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LockedCraftsman; made in china?

posted on September 27, 2009 at 11:20AM Inappropriate?

Does anyone share in my confliction with the fact that Craftsman products while known for their quality and lifetime warranty are also made outside the U.S.A.?  Perhaps I am only seeing this on items that are not hand or power tools but my point remains the same.  In this day and age I want to purchase a quality product from a company that stands by it with a lifetime guarantee at the same time is made by my fellow American.  If I choose to pay higher prices for it (Craftsman especially) I would prefer it is an American made product.

replies: 12 latest post: September 29, 2009 at 02:12AM by AdamO
Displaying all 12 posts
posted on September 27, 2009 at 12:11PM
 

Lots of Political posts will follow, but that seems to be the way it is in our modern times. As long as Sears backs up the lifetime warranty on the hand tools. All of us Americans would rather have everything made in the US, but companies need to make profits, and we American workers apparantly earn too much to produce many products that can sell at prices we want to pay. It is a catch 22 situation. Even US built cars have many parts manufactured all over the world. My wife bought a bag of cedar chips that get used in the clothes closet: Grown in the US, manufacured in China. Now that seems TOTALLY ridiculous.

 

posted on September 27, 2009 at 12:42PM
 

The only thing ruining my "Customer satisfaction" with my latest major purchase (12" bandsaw) is the "Made in China" rather prominently shown on the bandsaw's nameplate.

If I ever want to resell it to upgrade to a larger model, the country of origin will make it closer in resale value to a "Harbor Fright" import ...:(

I realized thjis before purchasing ... but ... it's still not something I'll ever be comfortable with.

 

posted on September 27, 2009 at 12:45PM
 

Ahem ... The laws have been changed or disregarded to allow sale of goods not meeting First World safety, labor or environmental laws. That's the major savings ...

Not so much First World wage earners "priced themselves out" of the market.

posted on September 27, 2009 at 01:42PM
 

Litigation is rampant.

Try sueing China!

posted on September 27, 2009 at 02:39PM
 

Most of the Craftsman hand tools are still made "here".

posted on September 27, 2009 at 02:59PM
 

Around 99% of Craftsman hand tools are made in the US. Power tools are almost universally made in China or Mexico regardless of brand. If it runs on electricity and it isn't an appliance, it's made in China/Taiwan/Korea/Mexico.

If you like robust capitalism, then you like this trend, because it reflects the need of manufacturing companies to find the lowest cost/highest margin methods of producing goods for the American consumer while keeping prices low at the retail level, which results in higher share prices for shareholders.

That's why, for instance, Craftsman ratcheting wrenches cost more than the GearWrench brand, despite being made by the same manufacturer (Craftsman made in USA, GearWrench made in China). The American consumer has resoundingly demonstrated that price is a far greater motivator than country of origin. If country of origin was such a sacred institution, Wal-Mart would have gone out of business by now.

However, the age of electronic products being made in America is over. No sense in wasting tears over it.

posted on September 27, 2009 at 03:16PM
 

Craftsman's POWER TOOLS MADE IN CHINA. However, a vast majority of their products are MADE OR ASSEMBLED IN THE USA.  Power tools are expensive to produce, and there are no factories in the US that make them anymore. With a few exceptions Craftsman is MADE IN USA!

 

posted on September 27, 2009 at 03:45PM
 

U... S... A!

We still make our own flags...

Right?

posted on September 27, 2009 at 03:54PM
 
In response to AdamO's post from September 27 2009 03:45PM

I've seen flags made in China before, but I'd never buy such a product. There is something inherently wrong about buying the flag of your country and paying another country for that privilege.

posted on September 27, 2009 at 05:10PM
 

That would be just WRONG...

Although, it is amazing how many patriotical retail items are NOT made "here".

posted on September 28, 2009 at 02:25PM
 

Truth is it comes down to a bottom line. Most people have an idea of what they would want to spend on a certain item and a tool can be made in another country while being able to pay that worker 1/5 what someone would be paid here to do the same thing. Making it here would give everyone that good old feeling of buying something made in the states but the cost would be more. Most people want to see Made In USA but don't want to pay for the increased cost having it made here would cause.

posted on September 29, 2009 at 02:12AM
 

And, there are some tools that know one remembers HOW to make, here and/or cares to make here - no more.

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