Folks,
Most of these factory workers come in from the countryside to make a bundle of
money and
move back to start something else. There is a labor shortage for such people,
so they are
encoouraged to work as much as they want.
http://tinyurl.com/ev8l9
When someone is saving up for something to buy back home, one works as much as
possible
to shorten the separation time as much as possible.
So here we have USA busybodies keeping Chinese families apart longer than
otherwise. I say
leave Chinese problems to China, sufficient is the evil we have to deal with
here at home.
John
Friday, August 18, 2006
Apple Forced labor?
Thursday, August 17, 2006
National Trade Data Base
Re: [spiers] National Trade Data Base
Whoa... all the info is free... go to
http://www.johnspiers.com/NTDB.html
and read thru, and let me know if you have any questions.
John
On Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:31:05 -0700, "Gene Williams"
wrote
:
>
> I am helping a friend find a manufacturer for his product. He has signed up
> for a three month subscription to the NTDB ($75) but after searching the
> website for the trade history for his product using the HTS number we are
> beginning to think that the information we need is in the U.S. Trade Online
> section of the website which requires a $75 fee for one month access. Is
> this the case or are we just looking in the wrong places in the NTDB?
>
> Gene
National Trade Data Base
I am helping a friend find a manufacturer for his product. He has signed up
for a three month subscription to the NTDB ($75) but after searching the
website for the trade history for his product using the HTS number we are
beginning to think that the information we need is in the U.S. Trade Online
section of the website which requires a $75 fee for one month access. Is
this the case or are we just looking in the wrong places in the NTDB?
Gene
Product cycles
RE: [spiers] Product cycles
You may try http://www.trendwatching.com/ I have used in the past and
has been quite helpful
Martin Mendiola
305-445-2525
Martin@Mendiola.US
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [spiers] Product cycles
> From: "Malcolm Dell"
> Date: Wed, August 16, 2006 4:37 pm
> To:
>
> > Is there a "rule of thumb" for gauging product cycles? Is there a
> > reference available that tracks such cycles...ie a book or trade
> > journal or something that can tell me widgets were popular 10 years ago
> > and have a 15 year popularity cycle. My thought is to ride the cycle
> > to profit.
> >
> > Anthony
>
> A good book to read is The Tipping Point, a former business best seller,
> which talks about product cycles, and lends a chapter to the resurgence of
> Hush Puppy shoes, which were uglies (popular with parents, not with kids, as
> I recall) when I was a youngster, and went through a huge resurgence a few
> years ago. I believe, they have probably died again, as I have not read or
> heard much about them for a while.
>
> Malcolm
>
>
>
> Compete on Design!
>
> www.johnspiers.com
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Product cycles
Re: Product cycles
--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, "mgranich"
>
> I read that the toy YoYo has a 7 year cycle, ie yoyos will be a very
> hot selling toy for a brief time every 7 years. It seems that fashion
> clothing might have a similar cycle? ...
> Is there a "rule of thumb" for gauging product cycles? Is there a
> reference available that tracks such cycles...ie a book or trade
> journal or something that can tell me widgets were popular 10 years
> ago and have a 15 year popularity cycle. My thought is to ride the
cycle
> to profit.
>
> Anthony
>
Anthony,
I read a while back that a "generation" is considered to be 10 years.
i.e. what happened 10 years ago is "ancient history" to the next group
to come along. People born 10 years after the end of the Vietnam war
look at it the same way they do the American Civil War or the
Spanish-American War, strictly text book stuff. Look at the life cycle
of Converse Gym Shoes. They come back every 7 to 10 years. I.m looking
for the Hoola Hoop to be big any day now. ;-)>
Interesting question you raise.
Randy
Product cycles
Re: [spiers] Product cycles
> Is there a "rule of thumb" for gauging product cycles? Is there a
> reference available that tracks such cycles...ie a book or trade
> journal or something that can tell me widgets were popular 10 years ago
> and have a 15 year popularity cycle. My thought is to ride the cycle
> to profit.
>
> Anthony
A good book to read is The Tipping Point, a former business best seller,
which talks about product cycles, and lends a chapter to the resurgence of
Hush Puppy shoes, which were uglies (popular with parents, not with kids, as
I recall) when I was a youngster, and went through a huge resurgence a few
years ago. I believe, they have probably died again, as I have not read or
heard much about them for a while.
Malcolm
Ethanolonomics
Re: Ethanolonomics
> I expect to have passive electric .........elliminate my natural gas
> used for cooking and clothes drying I could add another $5,000
cash. I could
> spend twice that amount more money for the bio fuel theoretically,
since I
> am frugally spending up to $200 at the pump each month.
