MidwayUSA - Made In USA- Easy To See

[Hartkopf]

Midway now has a “Made In USA” in the description headings of American made products so you can easily spot items made here without clicking on the heading and hunting through the description.

I know some people don’t care but I always look for American made products and this makes things way easier for anyone who does care. This is the type of web page improvements that I like. Makes shopping quicker and easier.

 

[.38 Special]

I agree. I just sent them an email congratulating them for it and also asking if they can make "Made in the USA" part of the "sort by" function as well.

 

[gnappi]

Walmart did this a number of years ago and got some serious flack from importers, they took the signs down. More buyers should look at labels when we buy. Dog treat makers are prominently labeling "Made in the USA" and I'll not buy anything from anywhere but the U.S or Europe for my Animals.

I figure if the business culture in Asia will poison their babies with tainted milk they'd have no problem doing it with animals. See 2008 Chinese milk scandal and 2007 pet food recalls before you call me Sinophobic.

 

[dogtown tom]

.....I figure if the business culture in Asia will poison their babies with tainted milk they'd have no problem doing it with animals. See 2008 Chinese milk scandal and 2007 pet food recalls before you call me Sinophobic.

I figure no country or business culture is immune to recalls, tainted milk or crappy products.
See 2015 Blue Bell recall, 2017 Sig P320 machine gun recall, 2007 Peanut Co. of America recall, and thousands of others before you call me anti American.

Buy quality, not a label.

 

[Hartkopf]

Capitalism has a little bit of down side sometimes. Communists China has slave labor which undercuts most of the west.

The worst of the worst is American companies charging full price (made in USA prices) for products they have made in China. These are the greedy companies I will not buy from.

Quality of the product is obviously very important but goods made by slave labor are not normally better, just cheaper. Therefore I will almost always buy American and support the American worker. (Yes unfortunately there are sometimes exceptions but I try)

 

[BigBore44]

“Made in USA” can be misleading. Are the pieces made in the USA? Are the pieces made elsewhere, imported, and then assembled in the USA? Is everything made elsewhere mostly assembled and then finished in the USA? Without some serious investigation, it’s hard to know.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Good on Midway. May not be perfect but I appreciate it.

 

[Hasaf]

I figure if the business culture in Asia will poison their babies with tainted milk they'd have no problem doing it with animals. See 2008 Chinese milk scandal and 2007 pet food recalls before you call me Sinophobic.

I figure no country or business culture is immune to recalls, tainted milk or crappy products.
See 2015 Blue Bell recall, 2017 Sig P320 machine gun recall, 2007 Peanut Co. of America recall, and thousands of others before you call me anti American.

Buy quality, not a label.

This is a bit of getting off-topic, but the Sanlu milk issue was the result of intentional product adulteration. I lived in XinYang (信阳), Henan Province, PR China when the scandal broke. The issue was that Melamine was added to, watered down, milk in order for it to pass a protein test. Melamine is an industrial resin and clearly not intended for human consumption.

So, there is a difference. It is a difference between making something that turned out to be bad, and intentionally doing something bad. The final result is that the company went bankrupt and several of the chief executives sentenced to, up to, fifteen years in prison.

As a total aside, a couple of months later I was getting some yoghurt at the local supermarket and I jokingly asked my friend, "do you think it's safe." Her response was, "drink your melamine, it's good for you."

 

[buck460XVR]

Buy quality, not a label.

For the most part, I agree with this. While I try to buy American when I can, sometimes it's not a realistic option. Even iconic American companies like Ford and Chevrolet, build vehicles sold in America, to American consumers, in other countries. How about dependable Interstate car batteries? How about a good rifle scope? Even if it's assembled here in the states, odds are the parts(at least some of them) come from another country. Leupold is one. Anybody here use a cell phone? How about the computer you are on right now? Even if it was assembled in the good ol' U.S.A. most of it's parts are outsourced. Most of us know the story of Levi Strauss and his iconic jeans. That jean is now “meticulously crafted” in America — out of “imported fabric". We live in a Global economy, which means we do business with the rest of the world. Just how it is.

As for the Midway deal. Is it sincere or is it just advertising hype? Flag waving has always been a good sales pitch. Remember the iconic jingle, “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet, they go together in the good ol' USA.”? Out of the four, only one is an American original. Right now we are in what is called a "patriotic branding boom". I'm not saying it's a bad thing, only that it's just for selling blue jeans, soda, beer and whisky.

I support my local mom and pop restaurants and grocery stores. I tend to stay local when I buy large ticket items, so even if the product is not made here, at least some of the money stays here and the profit is enjoyed by someone I may actually look at when I pay.

