Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to buy
one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about £1:50 in the
good old days (for a white one)

On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:48:15 UTC, "John"
wrote:

Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to buy
one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about £1:50 in the
good old days (for a white one)

CPC do them for 33p each, or 26p each if you buy 20...!

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about £1:50
in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you with
a £3 kettle?

--
Ron

"Ron Lowe" ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote in message
...
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about £1:50
in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you
with a £3 kettle?

--
Ron

Possibly the same that provides a £20 kettle which has had an 'acceptable /
known' transfer stuck on it to give the retailer a bigger profit. The far
eastern factory probably sells them for £1 to whoever will take them - and
will stick a name on to suit.

Plugs - I seem to recall in the 60's / 70's that they cost over £1. I
wasn't reflecting on the current price of a plug - which has been subjected
to the same shift in manufacturing origins and methods.

"John" wrote in message
...

"Ron Lowe" ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote in message
...
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about
£1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you
with a £3 kettle?

--
Ron

Possibly the same that provides a £20 kettle which has had an 'acceptable
/ known' transfer stuck on it to give the retailer a bigger profit. The
far eastern factory probably sells them for £1 to whoever will take them -
and will stick a name on to suit.

Possibly more expensive devices do simply represent a bigger mark-up, with
equal exploitation at the actual manufacturing stage. I don't know.

And how can a far eastern factory produce something like that for £1 ?
Once agin, the question is: what kind of exploitation is going on to provide
you with a kettle at that price?

--
Ron

On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:19:01 -0000, Ron Lowe wrote:

"John" wrote in message
...

"Ron Lowe" ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote in message
...
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about
£1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you
with a £3 kettle?

--
Ron

Possibly the same that provides a £20 kettle which has had an 'acceptable
/ known' transfer stuck on it to give the retailer a bigger profit. The
far eastern factory probably sells them for £1 to whoever will take them -
and will stick a name on to suit.

Possibly more expensive devices do simply represent a bigger mark-up, with
equal exploitation at the actual manufacturing stage. I don't know.

And how can a far eastern factory produce something like that for £1 ?
Once agin, the question is: what kind of exploitation is going on to provide
you with a kettle at that price?

I have no doubt that a huge amount of exploitation goes on, but looking at
prices or pay rates can be very misleading without looking at the relative
buying power, cost of living, etc.

SteveW

"John" wrote in message
...

"Ron Lowe" ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote in message
...
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about
£1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you
with a £3 kettle?

--
Ron

Possibly the same that provides a £20 kettle which has had an 'acceptable
/ known' transfer stuck on it to give the retailer a bigger profit. The
far eastern factory probably sells them for £1 to whoever will take them -
and will stick a name on to suit.

If it's anything like the 3 pound kettle that I have, it won't automatically
turn off when boiling, it'll just have an "empty" (one time use) cut out.

So there is a difference, but your general point is accepted.

tim

Ron Lowe wrote:
Once agin, the question is: what kind of exploitation is going on to
provide you with a kettle at that price?


And once again, the counter question is: why do you think an expensive
one will involve less exploitation?

Andy

"tim....." wrote in message
...

"John" wrote in message
...

"Ron Lowe" ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote in message
...
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about
£1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you
with a £3 kettle?

--
Ron

Possibly the same that provides a £20 kettle which has had an 'acceptable
/ known' transfer stuck on it to give the retailer a bigger profit. The
far eastern factory probably sells them for £1 to whoever will take
them - and will stick a name on to suit.

If it's anything like the 3 pound kettle that I have, it won't
automatically turn off when boiling, it'll just have an "empty" (one time
use) cut out.

So there is a difference, but your general point is accepted.

tim




Switches off fine when boiling - seems to be the same internals as my old '
branded' kettle which is still working after about 12 years - but the base
contacts got dodgy.

Probably made at "Honourable Kettle Factory - suppliers of kettles to the
whole world" - on same site as "Grand Chinese Toaster Factory - any label
you like"

Ron Lowe wrote:
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had
to buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be
about £1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide
you with a £3 kettle?

