Zeagle - Made in USA?

[RonFrank]

You might be suprised how much is refined in the country of origin these days.

I bought a jacket in china which has both a North Face and a Columbia label on it hows that for value, dont know where it was made though

I *believe* that the North Face started out in CA. Unfortunately like many large manufacturing companies, the NF has discovered that labor and material costs are MUCH less expensive in China!!

While I believe that NF designs good gear, I no longer go out of my way to purchase NF gear as it's rather overpriced considering where it is made, and how mass produced and huge the brand has become. One pays a LOT for the name, and the design and manufacture for most of their line is nothing out of the ordinary.

Columbia is similar. Started in the NE somewhere I believe, they have become so big that they farm out to China for most of the work. At least Columbia is not as overpriced as NF.

I tend to purchase no-name Goretex products (also made in China generally) that cost about 1/2 the price of the NF name. The NF lifetime warranty is rather overrated, and useless for most clothing as it just wears out, and that is not covered.

Ron

 

[circusoflife]

...Columbia is similar. Started in the NE somewhere I believe, they have become so big that they farm out to China for most of the work. At least Columbia is not as overpriced as NF.

I tend to purchase no-name Goretex products (also made in China generally) that cost about 1/2 the price of the NF name. The NF lifetime warranty is rather overrated, and useless for most clothing as it just wears out, and that is not covered.

Ron

You can get a sense of how profitable Columbia is by checking their financial profile. Stock symbol - COLM. QUITE. Columbia, Patagonia, and North face are way overpriced.

I avoid them like the plague unless there is a MAJOR sale. Even then, after traveling more extensively recently, I see no reason to even spend that much on their "sale" prices . Especially when I can buy $5 North face gloves in Shanghai. If one has the patience to wait, they could tally up their whole list of new clothes, wait for a trip to Asia and pay for much of the trip with the savings on clothes alone. Electronics tend to be cheaper in the US though.

The gloves look like the real deal in comparison to one in the States. Only suckers pay those prices. It's not as if what they make is some whiz bang new unique technical gizmo despite their technical claims. Once before, today - no.

There is a good reason why CEO pay is so high. Its because there are alot of suckers paying very high prices for everyday "branded" goods.

----

As for where things are truly "made" as opposed to just processed. I have an uncle who sells timber. One of his end customers is Wal-Mart. The tree is grown in West Virginia then gets shipped to China to be made into furniture. Begging the question - where is it made? I think better labeling laws should be applied to all products (Starting with gasoline - as a note to earlier comment too - I believe I read 90% of US gas is refined in the US). The further we are from the source of production, the less we see the side effects (Oil,cocaine - civil wars, oil-Iraq, larger homes - deforestation, etc...<this isn't the right place for this discussion, just 1 sentence examples>)

Getting back to how it relates to scuba -- shark finning, overfishing of certain species, the exotic fish aquarium trade, and warming of the waters destroying coral would come to mind as hidden side effects of end consumer demand. None of these are THAT bad in their own right, but it is the scale. Alot more people live on this planet than just 100 years ago. People either accept that or live in denial.

As for Zeagle, I applaud them for still handling most/all (Save for material possibly - a much more difficult thing to track - even for purchasing) of the production here in the US. Though it wouldn't be unprecedented to list the major percentages of where the material comes from.

I've seen dried fruit packages at the supermarket note that xxx fruit came from Philippines, xxx fruit from Thailand, xxx from the US, and xxx from Indonesia. I've seen computers labeled as being assembled in the US, but made with parts from Japan, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, etc... My Canon Powershot S400 notes that the camera is from Japan (assembled at least - some components could come from elsewhere), the charger is from China, the strap is from Taiwan, and the battery is from Japan.

I'm very close to buying a Zeagle Escape. But, if and when the day comes that the BC is entirely made in another country, I would hope that they would remove the US Flag. (Not sure what Canadians or Japanese, etc.. think about the flag possibly representing it being made there)

While per earlier posts it is supposed to be cosmetic, it gives the impression that it is made here. First thing I thought of anyway.

 

[android]

As Ron points out, the savings have not been passed on to the consumer.

Suppose we had a garment that used to be made in the US and it had $10 of material and took an hour to assemble. A US worker might have made $7-8/hr which would make the company's burden about $10/hr if they were withholding by the book. So we have cost of manufacturing at $20. Mfg sells to wholesaler for $40, wholesaler sells to retailer for $80 and retailer sells to consumer for $160.

That was the old way. Now the labor is $1/hr in China so the mfg cost is $11. Most Mfgs now sell directly to retailer now even if it's a small acount and they're taking most of the wholesaler's profit too. Retailer is still paying $80, but mfg profit is now $60 instead of $20. So We're still paying $160 for an item and the mfg has increased profit by 3x.

 

[Chad Carney]

Thanks for all of your comments in support of Zeagle products!

I wonder about the accuracy of the statement that "most" manufacturers now sell direct in the retail market? And even when they do, that it is "most" of the sales?
Where would this information come from anyway?

I know that very few manufacturers sell direct in the diving business, and even fewer when it comes to scuba life support equipment.

Times are changing for sure, but there is still great value in a dealer network. The diving business may follow some other industries by forcing out some of the smaller mom and pops in retailing and manufacturing, but I think that it will be a long time or never before you see anything that resembles what has happened in the home electronics industry. At least I hope not!
In water training, gas fills, repair service and dive charters are so important in this business.

Chad Carney
Zeagle FL Rep.

 

[android]

No I said most mfgs are selling straight to the retailer, (cutting out the wholesaler) not to the consumer. Although in many other industries, mfgs are even bypassing the retailer and selling directly to the consumer.

I have personally purchased a variety of quality, US made products directly from the manufacturer on the internet. (And they always seem very educated about their products!)