 

[sparkyv]

I prefer to buy American made. My truck is a Toyota...made in San Antonio, TX, USA. It's pretty much a confusing global market anymore. I have some excellent foreign made firearms, but I find myself buying mostly SIGs, Rugers and Smiths anymore.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Of course, I like buying and supporting American companies. I like what Midway is doing with the labels. However, I look for quality before place of manufacture. Also, we should realize that just because a product is made overseas, it does not necessarily mean that it is junk. Furthermore, buying something made in China or elsewhere does not necessarily mean that your purchase is not supporting American workers and/or an American-owned business. As other have pointed out, there are American-born companies that assemble products from pieces made elsewhere and there are foreign-based countries with plants in the USA who make everything in the USA; it is not always as clean-cut as “USA company and all USA parts and fully assembled/manufactured in USA.” With about everything, there are excellent quality products and crummy products made in every country. I would argue though that, generally speaking, countries such as the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, etc tend to make better products (likely because of higher manufacturing standards and skilled laborers) than say China, the Philippines, etc. However, the overgeneralization that “Made in USA” = quality product and “Made in China” = crap is misguided.

Personally, I buy whatever product suits my needs best regardless of place of manufacture. That said, when comparing products, if price, features, quality, etc appear to be the same, there is a 99% chance I’ll go with a USA-made product.

 

[Hartkopf]

I understand that American made products might be assembled with a high percentage of foreign parts. It still helps American workers more than the completely boxed item that came off the boat with every single step of manufacturing done with slave labor.

 

[Elkins45]

The worst vehicles I've owned were the ones made in America by American companies. The best vehicles I've owned were the ones made in America and Canada by a Japanese company. Management and the ethos of the company makes the real difference. My Canadian Toyota Corolla was the most boringly reliable vehicle I've ever owned while my Canadian Chevrolet pickup has been a nonstop cascade of failures. The electrical system is so unreliable I had to install a second battery on an isolator switch just to make sure it would start at the end of the day. Where it's made may be Important but my experience has been who it's made by is even more so.

What I can't stand is when a company offshores production and then acts all poo mouth when someone chooses to buy what is essentially the same product from the same factory for less without the brand name. Most of those electronic reloading scales and such come off the same assembly lines so why should I reward the American company who is charging extra to slap a sticker with their name onto it? RCBS charges about the same for the Chinese-made Rockchucker as Redding does for their American-made Big Boss. Even though I've been buying RCBS equipment for years I bought the Redding when I bought my new press. If I'm going to be spending the same amount of money I will buy a quality American product. If I'm buying the same import I'm not inclined to reward an American company for ceasing domestic production and importing it.

I like that Leopold still machines and assemblies their scopes here and that's part of my decision to buy them, but their legendary customer service is just as important. To paraphrase the advice given to every gun collector: "Buy the product, not the story."

 

[tws3b2]

I would gladly buy made in U S A . But, WHAT ??? So little is made here anymore it's hard to find. And, I have to say that if it is made here it's probably junk. Taxes, labor and all so high here that if a company is to compete with China they either have to make Chinese junk or have high price tags. China has been making Chinese junk so long they are better at it than we are. We have priced ourselves out of the market. Look at the numbers of foreign ammo in the past few years. Used to be pretty much all US A

 

[Hartkopf]

I would gladly buy made in U S A . But, WHAT ??? So little is made here anymore it's hard to find. And, I have to say that if it is made here it's probably junk. Taxes, labor and all so high here that if a company is to compete with China they either have to make Chinese junk or have high price tags. China has been making Chinese junk so long they are better at it than we are. We have priced ourselves out of the market. Look at the numbers of foreign ammo in the past few years. Used to be pretty much all US A

Nobody can complete with slave labor. You cannot innovate enough to bring prices to slave labor levels. The root cause is our government supports slavery. Lots of woke, holier than thou talk from Washington and activist but their policies support slavery, just in another country.


The reason I started this thread was to let people know that Midway is now making it easier for people who care, to buy American made products (or mostly American made). And I can vouch for much of the American made products I have bought, it’s not junk.

 

[buck460XVR]

The reason I started this thread was to let people know that Midway is now making it easier for people who care, to buy American made products (or mostly American made). And I can vouch for much of the American made products I have bought, it’s not junk.

MidwayUSA is a fine American organization, run by folks that care about our country. But they are also good business people. They have been first to offer many things to the American public, like bulk reloading supplies. Starline Brass's success is probably due to Larry Potterfield. One of the first to abandon their bulky catalog and focus on the internet. The U.S.A. part of the name was not added till 1998. Along with the Red/White and Blue color scheme of their logo, the new suffix identifies the company as patriotic. Again....patriotic branding. Again, not a bad thing, nor is their labeling of American made products. Not all gun related foreign products are made by slave labor. The optics made in Japan and Europe, are a prime example, and have no "junk" quality issues either. How about Sellier & Bellot, Tula and Magtech ammo? They go "bang" just as consistently and just as accurately as many of their American counterparts, often for a lot less monies and they don't have 9 year old kids punching out rounds with a hammer on a stone. One has to remember, there's a good majority of Larry Potterfield's labor force making below what most folks consider a "poverty" wage. It's still about the money.

