I've been a longtime fan of good quality products. The type of thing that you use and it makes you say "Wow, That's good." It takes a lot for me to do that. I've stuck with the companies that I know of. Craftsman is excellent. You buy a tool. You ruin the tool, or even with wire cutters, dull them. You return them for an exchange. No questions, just quality. I've beat the crap out of some tool until they didn't function anymore. I've ripped tips of screwdrivers off, broke hammers, bent/broke pliers, and much more. They take them, then they give you new ones. They also like to hear about quality, and value input(the employees, not the tools).
A little over five years ago, I discovered Timbuk2 bags. They were great. They were solid, looked nice, and took a beating. I ordered another a few years later, after I needed something a little more water resistant. Excellent in different ways. It showed progression. The future couldn't be bad if they continued manufacturing things by hand, with quality in San Francisco. I checked their website regularly. I wanted to see the next bag I would own.
I was a little aggravated when I saw they had multiple shops outside of San Francisco. Well, outside of the United States. Their locations in China, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are "to take advantage of technical expertise, competitive pricing and scale. We don't have the required machinery or manpower in San Francisco to make every Timbuk2 product locally. Thus our Asian and San Francisco manufacturing facilities are complementary."
Here is where I interpret the quoted line above:
We don't have as many technical or smart people in the United States. Although we pay them, we don't pay them as much as we normally would. Their lowered work costs and long hours provide discounts for our customers. We can't buy the machines they have and bring them here. We should support our global economy before we support ourselves.
Now remember, they didn't say that, I interpreted it my way.
If you really think about it, they are wrong. Let's say they manufacture a product that costs $129.99. The "Asian" places make the same product, but not customized for $109.99. Then they are shipped here, and sold globally. I'm just going to guess, and estimate that they spend $2.00 per bag on all the travel around the world. Now we have an $18.00 difference. Since the item from Asia costs less, you still have to pay for shipping. $9.95 for slow shipping. That makes our difference now $8.05.
That $8.05 you saved is now holding at least three properties:
Your bag looks like every other bag that wasn't customized.
Your bag took away a job from someone in the United States.
Your bag is contributing to our economy failing.
I fully support the ideas of having jobs outsourced if they can be done correctly, and if we have no other option here.
That is not the case.
"We don't have the manpower in San Francisco to make every Timbuk2 product locally."
I live one mile from a Chrome messenger bag store. Inside their store, they also manufacture bags. There employees custom make bags on site. There are three stores owned by them that do this nationwide. One of the main reasons why they are able to do this is because people will work if you provide them with jobs. I've seen it happen. If the Chrome bags were a little nicer(I really like the Berlin Pro, so don't think I wouldn't buy it if it was cheaper), I would buy them.
Last week I purchased a Timbuk2 two bag. It was Ready-Made, like those $5 pizzas that suck. It was $20 less than I would have paid, and I expected the same quality. I have limited income being an intern, so I sold my other two Timbuk2 bags to help pay for this new one that would hold my laptop. I received it, a day went by, then I complained about the quality to their customer service. My reply was dry, almost cookie cutter. I had three options. Send it back at my cost, then receive a credit, get a free strap pad, or do nothing. Since I didn't have another bag to carry anything in, I went for the free strap pad(it's still in the mail).
One week went by. On my way home from work, I like to stop and pick up groceries. I ride my bike, so I'm limited to a certain amount, but it's great for freshness and exercise. Every Timbuk2 bag I have had held up doing this. Today, it did not. I loaded up everything, then went to tighten the strap, and it snapped off. I wasn't happy. I was far from happy.
I looked at my options with the warranty. I can send it back at my expense, and now leave my laptop at work, and not get fresh food on the way home. I can fix it myself or have a tailor deal with it at my expense. So the full lifetime warranty of a handmade product is that I have to spend more to have it replaced, even though I've had it for a week. This is stupid. I want to talk to their C.O.O. and see if he knows what an inconvenience he is imposing on the United States. I'll send it back. I'll take the credit. I'll order a new bag and have it custom made for an additional $8.05 after all the crap I've been through. The reason for that is that they still make a nice bag here. It's not that I fully support their company, policies or ideas, but almost everywhere else that makes messenger bags is worse. This is me, smile removed, sticking to the best of the worst.
