Blame the greedy retailers for everything you buy being made in China

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Byooty

And very good dirt it is too, so why do we give it away?
We also used to make machinery, tools, boots, cars too......

We should be saying if you dont like the price of our dirt then shop elsewhere, when elsewhere has run out of dirt you are always welcome back..........but the price has changed..........dramatically.........

youve obviously never worked where we make dirt

we absolutely smashed the Chinesey with price rises for boats with dirt

[Dodge]

we dont get paid enough to live these days, because the cost of living and driving around is over the top so we try to save when we buy our day to day items, cant blame china for cheap stuff, blame australia for letting the gov sell everything the tax payers paid for then make us buy it back from large companies, just like this NBN our taxes are paying for the layout so the companies like telstra and optus can sell us the useage. wake up australia stop the gov money wasting sprees ... btw i alway have bought dick smith products but even hes been shrunk to a pin prik in wollies

[ab_futura]

Our dirt makers are paid a fair bit more than t shirt makers. Seriously though, have a look around your house and quadruple the price of everything and ask yourself if your quality of life would still be the same.

Also ask yourself what the absolute minimum wage is that you are willing to work for. You can live on the doll and live a better quality of life than the Chinese. It's the Asians that are getting a bad deal. It's probably a good thing to be friends and share with a country that has the ability to wipe us out whenever they choose.

It's you and me who are greedy and I'm ok with that.

[xxx000]

Originally Posted by Dodge

we dont get paid enough to live these days, because the cost of living and driving around is over the top so we try to save when we buy our day to day items, cant blame china for cheap stuff, blame australia for letting the gov sell everything the tax payers paid for then make us buy it back from large companies, just like this NBN our taxes are paying for the layout so the companies like telstra and optus can sell us the useage. wake up australia stop the gov money wasting sprees ... btw i alway have bought dick smith products but even hes been shrunk to a pin prik in wollies

Things are in reality very cheap and much more affordable compared to 20-30 yrs ago.
we've become convinced by the Libs that things are bad when really we're doing it quite e4

[Spudz27]

To the TC. Blame greedy retailers hey....... Have you ever worked in retail? It is us as consumers who are to blame. "Oh I am not paying that price", "you can do it cheaper" and my all time favorite "I can get it cheaper online" and it is this very line that causes retaikers to.buy cheaper stuff to make a buck. Retailers now have to deal with an ever increasing population who import their own goods. I won't divulge who I work for, but we have to sell all our tablets at or below cost. 75% of our laptops are sold at or below cost every week and those that are not, the consumer won't pay for. No matter how much you explain you get what you pay for. I had a guy interested in a 1500 sony ultrabook (my fav laptop in store), this laptop has 7% in it. He takes up 20mins of my time decides he likes the sony then says he will come back boxing day when surely it will be a few hundred cheaper (makes it below cost now). This is why retailers have to buy stuff cheaper and cheaper. In my industry it is caused by us consumers.

[aussiblue]

It' very simple demand driven economics. The consumer demands the cheapest price so that what they supply. It the same reason the Australian car industry manufacturing industry is dead - Oz consumers are not patriotic.

[Lotte]

At the end of the day, when you have every man and his dog wanting something worth $$ for nothing, this is what happens.
If WE didn't buy cheap crap, there would be no demand.

End of.

[Dodge]

why are all farms in australia being sold to chinese companies. think about it, next time japan has another explosion and all there food supply is contaminated, where do u think the food that will feed there 200 million come from. what will we get , we will be eating dust

[Lotte]

Originally Posted by Dodge

why are all farms in australia being sold to chinese companies. think about it, next time japan has another explosion and all there food supply is contaminated, where do u think the food that will feed there 200 million come from. what will we get , we will be eating dust

What we eat now. Imported, subpar crap.

[MITCHAY]

I think there are a lot of tight ***** in Australia to be honest.

