Starrett lost a potential customer

[MrWolf]

I was looking for a set of telescoping (snap) guages and of course looked at Starrett for quality and made in the USA. They are expensive. I found a new set on Ebay where the seller had included a picture of the box and at the very bottom of the label it said Made in China. I called Starrett and was assured by Emily (sp?) That all their tools are made here in America except for electronic boards. I nicely notified the seller they were selling fake/knockoffs per Starrett and informed Ebay, filed a report, and had spent about an hour on the phone. A short time later the seller contacted me and referred me to MSC direct who is a large company. The item was clearly marked made in China. I called Starrett back and spoke to the same woman who this time reached out to her manager (claimed she spoke to tech support this morning). He stated that this was the ONLY item outsourced to China! I informed her that based upon what she told me earlier I filed a report, etc with Ebay and that she should contact Ebay and explain. She said she would NOT call as Ebay was not an authorized reseller. I said you basically lied to me and I acted on what you told me and got a seller in trouble. She said sorry I feel that way. I informed her I will never buy a Starrett product and I will let others know and hung up. I then contacted the seller and Ebay to fix everything.
I can't stand being lied to. She made the mistake and should have at least owned up to it. Out of principle I informed the seller that I cannot buy the Starrett product from him. I just couldn't believe what I was told. I probably do not need that degree of accuracy for what little I hope to do but it really bugs me people do not take personal responsibility.

Ron

[M-Tecs]

Brown and Sharp did the same. I have a great luck purchasing these type items from Facebook Marketplace. Used is about your only option if you want US made telescoping gauges. Snap gauges are a different animal. https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/i...t-snap-gauges/

[Txcowboy52]

I can’t say that I blame you one bit , I hate being lied to. Hard to know what is and isn’t made in the U.S. anymore.

[porthos]

i doubt that your tool is the only one that starrett has made in china. i no longer buy anything that is new rcbs. much of their reloading devices are made in china. who do you think makes the most profit ; redding made in usa paying decent wages; or rcbs paying chinese wages. please don't anyone write about rcbs great customer service. i got tired of reading that!!

[fc60]

Greetings,

Yes, it is sad that Starrett is outsourcing to Communist China.

However, watching eBay will still get Made In USA Starrett tools.

Some are well used, others have been stored in the toolbox.

Cheers,

Dave

[country gent]

Mr Pete on you tube had a short video recently. Starret has been sold to some conglomerate . I have a set of starret snap gauges from when I started in the trade. Also the small hole gauges. My Mics are brown and sharpe slant lines along with my hole mikes. I also have a starrett junior mechanical indicator where the workings are exposed. Starret depth mics 2 1/2" and 6" base.

I doubt Starret will be what they were. They dos till make a lot of digital and measuring units (CMM) but the old style are going away fast.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Of course you're the one who talked to her, and sometimes much can be inferred by inflection and tone of voice, but maybe she thought she was telling you the truth, until she talked with her manager and found out differently. I'm just glad it was Starrett and not Smith & Wesson!

DG

[MrWolf]

Brown and Sharp did the same. I have a great luck purchasing these type items from Facebook Marketplace. Used is about your only option if you want US made telescoping gauges. Snap gauges are a different animal. https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/i...t-snap-gauges/

Thanks for the clarification. I've only gotten my knowledge of them from YouTube. Believe they were one of the Blondi hacks, the Quinn woman. She said they were called both terms.

[Baltimoreed]

The global economy sucks.

[Plate plinker]

The global economy sucks.

Corporate greed combined with a generation or two of no moral compass. I also prefer old American made over sending money to Communist china.

[M-Tecs]

Thanks for the clarification. I've only gotten my knowledge of them from YouTube. Believe they were one of the Blondi hacks, the Quinn woman. She said they were called both terms.

I've heard both terms used on the shop floor but only one is correct. Kind of like calling bullets heads, leads, points etc.

[hunter49]

Companies along with small businesses are being regulated out of business, by local, state and the federal government. I try to purchase products made in the USA but, it's just unrealistic for me to think I can buy everything made in the USA.