 

[Hartkopf]

Austrian Glocks are not made by slave labor either but I’ll buy the ones made in the USA if possible for the little bit extra job support it gives American workers. The long established European or Japanese companies are definitely not the problem since their price ranges are similar to ours. The Asian slave labor countries are the problem.

So yes I should make it clear that not all foreign products are bad and they are not undercutting our businesses with unethical business practices like our main communist competitor.

If Midway benefits financially by this move, I’m ok with that. It’s a useful tool for me and anyone else who cares about this sort of thing. As long as prices don’t get raised because of this move. (I doubt they will)

 

[tws3b2]

Nobody can complete with slave labor. You cannot innovate enough to bring prices to slave labor levels. The root cause is our government supports slavery. Lots of woke, holier than thou talk from Washington and activist but their policies support slavery, just in another country.
And Thank you for letting us know that Midway is making it easier to buy American. But, Be it China, Mexico or any other country. For Any reason, we have still priced ourselves out of the market. Slave labor or no. We are Still Out of the running. Just count the number of jobs that we have lost. A a good job in this Country is now working at Walmart selling products made Somewhere else. And , Not only China.


The reason I started this thread was to let people know that Midway is now making it easier for people who care, to buy American made products (or mostly American made). And I can vouch for much of the American made products I have bought, it’s not junk.

 

[Hartkopf]

tws3b2, your quote of me and your reply is jumbled. It looks like you are trying to say America has priced ourselves out of the running and slave labor had nothing to do with it. But our prices are similar to other 1st world countries. Our manufacturers can get prices to Chinese levels by paying the American worker 3 or 4 dollars a day and pollute like hell and dump our trash in the oceans. Maybe steal secrets from our competitors too.

 

[tws3b2]

tws3b2, your quote of me and your reply is jumbled. It looks like you are trying to say America has priced ourselves out of the running and slave labor had nothing to do with it. But our prices are similar to other 1st world countries. Our manufacturers can get prices to Chinese levels by paying the American worker 3 or 4 dollars a day and pollute like hell and dump our trash in the oceans. Maybe steal secrets from our competitors too.

Yes, And you are right. But I am just saying. We can cry and whine all day long about slave labor, pollution and what ever. Doesn't change a thing. And it's not just china. Shotgun shells from Russia. Guns from Turkey. Ammo from several other countries. Long story short, Walmart. How did Walmart get so big so fast? Because ""We"" buy from China and others because they cost less. We are out of the market for Cost

 

[Hartkopf]

Yes, And you are right. But I am just saying. We can cry and whine all day long about slave labor, pollution and what ever. Doesn't change a thing. And it's not just china. Shotgun shells from Russia. Guns from Turkey. Ammo from several other countries. Long story short, Walmart. How did Walmart get so big so fast? Because ""We"" buy from China and others because they cost less. We are out of the market for Cost

That's correct, Chinese made products are cheaper than ours, and most of the world. You are free to buy all of that stuff you can.

As I said in the OP about Midway's new website feature; "this makes things way easier for anyone who cares." (to buy American made products) You either don't care or you think it's all a lost cause because you continue to cry about how expensive our products are. In reality, we are priced somewhat fairly and other parts of the world are playing a long game, undercutting us, to put our companies out of business.

Again, this thread was started for people who care, to let them know about a new tool to make shopping for American made products easier.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Midway is my first stop for just about everything gun related

 

[JCooperfan1911]

Walmart did this a number of years ago and got some serious flack from importers, they took the signs down. More buyers should look at labels when we buy. Dog treat makers are prominently labeling "Made in the USA" and I'll not buy anything from anywhere but the U.S or Europe for my Animals.

I figure if the business culture in Asia will poison their babies with tainted milk they'd have no problem doing it with animals. See 2008 Chinese milk scandal and 2007 pet food recalls before you call me Sinophobic.

Germany has higher food standards that the US does. Same for most other European countries. I love to buy European foods when I can. Their standard not only for good safety, but quality and purity are superb.

 

[rust collector]

There was a time when I preferred guns and ammunition produced overseas. It seemed more exotic and old school. Now, I understand a bit better how important it is to support what industrial capability we have. That doesn't mean I won't buy product made overseas, but that origin information is part of the cost/value calculation. What I resent is being kept in the dark about a product's origin. Take beef, for example. Our cattlemen have tried to implement country of origin labeling so we know where the critter was raised. That has been steadfastly resisted, presumably in the interest of profits for someone (likely ag conglomerates). The likely consequence is less beef sold as folks pivot away from mystery meat. To paraphrase Joe Friday from Dragnet 70 years ago: "Just the facts, Ma'am".

 

[Sstanley223]

Im glad others feel this way too! Btw. I have a leupold and vortex at the same price point and the leupold blows it away!