What Irked You Today?

[Mark]

The problem isn't where the item is made.  Most manufacturing countries are capable of making something that is as good as the same item made anywhere else.

But what happens is, the people selling the item go to the manufacturer and say: we want X number of these, and we want to pay this much per item.

Good, fast, cheap.  Choose any two.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 hours ago, Mark said:

The problem isn't where the item is made.  Most manufacturing countries are capable of making something that is as good as the same item made anywhere else.

But what happens is, the people selling the item go to the manufacturer and say: we want X number of these, and we want to pay this much per item.

Good, fast, cheap.  Choose any two.

 

I acknowledge that's a large part of the problem, but it's not ALL of the problem.

I know of innumerable verifiable instances to prove my point, but as I'm kinda sick and tired of being branded "xenophobe" and worse for stating the truth, I'll refrain from posting examples.

But I'll say this much...if some of the things I know to be fact were to happen HERE, people would be running in circles with their hair on fire, screaming "corporate greed" and "corruption" at the top of their lungs.

[bobthehobbyguy]

5 hours ago, Mark said:

The problem isn't where the item is made.  Most manufacturing countries are capable of making something that is as good as the same item made anywhere else.

But what happens is, the people selling the item go to the manufacturer and say: we want X number of these, and we want to pay this much per item.

Good, fast, cheap.  Choose any two.

 

But the other side of the coin is the consumer whose sole focus is how cheap can I buy it regardless of any other considerations.

[Snake45]

14 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

But the other side of the coin is the consumer whose sole focus is how cheap can I buy it regardless of any other considerations.

I've said for years that the problem with this company is that everyone wants to make UAW wages for their work, but pay Walmart prices for everybody else's work. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

51 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I've said for years that the problem with this country is that everyone wants to make UAW wages for their work, but pay Walmart prices for everybody else's work. 

Kinda human nature, ain't it?

In the vast majority of cases, anyway.

EDIT: And of course it's the basis of "buy low, sell high", and the not-so-golden rule "screw unto the other guy as he would undoubtedly screw unto you".

Edited July 6, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy

[slusher]

I worked in a quality control lab and I approved all steel and various metal used in our chain.  It depend how good a companies standards are to the products they produce. Stainless steel would not break on plastic..

[Monty]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:11 AM, bobthehobbyguy said:

But the other side of the coin is the consumer whose sole focus is how cheap can I buy it regardless of any other considerations.

Not trying to be contentious, but even if I am a tightwad, shouldn't I have a reasonable expectation that a "steel" tool should be able to survive the rigors of cutting +/- 1/8" plastic for more than 15 minutes without disintegrating?

Pity the poor cheap b*****d who buys one of these to trim his thick, gnarled yellow toenails.  I'd bet two snips max.

[GLMFAA1]

My irk today is with a certain cellular service that markets to the senior citizens. It seems that when a phone is no longer updated, they have no sympathy for their customers who are mostly on fixed income and cannot afford new phones. 

greg

[peteski]

On 7/7/2022 at 7:37 PM, GLMFAA1 said:

My irk today is with a certain cellular service that markets to the senior citizens. It seems that when a phone is no longer updated, they have no sympathy for their customers who are mostly on fixed income and cannot afford new phones. 

greg

I don't know your specific issue, but if your old phone operated on 3G cellular network, then it will not work in most places (since the phone companies have shut down, or are shutting down the 3G network).   Of course it would be nice if they offered customers with old phones a free (or heavily discounted) new phone that that works on 4G or 5G networks.

[Bugatti Fan]

All those people who bemoan the demise of the local model shop but think nothing of going on line instead just to save a few pennies! I expect this has already been said in this irks thread, but I make no excuse for saying it again.

Your LMS.    Use it or lose it!

[crazyjim]

Mecum auction.  What a waste of time.  I don't care mwhat cars are selling for big bucks. Bring back Bitchin' Rides, or Joe Martin.

[BlackSheep214]

Bitchin’ Rides? What a joke. Hated that show. I’d rather watch Iron Resurrection. Martin Brothers and the crew know how to build cars.

[Ace-Garageguy]

6 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

All those people who bemoan the demise of the local model shop but think nothing of going on line instead just to save a few pennies! I expect this has already been said in this irks thread, but I make no excuse for saying it again.

Your LMS.    Use it or lose it!

Agreed. I buy all my current kits, styrene, and most tools and paint from what passes for a LHS...HobbyTown.

But like everyone else, they're suffering from the "supply chain" baloney.

Finding styrene there in sizes I need has gone from being an almost certainty to entirely hit-or-miss. Balsa and other woods are almost nonexistent, and some stuff seems to be gone forever.

