Shopping

This afternoon I paid a visit to our local warehouse store. It is not a particularly big one as warehouse stores go. The ones down in the South Bay are much bigger, and seem to have a bigger selection of merchandise. Still, what we have at our local store can satisfy the buying impulses of your average consumer.

I was a little late, which meant that many of the ladies who hand out free food samples were getting ready to clean up their stations. I did however have a sip of some energy drink or other, from a tiny paper cup. Not bad. At another station there were veggie burgers which smelled okay, but did not look appetizing enough on the pan. I passed on the proffered sample.

I got what merchandise I had come for, and a few other items that I had not even thought I might need. You have to buy in bulk at these stores, you see? Not very practical for a household of two. Sometimes the seemingly reasonable prices can tempt you into getting stuff that will invariably end up in your closet, never to be used.

In a plastic blister case, a set of small tools, exquisitely designed, a pair of folding pliers that incorporated many tools in one, very pocketable, a tiny flashlight that didn’t need batteries, and other items. I thought the set might make a nice Christmas gift for someone. The brand name SwissTech suggested skilled Alpine craftsmen in Basel or Zurich. I looked in the small print to learn where the tools were actually made. Hidden way in a corner on the back in print so fine you needed a magnifying glass to find it: Made in China.

There was a 68-piece craft and hobby knife set, ideal for an aspiring sculptor, woodcarver, model maker, whatever. Under twenty bucks. Beautifully set out in a fitted wooden box. Made in China.

Everywhere you look, from leather couches and armchairs, exercise machines, clocks, heavy armoires and dining room sets, metal storage racks, mirrors, ceramic space heaters, they were all made in China.

Only in the apparel bins were there items made other than in China – in places like Bangladesh and Mauritius and Vietnam and Sri Lanka. You hardly ever see anything from Korea or Taiwan or the other Asian ‘tigers’ anymore. Much less Japan. Products from those countries are nowadays no match for the Bangladeshes etc. when it comes down to consumer prices.

Items made in China have been much in the news lately. The defective toys recalled by a major US toy company, the tainted pet food, the cardboard buns, these will make consumers in this country more leery about the ‘Made in China’ label.