Posted on 08/03/2004 7:14:02 AM PDT by Born Conservative
Gotta wonder what Mr. Peterson is lighting with his Zippo, if he thinks this administration will be tough with China.
True, the are getting tough. They now are saying pretty, pretty please, instead of just please.
Who carries a five pound steel lighter anymore that when lit it smells like gasoline?
Windproof and indestructible (with a lifetime guarantee).
I still have a couple of my dad's old Zippo lighters. He quit smoking in 1960 after his first heart attack. They still give a whiff of gas...
Maybe they should vote for more Democrats like Sick Willie who gave China our U.S. patents, plans and all.
where's MY MAN WILLIE
I was in Sao Paolo, Brazil about 5 years ago. They've got entire shopping malls selling knockoffs of American and Japanese goods.
Who carries a five pound steel lighter anymore that when lit it smells like gasoline?
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Ask one of those Evil Cigarette Smoking Veterans who still carry one. Mine is from my first ship in '65. They fix them forever but I still buy one on occasion. Those throw away ones are a piece of Crap,and are worth what you pay for them. They are not prone to "cooking off" in a hot car or other hazzards associated with knock off BICs.
tHAT'S DIFFERENT. I just see their market slipping over the decades.
Don't get me wrong, Chinese companies should not be knocking off Zippo product. But, Zippo lighters should not also be 10 times more expensive in China simply because Zippo does not want to manufacturer there.
Instead of spending $10 million chasing down foreign companies that copy its product it should have spent $10 million giving those companies a run for their money. And their efforts to stop the copies in China would be much more successful with a foothold in the country.
Don't get me wrong, Chinese companies should not be knocking off Zippo product. But, Zippo lighters should not also be 10 times more expensive in China simply because Zippo does not want to manufacturer there.
Instead of spending $10 million chasing down foreign companies that copy its product it should have spent $10 million giving those companies a run for their money. And their efforts to stop the copies in China would be much more successful with a foothold in the country.
Cheap Zippo knockoffs have been getting made all over the world for decades. I got one once in a Camel promotion that sucked so bad you couldn't actually remove the guts from the shell, eventually we even tried with two of us grabbing onto various parts with pliers and pulling.
Of course reduced levels of smoking hurts them. As does Zippos own quality, I've owned three Zippos in my life, one was a gift, one wound up a gift, and the third was just a wild hair thing (I really like the brushed look). Since I still have two of them it's highly unlikely I'll be buying another. Sometimes making the best product in the world isn't actually a good thing.
So why aren't the manufacturing there. Seems kind of dumb not to be set up where your company does 20 percent of its business.
Honestly I don't see the problem here. The things have been around forever and are primitively simple so there shouldn't be any patent issues to deal with. About the only piracy involved would be if they copied the Zippo trademark itself.
Even though I quit smoking I still always bring a fully charged and ready Zippo any time I go out into the non-urbanized world. I know with complete confidence that any disaster that renders my Zippo incapable of lighting a signal fire that could save my life will have first rendered me incapable of motion, it's a 100% reliable source of fire, and if you bring the can of extra fluid you've even got a good cheat method of getting your fire started.
I got the impression from the article -- "Zippo, which employs about 700 people, has refused to manufacture overseas." -- that the Zippo company values patriotism (or nationalism) ahead of profits. I wonder how many of the 700 workers truly appreciate that.
i still have and occasionally use the 4-dot Zippo my Mom gave my Dad in 1942 when he joined the Navy while the one she gave me is loooong gone
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