SunriseChampion
Senior Member
Well, yeah, to be honest, all the retailers in Canada sell shit tools for the most part. If I had to rely on them to furnish my work arsenal, I'd be homeless from lack of ability to do my craft.
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Canadian Tire
- Thread starter Tuscani01
- Start date
SunriseChampion
Senior Member
Old people who don't feel like doing the heavy lifting anymore, is who I was thinking of.
Just for something to do and to play their part in helping people choose well. Altruistic old people. Gotta love 'em.
SunriseChampion
Senior Member
No, only fools who don't know the value of quality and don't know that one gets what they pay for insist on low price.
lenaitch
Senior Member
Not CT but we have a guy at our local Rona - normally works the contractor's deck - who had to give up his trade due to back problems. Our local lumberyards are staffed with folks who know both their business and their products and who can deal helpfully with homeowners and knowledgeably with contractors. I wouldn't expect that at either CT or the big box stores, although the folks in the building materials area of our local big blue seem decent.
Mariner35
New Member
It was a cool story. Thank you.
Ultimately the "made in china" products come down to cost. I for one would prefer we stock more made in Canada products however the general population cares more for cost of goods rather than quality and CT is a company aimed at the general population. It is for this reason I do not shop CT for any hockey related products for my other business but prefer experts such as Source for Sports or independently owned expert shops. I do understand though the draw that cheaper products would have to someone who is just beginning in the sport or wants lower quality products for a cheaper cost.
I doubt anyone would want to go into the corporate workplace after a long career of more important and more commendable work.
It would serve any store to hire retail experts with vast knowledge to better sell the products. Home Depot does an excellent job at this and CT should be following suit. However at a corporate buyer level (the person in charge of deciding what products are sold in store) it proves very difficult to find these experts as many who have worked and lived the products we sell are unwilling to jump into the corporate world after decades of great work in the field.
As @Towered said, us in the slums are not a desirable bunch.
SunriseChampion
Senior Member
Yeah, it's sad that a large part of the population don't know the value of quality.
One doesn't save money by buying inferior product for less when said product has to be bought more often.
It's the same mentality one sees when there's a petrol station that is 10c/L cheaper than elsewhere and people queue up for half an hour to "save" money.
Never mind the political reasons to not buy Chinese. Don't get me started on those.
Thanks for your reply. Duly noted but I think I've given up, I'm sure CT won't miss me.
One doesn't save money by buying inferior product for less when said product has to be bought more often.
It's the same mentality one sees when there's a petrol station that is 10c/L cheaper than elsewhere and people queue up for half an hour to "save" money.
Never mind the political reasons to not buy Chinese. Don't get me started on those.
Thanks for your reply. Duly noted but I think I've given up, I'm sure CT won't miss me.
Towered
Senior Member
Yeah, it's sad that a large part of the population don't know the value of quality.
One doesn't save money by buying inferior product for less when said product has to be bought more often.
It's the same mentality one sees when there's a petrol station that is 10c/L cheaper than elsewhere and people queue up for half an hour to "save" money.
Never mind the political reasons to not buy Chinese. Don't get me started on those.
Thanks for your reply. Duly noted but I think I've given up, I'm sure CT won't miss me.
Where is a good place to buy high quality tools and machines that aren't made in China?
bAuHaUs
Active Member
Lee Valley Tools https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca
lenaitch
Senior Member
As mentioned, Lee Valley carries Festool which is based in Germany and also has plants in the Czech Republic and US, although I have not used them.
I'm not sure if the country of manufacture is the sole criteria. Makita is made in several countries including China and the US, Stanley Black and Decker (many, many brands) are made all over the world. No doubt Chinese factories and subsidiaries will manufacture to a price and quality point that their customers demand and, in turn, their customers (us) are willing to pay for. If you are a pro, I can imagine that finding quality and durability can be difficult.
Tuscani01
Senior Member
Yeah, it's sad that a large part of the population don't know the value of quality.
One doesn't save money by buying inferior product for less when said product has to be bought more often.
It's the same mentality one sees when there's a petrol station that is 10c/L cheaper than elsewhere and people queue up for half an hour to "save" money.
Never mind the political reasons to not buy Chinese. Don't get me started on those.
Thanks for your reply. Duly noted but I think I've given up, I'm sure CT won't miss me.
I think the real issue is that most people don't want to pay a premium for something they wont be using often. A cheap drill from CT does the trick for most people - who will likely use it once or twice a year. CT doesn't sell product for contractors, who need more dependable equipment. (CT's warranty doesn't apply to products that are used commercially for the most-part)
I have had a Mastercraft hammer drill for over 10 years now which has moved with me to every apartment I've lived in, and been loaned out to friends or family on multiple occasions. It gets pulled out a few times a year at most and serves its purpose just fine. Why should I have spent more on something else when the quality of the drill I bought meets my needs?
SunriseChampion
Senior Member
Yes, I see this, but tools that last through use can be passed around and down.
SunriseChampion
Senior Member
Depends on what you need.
Most of my tool tools are Made in various EU countries.....you should see the engineering that goes into some of this stuff. Really well made and well designed. But a lot of them are somewhat specialty metal-working implements.
So, I get those from Steetz out of Alberta, or from one of our suppliers, or from the manufacturer direct, or from Stortz in the US.
I've also done tool shopping trips to Europe....and, I kid you not, their equivalent of some village Home Hardware carries basic tools (hammers, snips, utility knives, etc) that would give even big retailers here a run for their money.
Maybe people in Europe are more crafty. I mean, from what I've seen in central Europe, houses are built to a higher standard than those I've seen built here (excepting maybe custom homes, but even those can be very shoddily built, and often are).
There's also more of a throwaway, "convenience", pay-someone-else-to-do-it culture here, perhaps...no, for sure.
That's the real problem.
Don't blame it on price. Blame it on the culture of waste we live in.
People aren't frugal, they're lazy and cheap.
Tuscani01
Senior Member
Now that it’s open, I guess I can share some photos of the Liberty Village store from my past site visits!
These are all pre-covid and pre-opening. The store is now open to the public and looks complete now.
These are all pre-covid and pre-opening. The store is now open to the public and looks complete now.
Northern Light
Superstar
Interesting.
I see a bit more in the way of unique/original design finishes, especially the lighting.
Bit more use of warm (presumably faux) woods.
That one section of the store has an oddly low ceiling for a 'Tire'.
Towered
Senior Member
Toronto never met a shade of grey that it didn't lust over.