No doubt there are a number of factors but when it comes down to it we Aussies just don't want to pay more than we think it should be regardless of what it actually costs or is fair.

[last fairlane]

I can remember when just about everything was made in Australia
just in the 6 or so Ford factories we had the
Prefect = Fiesta
Consul = Mondeo
Zephyr = Falcon till 1960 anyway
not counting Customlines Galaxies and Fairlanes trucks and tractors
all built here in OZ in a Ford factory
we went from about 8 different vehicles down to two
I can also remember a 17inch Astor black and white TV
also made in OZ was 700 pounds = $1400 when wages for a mechanic
was about 20 pounds =$40 a week
we are so much better off in our personal life
just the country has gone to the pack
Thanks John

[jpblue1000]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

I think there are a lot of tight ***** in Australia to be honest.

Quantity over quality is today's mantra. 3 Chinese tv's spread throught our mcmansions vs one Australian made one (when they were made here) in our modest affordable homes.

Originally Posted by Lotte

What we eat now. Imported, sub-par crap.

I dont. I have our food delivered from local organic growers within a small radius of our home. I pay a bit more, not as much as most think I would and have chemical free great tasting natural food.

[Lotte]

Originally Posted by jpblue1000

I dont. I have our food delivered from local organic growers within a small radius of our home. I pay a bit more, not as much as most think I would and have chemical free great tasting natural food.

Likewise. The average Joe however....

[BadMax]

Here we go again...

The retailers make a profit, don't like it then don't but anything.

I can't afford anything so need a bigger wage. Retailers put prices up to cover bigger wages. You're paying for you bigger wage.

Your boss' also try to make a profit. If they don't you don't have a job.

You want your pay packet to stretch as far as possible, so demand lower prices. lower prices come from selling low quality products at the price you want to pay so a profit can still be made and you get to keep you job.

Empty vessels make the most noise. I guarantee you right now that those same empty vessels are not business owners or self employed as their views would be significantly different.

Now go start your own business doing what you know and not make a profit. Come back and report to us your findings.

[Byooty]

Originally Posted by BadMax

Come back and report to us your findings.

Been there done that, worked self employed for builders for 20 years, the prices got screwed down so low it really wasnt worth the effort, then they brought in lots of workers on the 457 visa and that really killed the trade.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by Lotte

What we eat now. Imported, subpar crap.

Like the fruit and vegetables we import from China which is irrigated with raw sewage..... We can quite literally say that we are eating Chinese crap.

[BadMax]

Originally Posted by Byooty

Been there done that, worked self employed for builders for 20 years, the prices got screwed down so low it really wasnt worth the effort, then they brought in lots of workers on the 457 visa and that really killed the trade.

So why did prices get driven lower and lower? And why did they end up employing those on 457's?

[Maka]

What about the share holders of these greedy retailer's companies, demanding ever increasing returns year in year out even when theres a tough downturn in business?

cheers, Maka

[Byooty]

Originally Posted by BadMax

So why did prices get driven lower and lower? And why did they end up employing those on 457's?

You would have to ask the builders that as they set the prices, you either like it or lump it....
In the end I was working harder and making less than I did 20 years ago, you never see the price of new houses coming down though.

All the plasters in the trade now are Chinese, they all work for the boss man who probably paid their fare to get here.

There are no European plasters to be seen anymore.

In the end I took a factory job as it was a better option.

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I don't know about you guys but when I go clothes shopping I can't seem to find any Australian made clothes to actually buy

Start an Australian-made clothing business then! See who's to blame when nobody buys your expensive clothes over your cheap Chinese import competitors.

