How Important is American Made to you?

I would say important.
Quality is generally better or at least as good. And price is not always higher. I've noticed Walmart will place the U.S. made and foreign made products side by side with a marginal price difference. And I would think the profit margin for the retailer is much larger on the foreign made item.
Also some companies will have a product made elsewhere and make almost the same product in the U.S.

I have divorced two women that were made here in the good ol usa, and am now married to a mighty fine lady made in Germany.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

Here's another ideological point to make ...

We're homesteaders. We live and die by our tools and we never have much money. We cannot afford to support some big corporation who doesn't care about us or our way of life simply because they happen to locate some of their business in the United States. Are they buying your local honey? Are they buying your steers? Are they buying your produce down at the farmer's market? No? Seems like that "buy American" push sort of goes one way, doesn't it?

Homesteaders are the last, best hope for America to ever recover any sense of independence. When corporate America starts producing products that suit OUR way of life and that we don't have to replace every 12 months then we'll worry about helping to preserve corporate America.

Germans do produce a more reliable and robust model.

There is a lot of truth there but ...... Latin ones can start a fire over and over again.

It's important to me, but it is harder and harder to find nonChina made things.

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Nothing is as strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength - St. Francis de Sales

Totally agree

Yes, not to worry I found a new in the box one to match the stroller that was close out stock of the Italian made Car Seat. Peg Prego
Yep, which is why I am asking for one of your knives for Christmas rather than some "store brand".
A product that is made by someone I can actually talk to is always more appealing to me that some large faceless conglomeration, even if that company is making their wares in the US.

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Chad

Owner / Indentured Servant
Red Tractor Ranch

Follow us as we slowly try to bring a little old California Homestead back to life

http://redtractorranch.wordpress.com/

Awesome! Can't wait to hear from you and see what you've come up with.

I'm like Chad. I will go without an item instead of buying a Chinese product. Let's see, China has in recent years produced toxic/poisonous dog food, baby formula, sheet rock, toys... I especially would never buy a baby/children's item made in China. Nor any cooking vessels or utensils. Fortunately, various family members have been downsizing their kitchens, and we have been gifted with some cool retro kitchen items, all made in USA. We returned a wood burning stove to TSC after opening the packaging and learning it was made in China. Don't need toxins in our lungs. Check out canned mushrooms in grocery stores. They are all products of China, surprisingly. They are on the no-buy list.

I don't really do any research. Just read labels and decide if I really must have something.

Like PIP, I, too, avoid Chinese made goods. I look for quality, and will do my best to delay a purchase until I can find a good item, priced fairly. Oftentimes, that means looking in resale shops and in the classifieds, but then I'm helping more folks, too.

Nick is so excited b/c he scored a Peter Wright anvil at a local flea market. Quality product, quite fairly priced.

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

It is *very* important to me.

and DAILY I hit my head against the wall to get products and they end up being from china or Taiwan.
It is SO frustrating.
I know fundamentally, if I buy products from my friends, neighbors, or my family--our country will be stronger economically.

Today, it was me making chop suey, I ran out of soy sauce, my spare soy sauce was made in TAIWAN!!! How ridiculous. Soy sauce probably costs 10 cents to make and $3.00 to ship, that is what I paid for--grrrrr.
I'm going to make soy sauce now.
I already make our own soaps, laundry soaps, can our food, pressure can our food, dehydrate our food, grow lots of our own food and herbs, bake, cook, sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles--I'm already tired! If my neighbor John Doe was making soy sauce I would have bought it from him, but, he probably couldn't go into business without permits and red tape--so I'll make my own.

I don't buy much--it's such a turn off to me to only have the choice of china goods or taiwan goods. I watch the barter board daily. Local foods. Rummage sales.

I even go one step further, I want it made in my state, better yet, my county. I like little, home based companies. Either that or OLD items. But then, I don't buy much....James

I just paid $20.00 more for a US made frost free hydrant. It appeared to be better made. I try to buy only items made in the USA not always possible.

In the early 80's I bought a VW car in South Korea and got all kinds of grief from my cousins when I shipped it home to America. I showed them the info sticker on the door- it was made in the USA. My Dodge truck is assembled in the US but has many Canadian and Mexican parts.

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Health Care is vital to all of us some of the time but Public Health is vital to all of us all of the time. C. Everett Koop US Surgean General 1981-1989.

...............I'd buy made in America as long as the quality is there ! As far as validating....."made in America" and a superior level of quality I would only point out that , Toyata , Honda , Kia , and etal. build lots of cars in THIS country ! So , how much more testimony do we need , as Americans , that we are producing superior products ? , fordy

I try to buy American made when possible.
Next tier of acceptability is non-Asian (excluding Japanese). I don't hesitate to buy something made in Canada.

What sucks is sometimes you need a lower cost product, not a premium one.... those type items are almost exclusively made in china, etc.

You have to read the fine print on things.... a couple years ago I was far shopping .... looked at a Chevy aveo. ....Made in Korea. Recently bought a used toyota ... made in Canada.

I guess I really don't buy that many disposable items except for canning lids... Made in USA!

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An herbicide company selling seeds makes about as much sense as a doctor's office selling cigarettes.

What are you all typing on? (I mean, what do you do for electronics?)

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I do the best I can to buy American. I have found a good few items located in dollar stores, and even Wal Mart (less so, but still some US goods there) are made in America. But I will go out of my way to find US made items, it is very important to me. You folks buy treats and chews (even food!) for your dogs and cats? Take the time to look at the packaging. Pretty high amount made from materials I've never heard of, and made in countries I would never visit. Needless to say, very picky with what I buy for my girls now. There is so much garbage made overseas nowadays, that it is getting too ---- difficult to buy American. I will settle for Canadian items, and some Mexican stuff. (They make pretty good jeans down south.) Germans make some decent stuff, too. I try hard as hell to buy US, but if I can't I'll at least buy from a country that has some sort of quality control. China, Taiwan, India, ect. just doesn't have that.

I'll hop off my soap box now.

Awkward question.

Dell. Assembled by political prison labor in China.

HP. Made (at least the keyboard is) in stinkin' China. I will buy Japanese electronics, since you can't buy any US made anymore.

Don't burn the place down.