The one way I can feel better about it is if I explain it to everyone that asks about my bag.
A little over five years ago, I discovered Timbuk2 bags. They were great. They were solid, looked nice, and took a beating. I ordered another a few years later, after I needed something a little more water resistant. Excellent in different ways. It showed progression. The future couldn't be bad if they continued manufacturing things by hand, with quality in San Francisco. I checked their website regularly. I wanted to see the next bag I would own.
I was a little aggravated when I saw they had multiple shops outside of San Francisco. Well, outside of the United States. Their locations in China, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are "to take advantage of technical expertise, competitive pricing and scale. We don't have the required machinery or manpower in San Francisco to make every Timbuk2 product locally. Thus our Asian and San Francisco manufacturing facilities are complementary."
Here is where I interpret the quoted line above:
We don't have as many technical or smart people in the United States. Although we pay them, we don't pay them as much as we normally would. Their lowered work costs and long hours provide discounts for our customers. We can't buy the machines they have and bring them here. We should support our global economy before we support ourselves.
Now remember, they didn't say that, I interpreted it my way.
If you really think about it, they are wrong. Let's say they manufacture a product that costs $129.99. The "Asian" places make the same product, but not customized for $109.99. Then they are shipped here, and sold globally. I'm just going to guess, and estimate that they spend $2.00 per bag on all the travel around the world. Now we have an $18.00 difference. Since the item from Asia costs less, you still have to pay for shipping. $9.95 for slow shipping. That makes our difference now $8.05.
That $8.05 you saved is now holding at least three properties:
Your bag looks like every other bag that wasn't customized.
Your bag took away a job from someone in the United States.
Your bag is contributing to our economy failing.
I fully support the ideas of having jobs outsourced if they can be done correctly, and if we have no other option here.
That is not the case.
"We don't have the manpower in San Francisco to make every Timbuk2 product locally."
I live one mile from a Chrome messenger bag store. Inside their store, they also manufacture bags. There employees custom make bags on site. There are three stores owned by them that do this nationwide. One of the main reasons why they are able to do this is because people will work if you provide them with jobs. I've seen it happen. If the Chrome bags were a little nicer(I really like the Berlin Pro, so don't think I wouldn't buy it if it was cheaper), I would buy them.
Last week I purchased a Timbuk2 two bag. It was Ready-Made, like those $5 pizzas that suck. It was $20 less than I would have paid, and I expected the same quality. I have limited income being an intern, so I sold my other two Timbuk2 bags to help pay for this new one that would hold my laptop. I received it, a day went by, then I complained about the quality to their customer service. My reply was dry, almost cookie cutter. I had three options. Send it back at my cost, then receive a credit, get a free strap pad, or do nothing. Since I didn't have another bag to carry anything in, I went for the free strap pad(it's still in the mail).
One week went by. On my way home from work, I like to stop and pick up groceries. I ride my bike, so I'm limited to a certain amount, but it's great for freshness and exercise. Every Timbuk2 bag I have had held up doing this. Today, it did not. I loaded up everything, then went to tighten the strap, and it snapped off. I wasn't happy. I was far from happy.
I looked at my options with the warranty. I can send it back at my expense, and now leave my laptop at work, and not get fresh food on the way home. I can fix it myself or have a tailor deal with it at my expense. So the full lifetime warranty of a handmade product is that I have to spend more to have it replaced, even though I've had it for a week. This is stupid. I want to talk to their C.O.O. and see if he knows what an inconvenience he is imposing on the United States. I'll send it back. I'll take the credit. I'll order a new bag and have it custom made for an additional $8.05 after all the crap I've been through. The reason for that is that they still make a nice bag here. It's not that I fully support their company, policies or ideas, but almost everywhere else that makes messenger bags is worse. This is me, smile removed, sticking to the best of the worst.
The one way I can feel better about it is if I explain it to everyone that asks about my bag.
