(Good column, as usual).
Did you buy another mixer?
Thanks for writing this.
It’s all about the wage rate and the amount of assembly required. Also freight but that’s more complicated. Oddly enough, even some things that require no assembly and are costly to ship (flower pots, for example) are made overseas - that’s just a lack of reality on the part of America’s mfrs and a choice not to compete, they could but there’s not enough money in it to interest them.
(despite years of closing their ears to warnings from their internal staffers)
You got got by your spellchecker...
I'll have to give Tales of Little Pavel a gander...
(Good column, as usual).
For example, a lot of the watches sold by fashion brands such as MVMT for $200 or so can be found on Ali Baba for as low as $10. That's the wholesale price that MVMT pays from a Chinese Manufacturer. Somehow the difficult and delicate process of stamping MVMT on the dial adds considerably to the retail price.
There’s not a whole lot to break on most kitchen appliances. Probably just needed a switch.
PS...
There are fantastic finds at thrift shops. There you won’t support the Chinese, even if made in China, and you won’t support a large “woke’ corporation that hates us.
My 20-year-old hand mixer still works fine.
We recently needed a new toaster, because the 20-year-old one wasn’t working well.
We bought one on Amazon (Black and Decker), and it works fine. (I don’t know where it was made).
But we read lots of reviews, and people were wondering why something as simple as a toaster - the basic technology for which has been around for a hundred years or more - should be so difficult to make well. But the one we bought had very good reviews, and we are happy with it.
We also bought a coffee maker late last year - Hamilton Beach - which is possibly the best drip coffee maker we’ve ever owned.
You have to do a lot of research these days - but the internet has made that easy, if you use a little judgment and practice enough to spot fake reviews.
Things may not be made as well as they used to be; but people are still very smart about how they spend their money, and glad to advertise their opinions and the results of their purchases.
I really enjoyed your thoughtful article. I know a bit about manufacturing and there is one factor that most do not realize. Many of China’s factories are amazingly high tech and do not rely on cheap labor. The bulk of their manufacturing industry is only thirty years of age with modern and more efficient factories. Abiding by most regulations is nearly non-existent and barriers for entry are minimal.
Now we just go to the store and buy what's available at a reasonable price. It all comes out in the wash in the end anyway.
One of the reasons is that they don't make things to last for 2 or 3 decades anymore. We had a freezer that lasted 22 years. When we went to replace it, we found out real quick that there was not such thing as a 20 year freezer anymore.
Everybody knows how to replace an ice maker in a refrigerator nowadays because they quit working every few years. Take the old one out and put in a new one. Piece of cake.
When we built a new home 10 years ago, we bought Kitchen Aid appliances for the kitchen. Every single one but the range had to be returned at least once. For lack of a 50 cent rubber foot on the microwave, they just shipped a new unit completely. I had to go through 4 replacements before a got one that wasn't dented or would set level. I told the manager at Lowe's that must be a record and he said no, one customer went through 6 replacemnet microwaves before it was right.
He explained to me that is wasn't their delivery people's or the manufacturer's fault. The fault was with the freight companies who didn't take care in handling the appliances in their boxes on their trucks. At least half of all shipments to their store had damaged appliances.
The older I get, the more I realize how unimportant many of these machinations are. If it works and does what you want, then that is the one to get. Forget all the rest because in the long-run none of it matters anyway.
“...The business travel involved in this difference is just as crippling. The occasional business trip or phone call between a US manufacturer and a US vendor is easy, convenient, and cheap. Flying engineers, production managers, and other executives to and from toll manufacturers and vendors in Asia both costs the earth to the company, and destroys the family life of the employees called on too often to do it....”
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Now, flying to “toll manufacturers” in China will require VACCINATION WITH CHICOM VACCINES to get the necessary visas. Serves them right for outsourcing.
Chinese goods will only be cheap until our manufacturing sector has been wiped out. Then we’ll have to pay the piper.
I inherited a 1934 Sunbeam Mixmaster from my mother in law. It’s a stander that converts to hand held, but by God, is it heavy. I never use it as a hand mixer.
Wouldn’t go back to a hand mixer either. If I need a rapid whisking, I have a KitchenAid immersion blender with a whisk attachment. I love it too, but I won’t give up that Sunbeam for anything.
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing the entire thing here.
L
I buy American first, countries that don’t hate us second, avoiding China if at all possible. I read reviews on Amazon, then go find the item elsewhere to purchase. I don’t mind paying a bit more to avoid giving Amazon and China my money, and I’ve learned that I don’t need it tomorrow with free shipping.
I received a hand mixer as a shower gift 52 years ago. It’s still going strong.