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[WWalker]

....the consumers of America want chinese pricing.  Quality will never float except when selling to big businesses and super rich.  It is the way it is.

I'm starting to wonder if it is or has ever been (in my life time) the consumers who have created the demand for cheap Chinese products.
Or
Is it the fact that a big corporations prime directive is perpetual profit growth, and once they figured out how to manufacture on the cheap and sell higher quantity over a larger customer base...the "choice" was made for the consumer.
I personally see less and less choice in many different areas.  Often it is either a choice of cheap Chinese junk or the same cheap Chinese junk sold under a different name by a different Corp. 
It seems that at times a quality option is not available at any price...due to a lack of competition, due to market regulation, and other government imposed barriers to entry.
Seems that everything is being sucked up by the big Corps. and they are all lowering the quality of goods and services to the lowest common denominator in order to continue profit growth until that unsustainable business model puts them under.   

         

[Bill St. Clair]

And then there's Apple. Still manufactured in China, but high quality and higher-than-bargain-basement price. And VERY profitable.

[WWalker]

Is Apple selling their stuff to the Chinese at a price comparable to the US market?  Read that China is the lions share of Apple's sales right now.

Fluke sold a multi meter that was packaged "not for sale outside of China".  The Chinese they don't follow universally accepted US market manipulation tactics. They saw an opportunity to make a buck, those Americans are brainwashed by marketing wank to pay a lot of money for Fluke products, started selling them on ebay for $75 now their up to $97 and change.
How cheap was Fluke selling them to the Chinese market?

[da gooch]

I guess I'm missing the point here heyoka.

Are these supposed to Good things or Bad things?
I see several that are personal choice options and no one has the right to judge them for that.
Do they?
There are a lot of people who are poor for reasons beyond their control. There are still more who don't really care about the "current fashions".

edit to add:

  It Finally dawns on me ... heyoka has provided a Classic Example of bashing Wal*Mart in the form of a game ridiculing Wal*Mart customers.

I must be low on rum or something I usually Get these sort of things faster than this.

[Moonbeam]

Well, I have changed poopy diapers in parking lots. And one time it was at Walmart. However, I did not leave any evidence behind (no pun intended). Wonder if someone covered their Walmart bingo card courtesy of me?... 

[Adventurer, Explorer, Inquiring Mind.]

Hahaha, the diapers and beer thing makes sense.  I'd want to knock one back to relax after wading through shit too.  Frankly I'd rather not wade through shit at all.  Train the little fucker to use a potty and flush it down.  Every time he (or she, I'm an equal opportunity hardass these days) fails, he gets the Roman Army treatment.  Lowered Rations. 

Oh, and hi guys.  Sorry I've been missing in action, but after the messaging utility here was cancelled, I've basically started losing touch of everyone (who's still on.)

Just too much stuff to do, and never as much time as I'd like.  I spend my time pondering eeerie coincidences. 

(For example, fired up a soundtrack from a game.  Then I had a hunch to go check on the prices for some items for my business, printed materials.  And the name on the printed material samples was the same as the name of the main character from that game.  WTF?!  I don't need the diapers, but I might hit Wally World to grab a few beers, does anyone need to cover that spot?)

[Moonbeam]

...Train the little fucker to use a potty and flush it down.

At what *magical* age would you have others potty train their um, Little Turkeys? Or are you suggesting you only have the answers for your own household one day?

[Bill St. Clair]

Oh, and hi guys.  Sorry I've been missing in action, but after the messaging utility here was cancelled, I've basically started losing touch of everyone (who's still on.)

We do appear to have knocked out that particular troll, but at great cost. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to put a notice in the registration text that there are known trolls who target newbies with messages defaming the forum and its members.

But then, who reads registration text? I do, unless it's too long, but many don't bother.

[Cherokee]

A true free market society is unregulated and does not require business licenses, nor does it have a central bank which writes the rules in it's pyramidal favor. No laws are made that dictate a required currency, and people are free to trade and barter at will. The market will bear true value and pricing and what currencies are acceptable.

[Adventurer, Explorer, Inquiring Mind.]

Oh, and hi guys.  Sorry I've been missing in action, but after the messaging utility here was cancelled, I've basically started losing touch of everyone (who's still on.)

We do appear to have knocked out that particular troll, but at great cost. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to put a notice in the registration text that there are known trolls who target newbies with messages defaming the forum and its members.

But then, who reads registration text? I do, unless it's too long, but many don't bother.

Woah woah woah... I never trolled anyone.  Barely ever messaged people too, unless I had a private "attaboy" or "wtf were you thinking?!" to send... or reply to private posts.

Seriously, I thought it was good stuff.  I hold that warnings are better than bans on features.  Is that why you guys disabled PM's?  Cause asshats were telling people off privately?

PS - I read registration texts too.

[DiabloLoco]

Woah woah woah... I never trolled anyone.  Barely ever messaged people too, unless I had a private "attaboy" or "wtf were you thinking?!" to send... or reply to private posts.

Seriously, I thought it was good stuff.  I hold that warnings are better than bans on features.  Is that why you guys disabled PM's?  Cause asshats were telling people off privately?

PS - I read registration texts too.

I used it to for the same stuff. I also used PM's to privately send birthday wishes...etc.... Usually with a personalized touch.

[Bill St. Clair]

Woah woah woah... I never trolled anyone.  Barely ever messaged people too, unless I had a private "attaboy" or "wtf were you thinking?!" to send... or reply to private posts.

I didn't say that you trolled anyone, at least that wasn't my intention. Apologies if it sounded like I did.

There was a troll who was sending PMs to new members, warning them that the forum was full of miscreants, and that it wouldn't last for very long. This  was confusing to some new members that Elias wanted to encourage to stick around. So the mods decided to disable PMs, and I made the change to the forum configuration.