The true price of those jeans

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Originally Posted By: Doog
Too bad unions caused all of this.....


You couldn't be more wrong...but don't ever let facts get in the way. The US denim industry has been historical non-union. But hey, if making up stuff helps to make you point, go ahead...
 
Originally Posted By: Win
For now.

Should those people in distribution and retail be fired and sent home, and everyone can just order direct from a fulfillment center in Bangladesh?

It would be more efficient.

This is not a business friendly country imo.



Indeed. We're lacking in freedom here. We should aspire to this sort of freedom:

bangladesh-factory-collapse.jpeg
 
Originally Posted By: Win
For now.

Should those people in distribution and retail be fired and sent home, and everyone can just order direct from a fulfillment center in Bangladesh?

It would be more efficient.

This is not a business friendly country imo.



If the country truly wasn't business friendly it could do a lot worse like put up higher tariffs or trade restrictions.

You could order US made stuff from manufacturers and distributors for that matter.

My point is 1st world price levels charged could support US manufacturing, just not at +300% mark up.
 
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Here is an example of how things are outsourced so they can be marked up 300-400%,and not just so you can buy it any cheaper. If they made it domestically maybe they could realize only a 100-200% mark up.

http://finances.msn.com/saving-money-ideas/19559d03-b6f9-4939-bf0e-1a771d6e3e32
Quote:
" According to Reuters" doesn't do much for me, but you are correct.

Call it the calculations of the traveling pants. Those jeans you're wearing made a long journey from where they were manufactured in Bangladesh before they made it into the shop you bought them in. And the price you're paying? Let's just say it's a pretty hefty mark-up.

Reuters delved into the manufacturing process and came up with some alarming numbers.

When a factory in Bangladesh receives an order for a pair of jeans, materials and labor together cost about US $8.42. Once the jeans are made, packaged, trucked to the port of Chittagong from Dhaka, 153 miles away, and shipped to the USA (a trip that takes about 30 days), the cost has jumped to about $12.29. That includes U.S. Import dues and the cost of repackaging and trucking to retail stores throughout the U.S.

What do you pay? An average of $38.87, according to Reuters. That's more than 400% over the initial cost of manufacturing, or about two weeks wages for the workers who made them.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: Win
For now.

Should those people in distribution and retail be fired and sent home, and everyone can just order direct from a fulfillment center in Bangladesh?

It would be more efficient.

This is not a business friendly country imo.



Indeed. We're lacking in freedom here. We should aspire to this sort of freedom:

bangladesh-factory-collapse.jpeg





Straw man.

Anyway, didn't you guys just have some type of a bridge collapse in the PNW? I don't watch much TV, so I could be wrong about that. I'll bet you have a lot of government. Too much, probably.

Stuff collapses here in spite of our government nannies. That place (hotel?) in KC that killed so many people comes to mind. The fertilizer place in TX that went kerblamo.

What does this have to do with denim products?
 
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Here is an example of how things are outsourced so they can be marked up 300-400%,and not just so you can buy it any cheaper. If they made it domestically maybe they could realize only a 100-200% mark up.


Hey, I've got a great idea! You agree to double their wages in Bangladesh, cut the price to $30, they sell like hot cakes, you make a boat load of money, retire rich and the rest of us save a bunch. Not a thing holding you back.
 
Originally Posted By: mechanic
....

You could order US made stuff from manufacturers and distributors for that matter.



Indeed. Many do this, so they can keep what little markup there is to themselves. Much, perhaps most, of my ham radio equipment is U.S. made. Much of it was bought directly from the manufacturer. My nose bleed high priced Motorola stuff unfortunately came from the Far East. Sixteen years ago. This has been going on a LONG time.

Originally Posted By: mechanic


My point is 1st world price levels charged could support US manufacturing, just not at +300% mark up.


Maybe. You haven't offered any evidence to support this proposition.

My experience has been that people talk big, but when it comes down to their wallet, all the big talk evaporates and they won't pay any type of a premium for a product, even a better product. Much less a product that is made here.

Most people want stuff cheap, as long as it will get the job done. Always have. This is not likely to change.

And what's wrong with that? Who wants to pay more than you have to?
 
Originally Posted By: Burt
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Here is an example of how things are outsourced so they can be marked up 300-400%,and not just so you can buy it any cheaper. If they made it domestically maybe they could realize only a 100-200% mark up.


Hey, I've got a great idea! You agree to double their wages in Bangladesh, cut the price to $30, they sell like hot cakes, you make a boat load of money, retire rich and the rest of us save a bunch. Not a thing holding you back.


Pure hogwash. This is what some are trying to do or advocating, increasing the pay for foreign workers. Why would I want them made in Bangladesh in the first place? The jeans sell on brand. I don't own the brand. You have to sell at maximum market price/volume to maximize profit. I don't disagree with that or have a problem with it.

There's plenty holding people back from starting a business. The big players have the market. I don't disagree that there are regulations and things that make it hard to start and operate a small business, but we are not talking about small business here.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
So where is the list of US made jeans I can get for $38.87 or less.

As a consumer, there is not much I can do if there is not a domestic sourced option for the same price or less.


Easy. Texas Jeans.
 
Originally Posted By: Win




Straw man.


