[splitshot]

I went to Lowes and Home Cheepo to pick up some unrelated stuff for the company today and thought I'd check out their stock of outdoor power tools for fun. Same as the new Northern tool catalog, just a bunch of plastic crap. Names like Troy Built (which used to be an ok product), Shindawa, Solo, Tanaka, and even the Pouland products looked way cheeper than the one I bought 10 years ago.
Just my .02, don't go there...

[rockcrawler]

Market is flooded with cheap shit these days. It's hard to find good stuff even when you are willing to spend $$$.

[Weedhopper]

Told me to go to HD because the shingles I need to finish the roof were on sale. I drive out to check, yep, Elk 30 year, weatherwood (color).

Cool. I had the Blazer so I only took 12 bundles, unloaded them in the garage and went back and got the other 12 bundles. (20 minute drive)

Something told me to check to be sure they match. I pulled one out and it looked funny. I laid one on the roof next to the others... no way no match. Different shingle, same wrapper.

Shlepped them (24 bundles) back to HD and LOL the guy says I have to take them to the service desk.

Stopped at the lumber yard on the way back and ordered the correct stuff.

If I ever say I am going to HD again, shoot me.

[Koffer]

Originally Posted by Weedhopper

Told me to go to HD because the shingles I need to finish the roof were on sale. I drive out to check, yep, Elk 30 year, weatherwood (color).

Something told me to check to be sure they match. I pulled one out and it looked funny. I laid one on the roof next to the others... no way no match. Different shingle, same wrapper.

Stopped at the lumber yard on the way back and ordered the correct stuff.

I have seen this from everywhere . They try to get it close but if its from a different plant or even run there can be color difference . They have gotten better but it still happens .
You may see the same thing with the new ones too

[-Spike-]

I went to a plumbing parts supplier the other day, looking for parts for an American Standard faucet. The guy took one look at my example product and said 'You got that at Home Depot'. I sick feeling came over me, and I asked him how he knew that. He tells me that American Standard and many other well-known companies are making products 'exclusively for The Home Depot'. He showed me some parts books and sure enough, there were lots of things labeled 'exclusively for...'. The parts were unavailable to him (a major parts wholesaler, supplier for many regional plumbing shops). That practice is what keeps me from buying at Walmart- inferior products made cheaply to hit price points and undercut competition. The packaging often looks very similar or even identical to their regular higher quality stuff, but the merchandise falls short. I most recently experienced this with tennis balls- Wilson Titanium to be exact- normally purchased at a sporting goods store, but my friend found a deal on them at Walmart at half the normal price. Sure enough, same label, different ball inside both visually and in performance. We consumers need to get educated on this practice and come up with a battle plan. I don't mind cheap products, but don't try to pawn them off on me as the good stuff.

[Weedhopper]

People think they are getting a deal which is not true, especially when something breaks prematurely and you can't get a part.

My shingles were WAY off. No definition in the color and a definite mismatch in the color.

I will say that they were very helpful helping me load, then unload the shingles. Customer service that day was great.

[D'Animal]

When mass merchants start to private label items, they control the quality.


Costco owns the Kirkland brand and everything has to be made to thier specs. They can make it as cheap as they can. The manufacturers comply with making the cheap stuff since thier name is not on it.


It is done in the Outdoor power equipment industry as well.

[john_eckels]

I heard a similar story about the Levi's 501 jeans sold at Walmart. I was told that they are made of thinner material and have inferior stitching. I noticed that Walmart sells the 5Q jugs of Mobile 1 oil at a very low price. Does anyone know if this is the real stuff, or do they use a lower PAO base or lower the concentration of a critical ingredient?

Originally Posted by -Spike-

The packaging often looks very similar or even identical to their regular higher quality stuff, but the merchandise falls short. I most recently experienced this with tennis balls- Wilson Titanium to be exact- normally purchased at a sporting goods store, but my friend found a deal on them at Walmart at half the normal price. Sure enough, same label, different ball inside both visually and in performance. We consumers need to get educated on this practice and come up with a battle plan. I don't mind cheap products, but don't try to pawn them off on me as the good stuff.

