Shoddy and Restock {RANT}

Back in the good old days ( horse and buggy days and all that ) things to buy at stores were MADE IN AMERICA. These items were usually made in union shops and there would be a union tag on them. Nowadays finding a Made In USA label is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Almost everything is made in China or somewhere else. Even made in USA can be misleading. The union labels are gone and if it is "Made In USA" it is usually made by illegals under sweatshop conditions. I plan to rant more on this at another time. But the fact is that a lot of poorly made items from clothing to electronic goods, are shipped here for this nation of consumers ( aka chump, sucker, the mark ). Shoddy merchandise. 

Are you sick of it yet, American consumer? I sure as heck am! Which brings me to restocking fees... The merchandiser has found yet another way to sock it to the consumer.  Bad enough we have gone from "lifetime guarantee" to big ticket items that only are have a 30 to 90 day up to a year warranty on the outside, bad enough the stores try and sell us worthless warranties on top of the purchase price of whatever item we purchase. The stores ( both on and offline ) now want us to pay a "restocking fee."Anywhere from 10 to 15% for returning something that doesn't work right. The excuse is people will buy items and then return them, having only wanted to use them for a short while. This is an insult to the consumer and says we are all con artists out to rip off the local store. How about the stores and the big manufacturers who have been ripping off the consumer with shoving shoddy merchandise down our throats for decades now? Whether I am a yuppie ( which I certainly am not ) or some working class joe or jane who saved up for a long time to buy some big ticket item, do not insult me as a customer if I bring it back because it didn't work right and you tell me that you need to deduct a restocking fee from the total. I do not care if you tell me that you will give me a gift certificate for your store ( if the item I bought is no longer available ) or if you want to give me a duplicate of what I just purchased. Treatment like this is going to mean you have lost a customer. And in these uncertain economic times do you really want to do that? 

I have also heard that the stores are planning to charge restocking fees for returned gifts after Christmas. BAH HUMBUG! Stores need to start treating their customers with some respect. Or they will find their little empires crumbling into the sand. And how about putting America back to work at decent wages with good health care that does not cost an arm and a leg, decent pensions. Put America back to work so that when we, the consumer, go in to buy something, there is less of a chance that we will need to return it because it was shoddy in the first place.