Comments on: Oak has lost its heart

By: J Guengerich

J Guengerich — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 19:09:00 +0000

That makes me more proud than ever to be riding a snapper!
Thanks for the info.
Paul, I remember Wally World’s use of the Made in the USA labels in the early days and you’re right, it didn’t seem like long long before they sold us all out.

By: Patrick Anderson

Patrick Anderson — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 01:07:00 +0000

I remember reading a story about the Snapper Mower Company. WM approached them to sell their riding mowers in their stores and then said they had to make them to a WM price. The people at Snapper told them to get stuffed

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:22:00 +0000

When I first migrated to the USA, for about five years, Walmart flew the made-in-America flag on its product and then as if overnight the US products disappeared. The same thing happened in the UK.

By: Patrick Anderson

Patrick Anderson — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:58:00 +0000

This same scenario applies to almost all the goods one may purchase. Stores like Wal Mart force companies to sell at a price point. The manufacturer can’t supply it for that price using local labour/materials so off it goes to China et al and the downward spiral continues.

I would bet that less than 3% of the goods sold in WM were made in the USA or EU. Unfortunately, society has become used to cheap, disposable goods and it will take a lot to convince them of their error.

By: Luke Townsley

Luke Townsley — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:43:00 +0000

Similar things are happening with out food supply and in other areas of commerce. At this point, it seems the best fix is to grow it/make it yourself or buy it from someone local you trust.

By: Keith

Keith — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:33:00 +0000

I don’t know that I would call this a product of greed from the retailer but rather a desire for the illusion of wealth and acceptance of a general low standard from the population. In the past a few pieces of quality furniture would have been prized and passed down through the generations, now “we” all want our latest fashion, color coordinated, psuedo oak, blah blah furniture set.

By: reggie

reggie — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 23:20:00 +0000

furniture like this is killing real woodworking.it makes a lot more sense to make your own furniture using proper joinery and good quality timber it will look a lot better and last a lot longer.

By: Mark Nelson

Mark Nelson — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:38:00 +0000

It troubles me, just like it troubles you. I try to tell people that this kind of furniture isn’t even qualified to be burnt, but price is the only point that people listen to — even when that same price needs to be paid again and again every two years, their memory fails them and they shell it out. Even the most thoughtful person seems to just shrug it away as though there was no other choice.