Posted on 12/31/2001 12:11:34 PM PST by Fester Chugabrew
As a discussion recently transpired here on Free Republic, it occurred to me how many cheap goods have infiltrated the marketplaces of the USA. It also occurred to me that Free Republic would be the best place to begin a list of those products, made in the United States of America, that today have a long lasting quality about them.
I mean tangible goods. For example, when I was younger I had a few Tonka® trucks. Look at a Tonka® truck today, you you will certainly see how they don't make them like they used to. Too much plastic, and a "Made in Hong Kong" label. The same seems to have happened, by and large, with Lionel® Trains. While this is the perfect forum to debate the reasons for such cheapening of durigible goods, we should do something practical here on the side.
So let us build a list of the best stuff made in the United States of America, and let that list be shared. Then, perhaps, when the next holiday season arrives we will know what things to purchase as gifts. We will also know throughout the year what tangible goods may be of most benefit to our homes and families. We can do this "on the side" as it were, while we debate the more serious issues facing our land and people.
Please make sure the items are made in the USA. Think of those tangibles that have enduring qualities about them. Attributes would include: Heavy duty, solid design, long lasting reputation, high standards, etc. If, along the way, we discover there is little or nothing of true value made in the USA, then maybe some of us will be inspired to start something, or build something, of long lasting quality.
Some may come along to plug their own goods. That's okay, as long as it's quality stuff. In view of the fact, however, that this forum is not to be a platform for personal business advertising it may not be a good idea. Others have already begun a recent thread on FR to put forth the idea of a "Made in the USA" store. Please peruse this thread as well, but then come back here to help us list specific products that might be included in such a store.
As the list becomes tried and true we might refine it and release it as perhaps, for lack of a better title: The Made in USA List of Goods Made in the USA.
Tito's Vodka. The best vodka in the world and it's made in Texas.
http://www.titos-vodka.com/
Come to think of it, sink, I don't really want one of those Belmont caskets as a gift, either!
Nobody makes radios in the US anymore, not to speak of. AM is mostly an afterthought these days, and coupled with the tiny speakers, there's not much there. What you want is a communication receiver, or a good consumer radio from the 50's. If you can handle a solderin' iron and about $10 worth of replacement capacitors, you'll be amazed at what you can pull in:
http://www.antiqueradio.org/transoceanics.htm
My vote for a good American Made item: Zippo lighters - they offer a lifetime warranty and free shipping.
I have one. Never used it. It is a commemorative item.
Thanks for the link. Now I have to find out what resurrected this post.
wish there was a store like Wal Mart that only sold American made goods.
and then posted
You just came out with a great entreprenuerial idea!
my reply
That was Wal Marts model when started. All products when possible were American made. While Sam us still around.
And the engines that power most of these aircraft...
And the avionics...
In general, the U.S. is still the aviation/aerospace leader of the world, but nothing lasts forever, especially when you consider Chinese labor rates...
How about a store that took time to do the research regarding quality, so that if you wanted to buy a toaster, for example, you didn't have fifty makes and models to choose from, but only one that has been selected according to strict criteria and is, of course, made in the USA.
Case knives are still handmade in Pennsylvania, and still the best IMHO. I think the best knives are German, Japanese and American. I will never buy another Chinese made knife because of the sloppy finishing and poor steel. You get what you pay for.
Samuel Adams beer....truly a great beer...
“Madame Alexander dolls have been recently made in china and now the hair is cheap stuff and the eye sockets are all crooked, etc.....One doll outlet was complaining how sloppy the dolls were after they switched to have them made in China.”
Better use gloves to handle them a/o a vapor inhalant mask with all the lead paint and formaldehyde showing up in products from china.
Man, I could stand to test a few more American beers. You’re right. Samuel Adams is right up there.
PENN FISHING REELS ARE NOW MADE IN CHINA, JUST LIKE THE BULK OF THE REST. THEY USED TO BE THE FINEST FISHING REELS IN THE WORLD AND MADE IN THE USA. NOW THEY ARE CHINESE CRAP, FIT ONLY FOR WAL-MART SHELVES. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT BUY PENN REELS IF YOU EXPECT A QUALITY PRODUCT... OR IF YOU EXPECT SOMETHING MADE IN THE STATES.
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