There are many companies that list their products made in the USA, read the fine print! Materials are outsourced! The US companies have other countries make their parts and or products to their specifications and ship to the US for final assembly.

Starrett used to be top of the line, unfortunately, not anymore! Sorry for the rant, MrWolf I agree with you, don't appreciate being lied to. The employee at Starrett possibly did not know or she flat out lied, either way, not good!

[Shopdog]

Sorry,you're about 10 years after the fact. Instead of getting all worked up,spend way more time researching. There are some amazing deals to be had... just need to educate yourself beforehand.

Good luck with your project.

[Moleman-]

Ever run across the "made in the USA with domestic and globally sourced parts" when the item is only a single piece with a sticker on it? Want to guess where the sticker was made vs the item?

[phantom22]

Americans aren't even made in the USA anymore.

[georgerkahn]

The global economy sucks.

This post says it all! Its ONLY about money - money - money! A few years back the associate in a True-Value hardware store brought two IDENTICAL, except their painted colour, vices to my attention. The red one had a $99.98 price sticker, while the blue one's price tag indicated $65.99! The latter -- thirty bucks cheaper -- was made in China! We then marveled how ore could be shipped to refinery, then to China (or, produced by "recycled ore" there); cast; machined; painted; packed; and then shipped back to the USA, following by shipment to ordering people, then to distributors, and finally to store -- at this much cheaper price! Where were the savings realized? HUMAN LABORERS! The yuan renminbi to pay workers there, as opposed to workers getting US dollars here.
When I make any purchase I consider the COST -- US folks NOT employed in this country -- is, to me, greater than the LOWER PRICE "savings".
geo

[dverna]

For many items, the cost of labor is not significant enough to warrant a huge price difference. Something else is going on.

I recently needed a SSQA plate for a custom attachment I had desgned. I bought it on eBay for 1/2 the price of the anything made in America. The fabrication shop manager could not believe what I paid for it. The steel alone was worth my delivered cost. He told me the welds were not of the quality he would provide, but more than good enough. He ran a couple of passes at no charge where he thought it needed it.

Anyway, back to the topic, dealing with a customer service rep on the phone is a crap shoot. Some decent ones and some are just awful. My fiance had the same issue when she worked for a software company. People afraid to show their ignorance and BS'ing customers. It will only get worse. People are conditioned to lie and there are few consequences. Most don't care if the company loses a customer or three. We are reaping the results of "participation award" mentality. Saw on FOX last night a new Scrabble game is being introduced that has no scoring so no one loses.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/techn...me/ar-BB1lptg4

[MrWolf]

Of course you're the one who talked to her, and sometimes much can be inferred by inflection and tone of voice, but maybe she thought she was telling you the truth, until she talked with her manager and found out differently. I'm just glad it was Starrett and not Smith & Wesson!

DG

I do recall on the second time calling in when the one rep transferred me to her, there was a recording stating she was filling in for someone. She had an attitude on the first call when I questioned if everything was still made in the USA. As country gent pointed out, evidently they were sold to a conglomerate so who knows what was really produced anywhere anymore. I was just pissed in that she told me something and I acted upon it. Yea mistakes happen but if you say/do something that is wrong, take the personal responsibility and fix it. Her attitude really got to me. Oh well.

[farmbif]

when I was doing a lot of outboard rebuilding and block boring and honing I went though every major brand of snap gauges to get an accurate one that would not change a bit when turning the knurled knob to set the plungers. I settled on Mitutoyo. in the world of precision tools it really doesn't matter where it's made, what counts is how precise and well made the item is. am I'm one of the biggest proponents of not sending my dollars to china if at all possible and detest harbor freight. I'm currently contemplating buying a couple of the high quality tap wrenches and its either starrett or previously used ones off eBay made in USA, Greenfield, Union or LSI. those are the only options ive been able to find

[Green Frog]

Both of my Gerstner oak tool chests are loaded with Starrett tools, but neither of the boxes nor any of the tools are newer than 20 years or so. If you read the current Gerstner catalog, they have two tiers of product, US made and imported. Likewise the last full Starrett catalog I saw distinguished between US and foreign made, with the former being significantly higher priced. Be informed when you shop!
Froggie