How is it a straw man? Building codes in Bangladesh are lax, as are factory safety standards. This is the result, and it's hardly an isolated incident.

Originally Posted By: Win
Anyway, didn't you guys just have some type of a bridge collapse in the PNW? I don't watch much TV, so I could be wrong about that. I'll bet you have a lot of government. Too much, probably.


Umm..a bridge collapsed because a truck ran into it. This is somehow the fault of "too much government"? Seriously, your biases are so strong that it's seriously affecting your reasoning skills.

Originally Posted By: Win
Stuff collapses here in spite of our government nannies. That place (hotel?) in KC that killed so many people comes to mind. The fertilizer place in TX that went kerblamo.

What does this have to do with denim products?

1)the fertilizer plant blew up in part because of a lack of government oversight. 2)denim products are produced overseas in part because there's no level playing field when it comes to things like worker safety and wages...so if you don't see the relevance to US denim production going overseas (much of it to Bangladesh), you aren't looking very hard
 
Quote:
You have to sell at maximum market price/volume to maximize profit. I don't disagree with that or have a problem with it.

Then what exactly is the point of this thread?
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: javacontour
So where is the list of US made jeans I can get for $38.87 or less.

As a consumer, there is not much I can do if there is not a domestic sourced option for the same price or less.


Easy. Texas Jeans.


Lucky Brand jeans at the local thrift store: $12.00! That's where I buy my jeans. You can still find US-made Lucky's, though I think they've moved production overseas.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: Win




Straw man.


How is it a straw man? Building codes in Bangladesh are lax, as are factory safety standards. This is the result, and it's hardly an isolated incident.

Originally Posted By: Win
Anyway, didn't you guys just have some type of a bridge collapse in the PNW? I don't watch much TV, so I could be wrong about that. I'll bet you have a lot of government. Too much, probably.


Umm..a bridge collapsed because a truck ran into it. This is somehow the fault of "too much government"? Seriously, your biases are so strong that it's seriously affecting your reasoning skills.

Originally Posted By: Win
Stuff collapses here in spite of our government nannies. That place (hotel?) in KC that killed so many people comes to mind. The fertilizer place in TX that went kerblamo.

What does this have to do with denim products?

1)the fertilizer plant blew up in part because of a lack of government oversight. 2)denim products are produced overseas in part because there's no level playing field when it comes to things like worker safety and wages...so if you don't see the relevance to US denim production going overseas (much of it to Bangladesh), you aren't looking very hard


So get with the government, that's just there to help you, and set up a factory to make jeans in the PNW.

Show us how it's done.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: javacontour
So where is the list of US made jeans I can get for $38.87 or less.

As a consumer, there is not much I can do if there is not a domestic sourced option for the same price or less.


Easy. Texas Jeans.


Lucky Brand jeans at the local thrift store: $12.00! That's where I buy my jeans. You can still find US-made Lucky's, though I think they've moved production overseas.


Same! All of my jeans and shirts come from the thrift shop! While I'm sure I contribute to it somewhat, buying second hand means I do not support this directly.
 
Originally Posted By: Win
Originally Posted By: mechanic


My point is 1st world price levels charged could support US manufacturing, just not at +300% mark up.


Maybe. You haven't offered any evidence to support this proposition.



Really??!!!??

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: javacontour
So where is the list of US made jeans I can get for $38.87 or less.

As a consumer, there is not much I can do if there is not a domestic sourced option for the same price or less.


Easy. Texas Jeans.


yep, stated already on here before.

Of course, "high style" stuff is always marked up quite a bit. But that makes it so much more disgusting, as that ultra-high mark-up could absorb local manufacture.

We know what a thrid-world pair realistically costs - the $16 or whatever for rustler/wrangler at K/Wal-mart. So to pay $38.87 for anything beyond that is either stupidity, an incremental quality increase, or paying for a name.

If it is the second, it is justified. If it is the first or the third, people living in a country offshoring jobs to save a penny and with a negative savings rate should be thinking twice. Of course they dont, which is the problem.

The reality is that people dont care. People take a dump in their drinking water supply in the name of convenience. Do you really think they care about their fellow countryman whose job is getting sold off to someone in Bangladesh? Of course jobs are finite, so the same people who made those purchase decisions are the same ones who then complain about paying for unemployment when that comes to pass.

Its really sad.
 
Originally Posted By: JOD


Lucky Brand jeans at the local thrift store: $12.00! That's where I buy my jeans. You can still find US-made Lucky's, though I think they've moved production overseas.


They did. I needed another pair and all were made overseas so I talked loudly and obnoxiously about the pricing and it all being Chinese Junk, then stormed out.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Tempest
Quote:
You have to sell at maximum market price/volume to maximize profit. I don't disagree with that or have a problem with it.

Then what exactly is the point of this thread?


That things are outsourced primarily for a higher mark up, dur. And not to lower prices or out of necessity because of "unions" and regulations.
 
Last edited:
I looked into Texas Jeans before. Not sure why I didn't buy them at the time. Oh yeah, no odd sizes. Only 28-42 even waist sizes.

I've been buying LL Bean jeans. Available in odd waist sizes and Made in Mexico. I figure it's better than China/Bangladesh, India, etc.
 
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