F----K China... shop for American goods. - Page 2

Bouncer · #11 11-17-2005, 03:01 PM

Cor! Can you drop-ship or privately ship some of those wonderful scented soaps? I tell you, there's a market in my neck of the woods for them!

LaDominio · #12 11-17-2005, 03:26 PM

Well I think we all learnt something from that little episode redrat...

1) You’re probably between the ages of 12-15.
2) Your aunt is your mother.
3) American 'patriots' become even MORE dim when slandered for being stupid. (Useful information I might add)
4) You must think America isn’t a shithole country, and thus you are a super idiot.

Saturnino · #13 11-17-2005, 03:52 PM

Sure Bouncer,

may I suggest glicerin soap with passion fruit scents...or maybe some exotic teas aromatic ones ? If you live in Europe you can find them at Natura's stores in France or "O Boticario" all over Europe and Japan.

On a second thought, I could set up a website or sell them at ebay...I have seriously considered exporting those crystals that Americans love so much...they always have to take one home...those big raw balls of crystal rock sawed in two, or those birds make from stones...they sell for big bucks in the US, but here in Brazil you trip on them if you are not careful. They are cheap.

Marsali · #14 11-17-2005, 03:57 PM

Brazil sounds like a nice place, SAT. Do you mind if I ask - does Brazil import a lot of goods from China?
I'm assuming that the U.S. is probably the biggest recipient, or one of largest recipients, of Chinese goods.

Saturnino · #15 11-17-2005, 04:14 PM

Marsali,

Not as much as the US. The US suffers from the WalMart effect. Even though we have WalMarts here, they have to adapt to face the competition, and they are more grocery supermarkets (like Safeway) than junkyard stuff stores that you put in your garage.

I was amazed when I lived in the US to see how much good, working stuff was discarded by the trash containers. I must confess I got a vacuum cleaner for myself. It was perfect. Not to mention garage sales...you could very well buy everything you need on those.

Things from China started flooding the country as smuggling from our nice neighbors from Paraguay, that were sold in smaller shops. Now the big chains are into it too and you can find all that crap everywhere. Fortunately, some things are still produced here, such as good shoes, textiles and good furniture. But the toy industry (which used to be big)for example, is GONE.

Much of the China stuff also used to come from the US or Japan, like notebooks and electronics, and now come from China...but the blame is on the multinationals. For Brazil, it is the same.

My American friends when they come here shop for shoes. You can buy excellent leather shoes for US$ 30 that sell for US$ 100 in the States.

LaDominio · #16 11-17-2005, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Saturnino wrote:
Marsali,
I was amazed when I lived in the US to see how much good, working stuff was discarded by the trash containers. I must confess I got a vacuum cleaner for myself. It was perfect.

You should see the stuff they throw away in Hong Kong. I remember seeing stuff on a trash heap like refrigerators, motorbikes, cars, tv’s, dvd players, dead bodies... well pretty much anything you can think of. I suppose that’s what happens when there is abundance.

Marsali · #17 11-17-2005, 04:44 PM

Yes, we here in the U.S. certainly do suffer from the WalMart effect. Convenience and one-stop shopping is the way to go for many.
Americans do discard or sell for cheap a lot of good stuff. I've a couple of young family members who were able to furnish nearly an entire apartment from stuff from thrift stores and garage sales.
Glad to hear that Brazil is still producing textiles, especially the shoes.
Not many textiles made here in the Pac. Northwest. A lot of airplanes, though, and military contracts for weapons manufacturing, as well as computer software.
Interesting that goods used to go through Brazil via other countries, and now goes there directly. Perhaps the multinationals make more money if there isn't a second party to pay.

Bouncer · #18 11-18-2005, 10:05 AM

Yo, Sat: if by crystals you mean geodes, there is limited success with them. What go well here are those aluminum salt crystals for under the armpits.

Is it true that brazil nuts are slightly radioactive because of the natural uranium ore in the soil?

Saturnino · #19 11-18-2005, 10:13 AM

Bouncer,

never heard about the nuts being radioactive. Probably it is just a tale. To tell you the truth we don't eat much of those...we prefer cashew nuts and peanuts.
The crystals are natural big balls of quartz. They are beautiful, but what can you do with those ?
The birds are a hit among Americans. They MUST have one when they come down here. I think they absolutely kitsch.

[img align=left]http://www.holos.com.br/holos/artigos/imagens/cristais.jpg[/img]

[img align=left]http://www.gemasdomundo.com.br/imagens/ref315c.jpg[/img]

Bouncer · #20 11-18-2005, 10:33 AM

Oh, holy cannoli! Yep, you're right: crystals are really big; lots of people would jump out of their auras to get their vibrating hands on one.

The nut story was from a while back and is not that important to me, anyway.

Hey, you are what you eat!

As for dumpster divin', I lived in a town that had semi-annual "Curb Pickup" days. The city would pick up anything left on the curb the night before, and of course a lot of folks (including my ex-wife and I) would pick through all the stuff. We got some amazing things out of it.