$99 Dedicated Film Scanners at Walmart

[Al Kaplan]

The "exporting" of manufacturing jobs has been going on for decades. What's changed recently is the type of jobs being exported. With modern instantaneous communications you can check the balance your bank account from your laptop halfway around the planet without anybody looking it up for you. You can get tech support for your new computer, or whatever, from somebody halfway around the planet that isn't working at New York wages. Companies outsource all kinds of things to low wage countries. Think about all those out of work Germans when Leitz moved some production to Portugal.

[David Murphy]

Originally Posted by Al Kaplan

The "exporting" of manufacturing jobs has been going on for decades. What's changed recently is the type of jobs being exported. With modern instantaneous communications you can check the balance your bank account from your laptop halfway around the planet without anybody looking it up for you. You can get tech support for your new computer, or whatever, from somebody halfway around the planet that isn't working at New York wages. Companies outsource all kinds of things to low wage countries. Think about all those out of work Germans when Leitz moved some production to Portugal.

Yes and think about all those Portuguese working in the Leica factory who can now afford to buy a multitude of German products. My point is that trade is a very complex business and there's really no going back from where we are. I think instead of focusing on how to control it and shut it down we should focus on sharpening our ability to compete, and we can.

[Al Kaplan]

The U.S. got to the point where we were not only exporting production but research and development as well. Many countries have better health care, more university graduates per capita, etc. The railroad made it economical to move coal, grain, lumber as well as finished goods and people across the continent. The interstate highway system replaced roads running through the center of every town. The pony express was replaced by first railroad trains and then the telegraph. You can't move back and you can't be complacent and not move forward. Trade is complex and it depends on infrastructure, everything from financial to transportation and communication. Life ain't simple.

[rovnguy]

I saw these scanners advertised in a Sky Mall catalog and didn't give it a second thought. Then I saw it again on the Adorama web site and read the reviews. No one seemed to be happy with it, so I put it out of my mind. Then walking thru Wal-Mart last week I saw a large stack of them going for $63. What the heck... I got one. It is definatley not a Nikon, but the results are not bad. I scan all my grandchildrens negatives so they can have their prints at home, and so far everyone is pleased. So far I feel that I received a fair valued item for the price I paid.

[shadowfox]

Originally Posted by Al Kaplan

The U.S. got to the point where we were not only exporting production but research and development as well. Many countries have better health care, more university graduates per capita, etc. The railroad made it economical to move coal, grain, lumber as well as finished goods and people across the continent. The interstate highway system replaced roads running through the center of every town. The pony express was replaced by first railroad trains and then the telegraph. You can't move back and you can't be complacent and not move forward. Trade is complex and it depends on infrastructure, everything from financial to transportation and communication. Life ain't simple.

Mr. Kaplan, my respect for you, sir, just increased.

To think that the negative impacts of global trading can be reversed simply on where you shop for paper towel is willfully ignorant of both history, and the inherent complexity of societal human behavior.

[visiondr]

That's a classic straw man argument. No one on this thread has suggested that a single individual buying locally would have an impact on the global marketplace. Nor did anyone suggest that those purchasing decisions could or should derail global trade as it is.

However, thousands of individuals buying American made screwdrivers, for example, would make a huge difference to the fortunes of an American tool manufacturer, its materials suppliers and the company's employees and families. Some people are just naive enough to be willing to pay a premium to buy an American made screwdriver from a local hardware store than a similar tool made in a low wage country and sold through a big box retailer. In the end, the former transaction supports living wage jobs here while the latter does much less. It's a big part of the reason why personal income tax cuts don't stimulate the US economy as much as they used to. People today buy stuff with those tax savings, yes, but they spend that money on stuff that does little for their domestic economy.

[Al Kaplan]

The little neighborhood hardware store was replaced by Home Depot a mile away. Howard's drugs up the street, owned by the pharmacist himself, gave way to a Walgreens a block away, so Walgreens also put the independant One-Hour lab out of business. 7-11 did in the neighborhood independant grocers. A significant amount of things I used to get at K-Mart can be bought for less at a "Dollar Store", and K-Mart had already put lots of small businesses out of business.

But go back to the period between WW-I and WW-II, The Great Depression, that strangled the world economy. Companies like S.S. Kresge and Woolworth came up with the concept variously refered to as the Five & Ten or Five and Dime. Figuring for inflation, they were the "dollar stores" of their day. They didn't sell cheap Chinese merchandise either. They sold inexpensive items marked "Made In Japan". Yup, Japanese goods at one time carried the same stigma of shoddy quality as Chinese poroducts do today.

In the end it's a chicken and egg conundrum. Which is better? The availability of low priced goods? The availability of good paying jobs? You can have both for awhile, but at some point you gotta pay the piper. That's called a recession when the landlord throws you out. They call it a depression when the bank takes posession of your house.

[Justin Smith]

Originally Posted by Al Kaplan

In the end it's a chicken and egg conundrum. Which is better? The availability of low priced goods? The availability of good paying jobs? You can have both for awhile, but at some point you gotta pay the piper.