[KLF]

Originally Posted by -Spike-

inferior products made cheaply to hit price points and undercut competition. The packaging often looks very similar or even identical to their regular higher quality stuff, but the merchandise falls short.

I've been telling people this for years, most refuse to believe it.

John Deere tractors & mowers
anything Dewalt
Troy-bilt snowblowers
Weber grills
Schlage locksets

The list goes on and on...

I just pray that Stihl never sells out. The day their products show up on the shelf at Home Cheapo or WalMart... well that's a very sad day.

[splitshot]

Originally Posted by KLF

I've been telling people this for years, most refuse to believe it.

John Deere tractors & mowers
anything Dewalt
Troy-bilt snowblowers
Weber grills
Schlage locksets

The list goes on and on...

I just pray that Stihl never sells out. The day their products show up on the shelf at Home Cheapo or WalMart... well that's a very sad day.

Great post to take to the next corperate meeting..

[D'Animal]

We have no plans to go mass merchant as long as a Mr or Mrs STIHL have any input at all.


They run the company day to day just like any other family owned company.

[Cuerno Largo]

Originally Posted by KLF

I've been telling people this for years, most refuse to believe it.

John Deere tractors & mowers
anything Dewalt
Troy-bilt snowblowers
Weber grills
Schlage locksets

The list goes on and on...

I just pray that Stihl never sells out. The day their products show up on the shelf at Home Cheapo or WalMart... well that's a very sad day.

I can vouch for the Weber grills difference. I got an original from an online retailer. Then a week after I got it I was in the store and saw one similar for significantly less. I was a little pissed until I went and opened it. WAY THINNER metal and the door wobbled. Mine is rock solid. Glad I spent the extra money.

[AJP]

YEP ...There is a lot of "middlemen" getting VERY VERY RICH taking our money selling us crap while they move our jobs to other countries....One day - when folks wake up - something unpleasant is going to happen. If it doesn't - something unpleasant is going to wake us up!

[turbocruiser]

Originally Posted by john_eckels

I heard a similar story about the Levi's 501 jeans sold at Walmart. I was told that they are made of thinner material and have inferior stitching. I noticed that Walmart sells the 5Q jugs of Mobile 1 oil at a very low price. Does anyone know if this is the real stuff, or do they use a lower PAO base or lower the concentration of a critical ingredient?

Yikes, that's a scary thought; I get most of my Mobil 1 at either WalMart or Costco. I'd think that at a point top tier manufacturers with real name recognition (like Mobil) wouldn't want these compromises in quality despite the volume they would get with these giant retailers? Can someone speak to this? Thanks.

[-Spike-]

Originally Posted by D'Animal

When mass merchants start to private label items, they control the quality.


Costco owns the Kirkland brand and everything has to be made to thier specs. They can make it as cheap as they can. The manufacturers comply with making the cheap stuff since thier name is not on it.


It is done in the Outdoor power equipment industry as well.

Oddly, I find the Kirkland brand to be of higher quality than most brand names. For example, their dog food is rated way higher than any brand I recognize by Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble. Many other things I will only buy there, like paper products.

[fj40charles]

Originally Posted by turbocruiser

Yikes, that's a scary thought; I get most of my Mobil 1 at either WalMart or Costco. I'd think that at a point top tier manufacturers with real name recognition (like Mobil) wouldn't want these compromises in quality despite the volume they would get with these giant retailers? Can someone speak to this? Thanks.

I'm betting if the UPC code is the same, then the quality should be the same. In general, I don't trust the stuff you buy at wallymart. Example: chinese made Pyrex.

[Tofudebeest]

Milwaukee products are sold in HD and they are still excellent. Hilti too.

Porter cable ain't what it used to be. And you know what, for cheap, I still like my Ryobi crap.

[agomez]

D'Animal is going to kill me I have a Ryobi chainsaw that I like very much....yikes...for around the house ...lol

[fj40charles]

Originally Posted by agomez

D'Animal is going to kill me I have a Ryobi chainsaw that I like very much....yikes...for around the house ...lol

I can't think of any Ryobi product being of high quality. I don't own any Ryobi tools. Can you say plastic gears?

[cruiser88]

I thought this thread was abount Junk?