You know, home fuel refining, alcohol or biodiesel or etc... would
spawn many other products. Why not an alcohol fueled generator to
run your heavy appliances?, but an on demand generator, ie if the
refridgerator needs to cool, generator turns on, if your running your
air conditioner during the day, generator turns on, ect... RVs run
them constantly.
OR, how about an Alcohol fueled furnace? OR, how about a "convert
your car to run alcohol/e 85" kit (although many cars can run on
alcohol without modifications), OR any gas fired tool or appliance?
> We celebrated reaching 200 million in population in 1968..... All
>of the Jimmy Carter energy program has been rolled back long ago an
>we dont even have conservation now.
Jimmy Carter was a visionary, if only we would have listened to him
30 years ago.
> The energy industry
> did not adequately add investment to their supply chain in America
>also creating artificial shortages. And Chevron, I think bought and
>removed from the market competitive items such as advanced car
>batteries that can run long distances with one plug charge.
Big oil is pulling an Enron move by agressively limiting supply
thereby driving up price. I heard Shell Oil is closing it's
Bakersfield CA refinery. Why would you close a refinery when
supplies are so short? Also, I heard Chevron and others put pressure
on GM to kill it's EV1 electric car. And, BP is aggressively buying
up solar technologies to keep them from reaching the market although
they claim otherwise.
> I am trying to start over. Many of
> us had to sit and train our Indian, Philipino, Irish, or Australian
> replacements or be fired immediately without severance
A friend of mine worked at a large wireless company at the time the
company moved operations offshore, I think to Bangalor India. He had
to train his replacements. He was given the option; train your
replacement and get a severance, or don't and your fired. He
trained.
> I also sell since 2002, thousands of imported commodity type gifts,
and
> other things wholesale to everyone. http://www.vsqigifts.com I have
at least
> 20,000 competitors, probably more like 50,000. I am the poster man
of
> commodity imported manufactured goods...
How did you select the items you are selling? Do you order from an
Independent Sales Rep?
Anthony
Product cycles
I read that the toy YoYo has a 7 year cycle, ie yoyos will be a very
hot selling toy for a brief time every 7 years. It seems that fashion
clothing might have a similar cycle? I do some sport rock and alpine
climbing on occasion and have noticed climbing knickers have surfaced
recently from Patagonia, Purana, and a few other companies. Climbing
knickers were popular back in the 1950s and 60s.
Is there a "rule of thumb" for gauging product cycles? Is there a
reference available that tracks such cycles...ie a book or trade
journal or something that can tell me widgets were popular 10 years ago
and have a 15 year popularity cycle. My thought is to ride the cycle
to profit.
Anthony
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Web marketing
Folks,
This is five pages long, but I highly recommend it, since it gets to
marketing...
http://tinyurl.com/5m3o6
Being a skeptic on internet claims has proven useful over the years, but most of
this article is
quite sound on real change. I might add, that since i gave Google my book to
give away
access for all, the sales of the book have doubled, plus, for some reason, they
pay me for
clicks on ads from my book page at Google. It is only a few bucks, but it is
mystifying.
John
Monday, August 14, 2006
Cleavage Reduction - Compete on Design!
From today's Seattle Times.
Find a problem and solve it -- or compete on design -- often the same
approach. Who would have thought... cleavage reduction and visual
beautification working hand-in-hand!
Malcolm
----------------------
Work-pants design takes a crack at backside cleavage
By Matthew C. Wright
The Washington Post
Dickies may be retooling its work pants to fight slippage, but no cracks,
please.
Williamson-Dickie, the Fort Worth-based clothing maker, recently announced
an updated version of its classic jeans, due out next spring. But one new
feature is attracting attention the company would rather avoid.
The new design will offer a lower waist and a roomier seat - designed, in
part, to keep the jeans from slipping down the hips when wearers bend over
or crouch down, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported last week. The change
would help eliminate the appearance of backside cleavage, a phenomenon
commonly known as "plumber's crack."
Company officials have been declining interviews with reporters who want to
discuss this particular feature. Dickies doesn't want to disrespect
hardworking plumbers or make jokes at their expense, said Kristen Kauffman,
a company spokeswoman.
Officials said there were several reasons for the new design, principally to
produce a jean that could be worn casually and at work. Still, Jon Ragsdale,
Dickies vice president of marketing, acknowledged to the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram, "If there's anything we can do to beautify America, we're in
favor of doing it."
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