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splitshot

splitshot

Head cook, Bottle washer, and Peace keeper.
10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Threads
550
Messages
7,970
Location
Rodent Central, Az
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...:meh:
 
:bang::bang::mad:

:princess: 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. :crybaby:

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.
 
Weedhopper said:
:bang::bang::mad:

:princess: 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.
Click to expand...

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 :frown:
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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?

-Spike- said:
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.
Click to expand...
 
-Spike- said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
KLF said:
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.
Click to expand...

Great post to take to the next corperate meeting..;)

:cheers:
 
KLF said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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!
 
john_eckels said:
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?
Click to expand...

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. :cheers:
 
D'Animal said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
turbocruiser said:
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. :cheers:
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
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