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Harbor Freight Badland Off Road Jack coming in December

I might have to try one out. I have been looking at the Pro Eagle but can’t convince myself to click the “order” button.
 
Even a lot of Warn stuff is outsourced now. Can’t just buy Warn and know you are getting American made.
 
I think what BW was saying was badland stole the idea from Pro Eagle. Warn is choosing to have some of their stuff made by cheap Chinee labor
 
I think what BW was saying was badland stole the idea from Pro Eagle. Warn is choosing to have some of their stuff made by cheap Chinee labor

Bingo. One leech of a company reverse engineered something innovative from an American small business at almost no expense to them and had it reproduced in China to undercut the small American innovator who likely can’t afford any legal recourse BECAUSE they’re a small American company.

The other large American company is trying to compete against people doing exactly what the leech company did by decreasing their costs because people buy from leech companies all the freaking time because American made goods cost more.

Apples and torx bolts different (it’s not even two versions of fruit)
 
I refrained from posting here, as I didn't want to sound overly negative. :giggle: I'm refraining from supporting "anything China" whenever possible. That said, even the Eaton outlets I just installed in the house I'm building are manufactured there. I didn't realize that when I bought them, but it shouldn't surprise me.
 
I refrained from posting here, as I didn't want to sound overly negative. :giggle: I'm refraining from supporting "anything China" whenever possible. That said, even the Eaton outlets I just installed in the house I'm building are manufactured there. I didn't realize that when I bought them, but it shouldn't surprise me.
There are commodity items just like that where I’d bet you can’t find alternatives.
 
Not condoning china knock-offs, but there is a big difference between Designed in USA and Made in USA. Both are good for our economy, but one is only marginally better for our economy. I can find no evidence that the Pro Eagle jack is made in the usa, only designed here. If they were Made in the USA I would assume that would be plastered on their website like they do with the Designed designation.
 
Not condoning china knock-offs, but there is a big difference between Designed in USA and Made in USA. Both are good for our economy, but one is only marginally better for our economy. I can find no evidence that the Pro Eagle jack is made in the usa, only designed here. If they were Made in the USA I would assume that would be plastered on their website like they do with the Designed designation.
They have the same decision as everyone else on where to manufacture relative to cost.

Reverse engineering an existing product to skip the design effort is straight up theft and they do it because fighting the legal battle to stop it would break most companies.
 
Not even close to the same my man. Not remotely.
I get that the comparison is different when talking about a company stealing a design rather than a company outsourcing the labor.

My point was simply that it is hard to buy American made, even from American companies.
 
But given our own government and those of nearly every other western country refuse to enforce copyright and patent laws on China, can we expect anything less?
Why wouldn't China reverse engineer products? Why create your own ideas when that costs time and money and you can't know its in demand until you market it? Cut right to the chase and simply take a popular idea and copy it.
 
Since this post went off the rails I'll add my two cents.

This reminds me of the "Bionic Wrench" (yes that one from the 2005) that was invented by a American engineer and eventually sold through Sears.
Sears decided that they could have it made cheaper in China and canceled orders with the American manufacturer and had it produced in China under a new product name.

Here's a link to the story:
 
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