Made in USA only

[huggytree]

a plumbing friend of mine is changing his company to 100% USA made products....I assume he will use it in his advertising

I buy my midlevel valves for $8 (still made in China)....USA made valves are $24....his prices will sky rocket.

40-50% of my products are USA right now....many China parts are 1/2 price of USA made parts....Id never win a new house w/ 100% USA parts right now.

He is a service plumber, so his jobs are small and the extra cost wouldnt be thousands like my projects are.

is this a smart marketing move in a down ecomony?

i told him to wait 5 years until things improve.

[Paul Elliott]

is this a smart marketing move in a down ecomony?

i told him to wait 5 years until things improve.

HT, you have hit on a very timely topic. Most people who would love to go 100% American made are not willing to spend the extra money for that during difficult economic times.

It is similar to the "green" issue. People are very interested in saving the environment until it actually costs them money they feel they can ill-afford.

A good strategy here is to let him test the water .. and the market ... while you watch from a distance.

Paul

[huggytree]

He's in a different State..so I can copy him and be original

The 'green' thing means pay double ..i have 1 green builder...his houses DO save alot of energy...they look horrible/plain and cost close to 50% more...i wouldnt want one....

[vangogh]

You might not want a "green" house, but some people will. That's the point in the marketing. Yes by going exclusively "green" or "Made in the USA" you eliminate some people from buying from you, but you become that much more attractive to those people for whom "green" or "made in the USA" is important.

Your friend is betting that he'll make as much money or more by targeting people he believes will pay more for something they believe in. Thinking of our conversation of value in another thread your friend is targeting people who see enough value in buying things made in the USA that they'd be willing to pay more money.

[greenoak]

ditto with paul.... its a big issue in the retail world too...they talk the usa talk but when it gets right down to it, people, the middle class anyway , are so strapped for cash they can only afford chinese.....
i think the american companies could have done so much better, but shipping jobs overseas was the easy way.
...our business makes furniture right here in indiana.and sells to mid income folks...... i think a lot more made in usa would be possible if the usa companies tried harder.......

[eborg9]

Made in the U.S.A was all the big talk in the 80''s while companies were moving manufacturing to different counties over seas, and alas, because of that mass manufacturing exodus, we just don't make that many things in the U.S. anymore.

Most of the manufacturing in America "got" when the gettin was good, and they ain't coming back.

I think Americans talk a big game at the bar and at social functions, and some of it may be well intended, but when it comes right down to it, if you want to go on an "All U.S.A Products Only" binge, you would be living without ...

...half of your Automobile, No Cell Phone, No T.V., No CD, DVD, or Blue Ray Player, No Video Games, So Stereos in your Home or Car, No P.D.A, No Ipods, No Computer, Fax, No Sunglasses, Only A little bit of Jewelry, No Alarm systems, Electric Razor, Appliances (STove Refridge, Coffee Maker)....pretty much nothing electrical or with any moving parts.
Not to mention half of the food in a regular grocery store. While much of it may be manufactured here, a lot of the ingredients are imports, (Bananas,Fish and Vegetables form S. America just to name a few) ,not to mention the packaging.

You'd be back in the stone age. You would have to set up in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere because everything we use, do, and eat is made, or has components that were made outside of the U.S., or is transported using fuel from foreign countries.

We've pretty much screwed ourselves to the point that technology, entertainment and military are our biggest exports.

(Man, that was a big downer...I got depressed just typing it)

[Steve B]

Best of luck to him. I imagine it will be difficult for him to survive if it affects his prices. I can't imagine too many people are too hung up on where their plumbing parts come from. I know a few of people who will only buy cars with names on them that give them the perception they have bought an American made product, but I doubt even those people will care that much about plumbing parts.

Unfortunately, "Green" and "American Made" (along with socially responsible investments) have a tough time if it's not cost neutral.

[huggytree]

it is a way to only get higher end customers...if your whole advertising campaign is about forein junk and how you are USA made only...Im curious how it will do.

You may get alot of Engineer types who want to plan the project out for you..these customers drive me nuts...its definately a certain type of customer who would be interested...

[Spider]

...we just don't make that many things in the U.S. anymore...
...We've pretty much screwed ourselves to the point that technology, entertainment and military are our biggest exports.
(Man, that was a big downer...I got depressed just typing it)

According to the CIA World FactBook, (an excellent source of real facts - as opposed to the invented "facts" that "everyone knows" - about all countries, including the USA) --

1. The US still has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $46,900. (The second largest, China, is half as big, and the US economy is almost as big as China, Japan and India combined. The EU, European Union, is 5% larger.)

2. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers, and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment.

3. 25% of the US working population is employed in manufacturing, extraction, transportation, crafts, farming and forestry.

4. The US is a close third highest oil producer, after only Saudi Arabia and Russia. Fourth largest is Iran, with half the oil production of the USA. Kuwait, for example, is way down the list with one third the oil production of the US.

5. The US is also the 17th largest oil exporter!

6. The US is the third largest exporter overall. More than half (55%) of US exports are capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) and consumer goods (automobiles, medicines.) IOW, manufacturing is not dead.

7. The US is also the largest importer - being #3 exporter and #1 importer makes the US the powerhouse of international trade.

8. The US imports as much from Canada as it does from China, and exports 4 times as much to Canada as it does to China. Also, the Mexico trade (US imports and exports) equals US trade with China.


I hope that makes you feel a bit better!

[eborg9]

I hope that makes you feel a bit better!

A little. It seems I remember some of those numbers being a little better in our favor, especially manufacturing, but it is a changing world and a world economy.