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Buying American...

I buy based on price, quality, and features as those are usually what is most important to me. To me buying something on the simple fact of where it is made, is a poor buying decision. As you may not be getting the most for your money, or exactly what you want.
 
This topic has been summed up well. You buy on features, price and reputation as well. Germans make well-engineered things and ask a high price for that prestige, China and India can produce mass goods for wholesale price that the consumer will appreciate as the savings trickle to them... the list is long.

A discerning buyer will seek out the specialties of each country, and relish in having the world's best of a certain product. Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, Stilton Cheese, Penfolds Grange (;)), Cognac, Champagne, Armagnac, Wagyu Beef etc etc.

In this day and age, you can have the world's best without any hassle. Why limit yourself to one country?
 
All things being of equal quality, or close to it, I'll choose products made or grown as locally as possible.
 
tigger said:
All things being of equal quality, or close to it, I'll choose products made or grown as locally as possible.
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Hippy!

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I look for quality American products...they are just not around!
 
I love women born in the USofA, but of different foreign origins ;)
 
The first thing I do when shopping for goods is look for the made in U.S.A. label. If this is not present then I think hard to determine if This is something I really need or something I just want. I've done without a lot of stuff to support my fellow countrymen. By the way I'm a Union Operating Engineer. Prior to this I was a Union Professional Firefighter/Paramedic, until I suffered a carreer ending injury.
 
I try to buy American as much as possible, when i got out of the service i worked at U.S. Steel, the beams being made at the South Side plant in Chicago and the beams that were made in Mexico both had 'Made in the U.S.' and were identical. So i'm guessing that practice is being used used all over the country by other manufacturers. Just my two cents. :(
 
TampaSupremo said:
I'll be the first to go on record stating that yes, I drive a foreign pickup (Nissan-however, it was built in Mississippi). If I were to buy a mah-jong set or Chinese dominoes (the long black ones with red and white dots) I would buy Chinese-made ones. If I want a comal (a flat pan used to cook tortillas and roast peppers) I would buy a Mexican one. I own a CZ-83 pistol that I would not trade in for 10 Hi-Point .45's. I won't sacrifice quality just to have a US-made product. But think about how many everyday items we purchase without even looking at where they are from-pens, toys, plastic lawn furniture, glassware, socks, etc. Things that you buy knowing that it's just a throwaway or at best, something that you will have to replace within a year. I don't have figures in front of me, but I imagine that they add up to a substantial amount. What I have found in having this discussion at work is that people buy what is cheapest without looking to see where it was made or comparing quality (that being said, I admit that I have a middle-class salary job (depending on what your definition of "middle-class" is) so it may be more of a factor in my salary band).

I know the economy is in a downturn, but we are still, by far one of (if not the) richest countries in the world. But if something truly catastophic occurred where we were politically, economically, or physically isolated, would we be able to re-tool and get our manufacturing up to levels where we did not have to rely on other countries for necessities?

Plus, there's something kind of sad about something as quintessentially American as Levi's jeans being made somewhere other than the U.S.

Disclaimer: I do believe in a free-market, profit-driven system. Outsourcing service and manufacturing is likely a direct cause of this. Maybe this whole thread is just a lament for an impossible desire. Maybe I'm nostalgic for a time in which I did not live or which probably never existed.

TampaSupremo
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You might as well carry bricks in your pocket if you had a Hi-Point. More economical and more accurate. Also easier to strip and clean.

As stated by most others I buy based on quality vs. price. I find local produce to be a better value and quality. I grow my own tomatoes, herbs and a small selection of peppers. I think a lot of people would be suprised at how cheaply produce can be bought if you are willing to pick it yourself. I know that is not an option for some, but in a world of 5.25$ gasoline, saving twenty bucks a week buying fresh local produce goes a long way.

Brandon
 
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