[-Spike-]

Originally Posted by fj40charles

I can't think of any Ryobi product being of high quality. I don't own any Ryobi tools. Can you say plastic gears?

Yeah, but all Ryobi tools are junk. They don't try to make cheaper stuff for big box stores.

[Tofudebeest]

I can't say I expected much for $139, but my Poulan chainsaw...worst piece of crap ever. The chain ate right through the sprocket like it was made of aluminum.

[Doc]

I bought an Ryiobi impact driver on clearance at the Home Despot and have been pleased with my usage of it so far...

[AJP]

The one nice thing about about most Chinese products is that the old expression "they don't make 'em like they used to" - doesn't apply! They are still making them exactly like they used to....

[KLF]

Originally Posted by D'Animal

We have no plans to go mass merchant as long as a Mr or Mrs STIHL have any input at all.

They run the company day to day just like any other family owned company.

That is very good news to read. If you watched Time Warp last night, you would have seen our Woodsman team on there hacking logs and dropping trees. Stihl has always been very supportive of our team, they are a huge sponsor, very appreciated. One of the other reasons I will only buy Stihl power products from now on.

Originally Posted by fj40charles

I can't think of any Ryobi product being of high quality. I don't own any Ryobi tools. Can you say plastic gears?

I have a Ryobi BT3000 table saw, I really like it. It's no Unisaw, but it's much better than it's ~$200 price belies. It's kinda too bad they stopped making them a few years ago. Big following on the web: BT3Central Main Page. I also have a corded Ryobi jigsaw that's a POS, but I got it cheap, recon'd from one of those "back of the truck down at the local VFW" kind of sales. It's no Bosch, that's for sure.

[splitshot]

Originally Posted by agomez

D'Animal is going to kill me I have a Ryobi chainsaw that I like very much....yikes...for around the house ...lol

Give us time, you'll become a convert.

[D'Animal]

Originally Posted by agomez

D'Animal is going to kill me I have a Ryobi chainsaw that I like very much....yikes...for around the house ...lol

You have got to post a picture. With the C.A.R.B. emmission standards, I have never seen one.

[nspctr1]

Kind of different but along the same lines of poor quality at HD or Lowes. I bought 2K worth of lumber to rebuild my backyard deck earlier this year. I let the salesman talk me in to buying the 5/4 board. I began installing the wood, correctly, and within 24 to 48 hrs it began splitting and cracking severely, about 65%. I had the lumber supplier and HD mgr come out to see for themselves and they say they have never seen it split like that before and it must be something I did wrong. I asked them what I could have done to make it split that way and they had no answer other than they were sure the problem was on my end. I called the regional mgr and he said to return it for a new bundle. I took the deck apart, returned it for new boards, talked them in to giving me a new bucket of screws and loaded it back on the trailer. I began building it again only to have the same problem but not as bad as the first time, about 35%. They told me that was an acceptable amount of loss/ cracking for deck lumber. I did some research , recontacted the regional mgr and had him come out. He had no idea what was causing the problem but said there shouldn't be more than 10% cracking/splitting at the most. He had me dismantle the damned thing again and take all of it back for another new batch. I tried talking them in to giving me the Deckmate stuff but they wouldn't go. I got my new batch of lumber home for the 3rd time, installed it and left it. I have had about 8% of the boards split and a couple of them broke/cracked like they were doing previously but not to the extent as they were doing within 2 days. It's been down 6 months now with little issues. Other than the Sherwin Williams Oil Based deck stain that didn't work worth a crap. Long story longer, I ended up complaining enough to HD where they reimbursed my cost of the lumber for my troubles.

[D'Animal]

I agree. That is why I said the Can make it as cheap as they can instead of the Do make is as cheap as they can.

Originally Posted by -Spike-

Oddly, I find the Kirkland brand to be of higher quality than most brand names. For example, their dog food is rated way higher than any brand I recognize by Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble. Many other things I will only buy there, like paper products.

Does it cost everybody else $100 every time they enter the door there?

LOL

[splitshot]

Originally Posted by D'Animal

Does it cost everybody else $100 every time they enter the door there?

LOL

That's just for the beef...