Exactly. Global trade is much more complicated than many would let on, and emotion also comes into play. I want to support small business when I can, but on a national level my household is probably lower-middle class in terms of income. I don't feel deprived, but I have a lot of necessities competing for my dollar. If I can save a significant amount on something at Wal-Mart, I'm going to buy it there.

And, it's not all about saving a buck. My local Wal-Mart lab gives me consistently better scans than the ones I used to get from the local 1 Hour place (which were covered with dust).

[chippy]

Originally Posted by 35mmdelux

Here too, $1.50 per roll of 120 and $5 for my kodachromes keeps me rubbing elbows with the likes. Where do they get such a collection? LOL.

WOW, thats incredible! for colour? i think it would be more economical for me to send my film over there! do they offer a postal service

we pay about A$10 just for the processing, no proofs or scans etc, with the exchange rate ATM thats around $7-$7.50US....E6 is about A$11-12

[cklammer]

The way this thread's post subjects are varying it is probably time for a forum administrator to move into the "General Discussion" or "Off Topic" forums.

This thread has nothing to do with fixed lens RFs at all ...

cklammer

[Al Kaplan]

Maybe it has nothing to do with fixed lens rangefinders because the thread is about scanners and scanning.

[reagan]

Originally Posted by photomoof

... I went to Walmart once in Illinois, kind of like eating food out of a dumpster.

Originally Posted by Pickett Wilson

I call the local Wal-mart "the center of cultural despair." It seems to be frequented by pregnant, barefoot, 15-year-olds and single mothers with eight kids, who inevitably end up in front of me in the checkout and take 20 minutes to sort out what they can and can't get with the food stamp cards.

Maybe I'll see if these little scanners are still available when visit my wife at work and pick up a few groceries. She has been employed at Wal-Mart for well over a decade providing her with an income and both of us with health insurance. She is very good at anything she does, works hard every day and treats every customer with kindness and respect whether they are struggling single parents or boorish, self-absorbed, lifeless pretenders.

[pachuco]

How small are these scanners? Would they be good for travel?

[shadowfox]

Originally Posted by visiondr

That's a classic straw man argument. No one on this thread has suggested that a single individual buying locally would have an impact on the global marketplace. Nor did anyone suggest that those purchasing decisions could or should derail global trade as it is.

However, thousands of individuals buying American made screwdrivers, for example, would make a huge difference to the fortunes of an American tool manufacturer, its materials suppliers and the company's employees and families. Some people are just naive enough to be willing to pay a premium to buy an American made screwdriver from a local hardware store than a similar tool made in a low wage country and sold through a big box retailer. In the end, the former transaction supports living wage jobs here while the latter does much less. It's a big part of the reason why personal income tax cuts don't stimulate the US economy as much as they used to. People today buy stuff with those tax savings, yes, but they spend that money on stuff that does little for their domestic economy.

No straw-man here, I am simply pointing out that a rhetoric statements about reversing a global trend that is fueled by one of the most basic human nature (greed) is not realistic nor helpful.

Especially if you count on the said human (people) to achieve it.

[cklammer]

Originally Posted by Al Kaplan

Maybe it has nothing to do with fixed lens rangefinders because the thread is about scanners and scanning.

Then why it was started in the "fixed lens rf" forum in the first place ?

As to the thread subjects: it started with el cheapo wallie scanners and then meandered to subjects like made in china, international trade balances, forum thread subjects assignements ...

cklammer

[cklammer]

Originally Posted by reagan

.... boorish, self-absorbed, lifeless pretenders.

Well said - but you are too nice, reagan. Here are my 0.02$: Arrogant pricks!

cklammer

[Al Kaplan]

Be nice or we'll all switch to ethanol and folks in the UAE won't be able to afford Chinese made goods.

[Solinar]

I'm not familiar with the Walmart unit, but a slide duplicator used to look like - this.

The idea would be to use your digital SLR. I also noticed that B&H has some less expensive set ups that look like - this.

I need to check whether we still have our older Beseler unit at work.

[David Murphy]

Actually the US is still a very competitive tool maker in the quality market. They compete with other high-end tool manufacturers: in Japan and Germany for instance. I buy US tools when I can at work (someone else is paying the bill). Starrett, Proto, Craftsman, Allen, Hass, Browne and Sharpe, and many others -- it's a long and glorious list.

Originally Posted by visiondr

That's a classic straw man argument. No one on this thread has suggested that a single individual buying locally would have an impact on the global marketplace. Nor did anyone suggest that those purchasing decisions could or should derail global trade as it is.

However, thousands of individuals buying American made screwdrivers, for example, would make a huge difference to the fortunes of an American tool manufacturer, its materials suppliers and the company's employees and families. Some people are just naive enough to be willing to pay a premium to buy an American made screwdriver from a local hardware store than a similar tool made in a low wage country and sold through a big box retailer. In the end, the former transaction supports living wage jobs here while the latter does much less. It's a big part of the reason why personal income tax cuts don't stimulate the US economy as much as they used to. People today buy stuff with those tax savings, yes, but they spend that money on stuff that does little for their domestic economy.