I don’t have a problem paying a little extra upfront when I’m secure in the knowledge that I have a tool or product that will perform as expected- when expected. Whether the tool was made in the US, Canada, China, UK, Germany, or the darkest corner of the Amazon is inconsequential.

Attempting to run down from which countries raw materials might have come from, knowing the manufacturing likely took place in a second, and the actual packaging in a third; feels like a futile exercise.

In respect to Storey Publishing, who I have absolutely no affiliation with, what they do is “content” and that’s their product. If the books are poorly bound, the paper and ink substandard and subject to early degradation- there’s a legitimate gripe that needs to be brought to their attention. I’m sure they don’t want their product line jeopardized by printing quality issues.

Aside: I might be mistaken but I seem recall that paper making and printing were of Chinese invention. Somehow I’d expect them to get it right for no other reason than national pride.

And with that said, I hope Lehman’s continues to offer superior quality products.

Now where did I leave my coffee . . .

Thanks for this input. I appreciate your carefully thought through comments.

I was not aware that Storey had done some printing in China. That is a big disappointment.

This illustrates a common problem we have run into: USA companies quietly and suddenly moving some or all of their manufacturing overseas. There have been many cases where we stated in our catalog that an item was “USA made” only to have the supplier move the manufacturing of the item overseas. Typically we only find out about it after a customer calls to complain. It makes us look like liars.

It’s frightening that things can happen that quickly.

Galen

My main disappointment stems from the spirit of Storey publishing–all those books on self-sufficiency and independent thinking. It seems counterintuitive to promote environmentalism while outsourcing your printing. The company’s mission statement is pasted on their website as follows: “To serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.” I don’t think it is environmentally harmonious to write books here, print them on the other side of the world in a place where the people are locked into slave-like working conditions and materials are consistently substandard and sometimes hazardous, and then ship them back here to teach people how to live a simple life.

Recently, I was shopping for a book on butterflies. After comparing a book from Storey and one from another publisher, I chose the other publisher because of one statement: “Printed in China”.

Let’s encourage our book publishers and makers of all our goods to go “Made in the USA” in the best way we can–avoid buying anything that says “Made in China”.

If you have the storage and funding to allow you to do that, then by all means.

I shop at Walmart but all my axes are gransfor-bruks.
I shop at Walmart but my sleeping bag is a Wiggy’s bag.

I KNOW the quality I’m buying with the G-B axes and Wiggy’s sleeping bags. Then again, a lead fishing weight is a lead fishing weight no matter where it’s made.

And as written above:
I believe “think globally, act locally” is just common sense. I try to buy what little I buy from the most local source I can find. Lehman’s offers goods I can’t find anywhere else, and your reputation is based on the quality of those goods. Therefore, I think you should continue to offer the highest quality you can find, at the lowest price you can offer. If you cannot find an item produced solely in the U.S., but have a customer demand for such an item, then you will be forced to offer the imported goods. It will remain for the consumers to weigh their need for the item against the fact that it is imported.

On the one hand, I believe in open, free trade, let the best product win. On the other hand, I think we as consumers have a responsibility to not support totalitarian regimes with our purchases. Unlike a union steel worker in the U.S., the Chinese steel worker can’t bargain for better working conditions or higher wages. The Chinese worker can go to prison for professing Christianity, which, in my personal view, is another reason not to support Chinese products, and, thereby, the Chinese government.

I believe “think globally, act locally” is just common sense. I try to buy what little I buy from the most local source I can find. Lehman’s offers goods I can’t find anywhere else, and your reputation is based on the quality of those goods. Therefore, I think you should continue to offer the highest quality you can find, at the lowest price you can offer. If you cannot find an item produced solely in the U.S., but have a customer demand for such an item, then you will be forced to offer the imported goods. It will remain for the consumers to weigh their need for the item against the fact that it is imported.

Is anyone else old enough to remember when having things that were imported from, say, France or England was a matter of snobbery? Or when something marked “Made in Japan” was automatically assumed to be cheaply made and inferior? My, how times change.

You said, “What should we do when people accuse Lehman’s of having a high price because we carry American-made products?”

I think you should shrug it off and keep on offering quality American products. Not everyone will agree that’s the best way to go (that’s what makes America what it is), but you can’t please everyone all the time, no matter how hard you try. Better to please those who come looking for quality goods with a realistic price for that quality.

I agree that imports have caused serious damage to our manufacturing base and it’s painful to see.

So, I called the manufacturer myself, who reported that the “raw forgings” are made in China to their specific quality specifications. All of the subsequent manufacturing steps (tempering, assembly, sharpening, etc) are done in the USA.

They told me that they cannot find a USA foundry to make the type of casting (or “forging”) that they need. It seems that all the ones they know about have been put out of business by Chinese competition. (They appealed to me to help them find a USA foundry that can do this. If you know of one, let me know!)

In addition, because of high import duties (apparently imposed too late to help US foundries), the Chinese castings cost about the same as they used to cost when USA-made.

What a tragic state of affairs!

For me, there were three conclusions:

1) It reinforces my earlier comment that imports have destroyed entire categories of US manufacturing.
2) The whole question of whether Lehman’s should sell imported items doesn’t have a clear answer when “USA made” can’t be clearly defined.
3) Even though part of our “USA Made” axe is imported, I stand by the fact that it is higher quality than the Chinese version.

Maybe the best solution for Lehman’s is simply to focus on quality and ignore the country of origin. What do you think?