[GASWAGON]

Originally Posted by Dodge

we dont get paid enough to live these days, because the cost of living and driving around is over the top so we try to save when we buy our day to day items, cant blame china for cheap stuff, blame australia for letting the gov sell everything the tax payers paid for then make us buy it back from large companies, just like this NBN our taxes are paying for the layout so the companies like telstra and optus can sell us the useage. wake up australia stop the gov money wasting sprees ... btw i alway have bought dick smith products but even hes been shrunk to a pin prik in wollies

Yep, And why do these Oz governments come up with ideas like the NBN, Carbon tax etc etc when the U.K, Europe, and the U.S don't even have them yet....We only have 23 million people FFS!

[BadMax]

Originally Posted by Byooty

You would have to ask the builders that as they set the prices, you either like it or lump it....

So you don't actually know why the change happened? Interesting considering you're quite vocal.

[Byooty]

Originally Posted by BadMax

So you don't actually know why the change happened? Interesting considering you're quite vocal.

Its obviously greed based....

[Byooty]

Prime example of greed.

Blundstones used to made in Hobart and sold locally for about $80, they moved the manufacturing off shore to from memory Malaysia, after the move the same Blunnies sold locally for.........wait for it.........$80.


Huge profit gouge or what?

I did try 3 pairs of the imported boots but gave up as they were too uncomfortable compared to the previously locally made ones, just for the record I was a Blunnies man through and through but would never buy them again.

The CEO of Blunnies is no other than a member of the Gunn family, the same family who have decimated the Tasmanian forests in the name of profit.

I now buy Redbacks which are 100% Australian made, read their success story here.

[BadMax]

Originally Posted by Byooty

Its obviously greed based....

Please, go into more detail. Like on whose behalf?

[Byooty]

Originally Posted by BadMax

Please, go into more detail. Like on whose behalf?

Really?

OK......

The builders want more profit, they cant jack up the house prices too much in one hit or the punters would complain and not buy.

Lets screw the subbies, they either except the lower prices or go broke, all the big builders do it.

Last post on this, if you still dont get it talk to any subbie in person.

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by Byooty

Prime example of greed.

Blundstones used to made in Hobart and sold locally for about $80, they moved the manufacturing off shore to from memory Malaysia, after the move the same Blunnies sold locally for.........wait for it.........$80.


Huge profit gouge or what?

I did try 3 pairs of the imported boots but gave up as they were too uncomfortable compared to the previously locally made ones, just for the record I was a Blunnies man through and through but would never buy them again.

The CEO of Blunnies is no other than a member of the Gunn family, the same family who have decimated the Tasmanian forests in the name of profit.

I now buy Redbacks which are 100% Australian made, read their success story here.

I'm with you, you make the effort to buy Australian made.
It isn't easy and it is not possible to do it all the time but putting your money where your mouth is wins hands down every time.
Much better than the knockers who do nothing except make excuses for doing NOTHING.

[Dusty1]

Retail is hard. When the $AUD goes below $0.80 retail will pick up again.

But prices should have also gone up as well, so everything will be pricey again.

There are a few manufacturers of clothing still here. One makes work wear, I think. It's pretty simple, if you can by something and save money, many people will want to save money.

What worries me, is that if there is every any strife with some of the people in the neighbourhood, we will have little heavy manufacturing and will have to rely on importing. Wasn't that successful for the Poms in the 1940s, and doubt it would be any more successful now.

I've had two pair of Redback boots. They are fantastic boots.

[doktoravalanche]

We want cheap, we buy cheap. Often the first thing people mention isn't the quality but the price. We can't blame far away counties for the choices we make. We want decent wages and low prices, which means we get fewer jobs and more imports. The greed is us, all of us.......depressing really!

[stevz]

Originally Posted by Dusty1

It's pretty simple, if you can by something and save money, many people will want to save money.

I'm a firm believer in the phrase "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten"
I am happy to pay a little extra to get a better quality product while at the same time supporting Aussie jobs. Kills two birds with one stone.
People think they are saving money buying cheap and nasty Chinese crap, but it comes back to bite them when the product prematurely fails/breaks/wears out and they have to go out and spend more money to replace it than it would have cost to buy a better quality locally made product in the first place.