[Ace-Garageguy]

12 hours ago, peteski said:

...Of course it would be nice if they offered customers with old phones a free (or heavily discounted) new phone that that works on 4G or 5G networks.

My old-man-phone carrier did just that, though getting the new one to function reliably and getting their billing in line with what I'd actually paid-in took some doing.

[espo]

4 hours ago, crazyjim said:

Mecum auction.  What a waste of time.  I don't care mwhat cars are selling for big bucks. Bring back Bitchin' Rides, or Joe Martin.

The thing I find so hard watching Mecum on TV is that the talking heads spend more time talking about themselves and or cars from their past. I have even noticed some of their "expert" descriptions of cars waiting to cross the block and describe a bored and stroked small block Chevrolet as a 429 cu in. ? 

[Mike C.]

They're starting to become Barrett Jackson. Anything with the name Shelby on it, first gen Broncos, '86 Mercedes, and the occasional  fake '70 LS6 Chevelle with horrible wheels.

 

 

[Mark]

26 minutes ago, espo said:

The thing I find so hard watching Mecum on TV is that the talking heads spend more time talking about themselves and or cars from their past. I have even noticed some of their "expert" descriptions of cars waiting to cross the block and describe a bored and stroked small block Chevrolet as a 429 cu in. ? 

One bore/stroke combination Bill Jenkins used in the early Seventies worked out to just over 429.  He called it a 430, but it was in fact closer to 429.

[espo]

34 minutes ago, Mark said:

One bore/stroke combination Bill Jenkins used in the early Seventies worked out to just over 429.  He called it a 430, but it was in fact closer to 429.

Was that with a small block ? Sounds like he would have started with a 400 cu in small block, but that engine didn't have a lot of meat left between the cylinder bores and in fact some OEM applications were prone to overheating under stress. 

[NYRich72]

8 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

All those people who bemoan the demise of the local model shop but think nothing of going on line instead just to save a few pennies! I expect this has already been said in this irks thread, but I make no excuse for saying it again.

Your LMS.    Use it or lose it!

Believe it or not, here in Manhattan there is (at least I think that there still is) exactly one "local" hobby shop. Hundreds of places to buy, alcohol, tobacco products as well as products used for smoking just about anything, but one can no longer take a child or grandchild to a hobby shop to pick out a model kit. That said, I have no choice other than to shop online which, in any case, is one heck of a lot less expensive than buying from the guy who (literally) owns the only game in town.

I grew up in Brooklyn and spent many happy hours at the Brooklyn Hobby Shop which has been gone for at least half a century that I know of. Too bad that my children and grandchildren can't experience the fun of gawking at all the stuff they want for their birthday or Christmas. Alas.....the "good old days" really were pretty darned good! 😎

[Tom Geiger]

1 hour ago, NYRich72 said:

Believe it or not, here in Manhattan there is (at least I think that there still is) exactly one "local" hobby shop. Hundreds of places to buy, alcohol, tobacco products as well as products used for smoking just about anything, but one can no longer take a child or grandchild to a hobby shop to pick out a model kit.

We have no hobby shop, just a Hobby Lobby in town. 

The two storefronts that I had thought would be a perfect location for a hobby shop are both now vape shops!

[Ace-Garageguy]

44 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

...The two storefronts that I had thought would be a perfect location for a hobby shop are both now vape shops!

Soon to be CBD shops.

Gotta play to your audience.

[TransAmMike]

45 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

We have no hobby shop, just a Hobby Lobby in town. 

The two storefronts that I had thought would be a perfect location for a hobby shop are both now vape shops!

I feel your pain.  Live 45 miles south of Nashville and no hobby shop to be found in the area.

[bobthehobbyguy]

1 hour ago, Tom Geiger said:

We have no hobby shop, just a Hobby Lobby in town. 

The two storefronts that I had thought would be a perfect location for a hobby shop are both now vape shops!

Hey but all those vapers will have a new hobby down the road. Dr visits from all the illnesses from vaping.

[HomerS]

5 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Agreed. I buy all my current kits, styrene, and most tools and paint from what passes for a LHS...HobbyTown.

The lone one in the SW Ohio is moving to a new location around the corner as the complex they were in morphs into yet another car lot.  Hopefully the new location brings new employees and understands customer service.

[Mark]

It's surprising to see someone putting together a new car lot (new business or location).  Around here, existing dealers are going to smaller lots and eliminating satellite storage areas for cars.  They are simply stocking way fewer cars.

And they will continue to do so in the future.  As I understand, they will have fewer vehicles available for test drives, if you need a new vehicle NOW you will likely pay a bit more than those willing to place an order and wait.  The lots around here are still sparse compared to three years ago, though not as bad as when they were at their lowest point.