All those salaries then allow them to go buy cars, houses, groceries, clothing, entertainment, etc, that add to the economy as well. I don't even like Budweiser but thought you should know.

jrsamples3 said:

This is a question that means quite a lot to me. This is not a flame... please don't take it that way. Not a political stance whatsoever... I just really want to know your opinion because I am really struggling with this as an American worker...

My background... very quickly:

I have worked more than 26 years of my adult life in manufacturing in the United States. I have supported my US suppliers, my US distributors and encouraged my customers to support American Employees. I wish I were kidding when I said I purchased millions of dollars worth of parts and equipment... but I'm not. And all were American made and kept Americans at work.

Now... I get 100% confirmation (I have email proof provided from the source that tells me the product is now imported) today that a notable cue manufacturer (who already markets import lines) that touts itself as "Made in the USA" has replaced previously US made products with imports and just simply omits it from the description and markets under their US made name.

First... I understand that most production cue manufacturers have import lines... it seems to be a necessary evil (and some do it better than others) but this is the first confirmation that I have seen that this major company is now marketing imports under it's "American Made" trademarked name.

It bothers me...

Does it bother any of you?

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It bothers me when a company puts USA in their logo as a marketing ploy then imports the product. It's misleading. Some people want to buy American. That's noble enough. Let's not take advantage of them and treat them like suckers.

The fashion industry is notorious for that. A purse that says "Giovanni Milan" might actually made in China from Indian leather and owned by a Japanese company.

I believe the company we are referring to here was salvaged from closing, resurrected and looking for a way of being competitive. Fair enough. Let them remove USA from the logo.

Sweatin' said:

Until and unless the OP comes forward and clarifies specifically what manufacturer he's talking about and what evidence he has, I'm not biting on this.

So far, crickets...

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I'll be the first to venture a guess.

OB?

HawaiianEye said:

I'll be the first to venture a guess.

OB?

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Interesting guess and quite possible.

Something about the OP's phrasing made me think about McD, but looking at their language leaves absolutely no doubt that the McDermott branded line is 100% made in the USA.

I still think that by not disclosing the manufacturer and his evidence, the OP damages those manufacturers who are innocent in this by encouraging this kind of guessing.

Yea, it would be nice to know what manufacturer the OP is talking about. Also, is he worried about where the product was built or how it was labeled.

I remember reading about the reverse engineering of products the Japanese did after the war. Apparently they copied everything exactly as it was - including the "Made in USA" labels.

It wasn't too long ago Wal-Mart advertised only made in USA products. Perhaps they still do; but everyone knows different.

Personally I research before I buy. I'm more concerned that the product I buy will be worth the $.