Possibly its the choice between starve to death or work in a kettle factory
& earn enough to eat.

Nothing new here. Happened in England during the industrial revolution.
Question is, does the average Chinese consider himself better off? Probably
yes.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Ron Lowe wrote:
"John" wrote in message
...

Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only �3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about �1:50
in the good old days (for a white one)

Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you with
a �3 kettle?

there have been plenty of tv programs showing what exploitation goes
on. If you dont buy, the workers get nothing.

It makes me wonder what exploitation was going on when they cost £12 a
go. One of the good sides of this credit crunch is prices start
getting real.


NT

Steve Walker wrote:
On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:19:01 -0000, Ron Lowe wrote:

"John" wrote in message
...
"Ron Lowe" ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote in message
...
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about
£1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)




Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you
with a £3 kettle?

--
Ron

Possibly the same that provides a £20 kettle which has had an 'acceptable
/ known' transfer stuck on it to give the retailer a bigger profit. The
far eastern factory probably sells them for £1 to whoever will take them -
and will stick a name on to suit.
Possibly more expensive devices do simply represent a bigger mark-up, with
equal exploitation at the actual manufacturing stage. I don't know.

And how can a far eastern factory produce something like that for £1 ?
Once agin, the question is: what kind of exploitation is going on to provide
you with a kettle at that price?

I have no doubt that a huge amount of exploitation goes on, but looking at
prices or pay rates can be very misleading without looking at the relative
buying power, cost of living, etc.

Absolutely - it's totally simplistic just to make assumptions.

Example: about 5 years ago I visited Thailand with my family and took
the chance to get off the tourist trail a bit. I remember in particular
visiting a restaurant in a small town where we had a fantastic slap-up
meal for five: total cost (including beers) was 3 GBP.

This wasn't some wooden hut in the middle of a jungle but a very clean
and respectable 'proper' restaurant and clearly we paid the going rate
to make the place viable - we'd have paid 20 or 30 times that much for
an equivalent meal back home.

We were still pretty surprised at how little it cost, and I think we
gave a tip of two quid; which we realised afterwards was actually the
wrong thing to do. The owner was mortified by the 'huge' amount we
left, and with hindsight it probably seemed really patronising: bit like
a wealthy American tourist dropping a bundle of fifties as a tip in a UK
restaurant (though I doubt that would cause much embarrassment here!)

David



Although the

wrote in message
...

One of the good sides of this credit crunch is prices start
getting real.


Not when prices are based on US dollars, and the UK pound is low against
that.

Andy Champ wrote:
Ron Lowe wrote:
Once agin, the question is: what kind of exploitation is going on to
provide you with a kettle at that price?


And once again, the counter question is: why do you think an expensive
one will involve less exploitation?


The expensive one involves *more* exploitation - of the customer.

In article ,
Ron Lowe ronATlowe-famlyDOTmeDOTukSPURIOUS wrote:
Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide you
with a £3 kettle?

Do you know for a fact the factory isn't totally automated?

--
*We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had to
buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be about £1:50
in the good old days (for a white one)



Steering slightly off topic....
I've recently realised what an obscene rip off the prices of kitchen
cabinets are.
I mean in terms of comparing them as a collection of self assembly slabs of
laminated chip board.
Just choosing at random fromthe B&Q web site.
2 Drawer Chest Beech Effect - £25
and
IT Kitchen 30cm wide wall cabinet £35 (claiming 'Half Price' uhuh!)

The 2 drawer chest has some 'decorative' or
even 'lifestyle' quality

The kitchen cabinets appearance is entirely nominal.

Am I missing something?

Arthur

On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:08:21 +0000, Owain wrote:

"Lucky Golden Hedgehog"

He he, LG was "Lucky Goldstar" but they are trying to drop that link these
days and be know only as LG.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Arthur53 wrote:
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had
to buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be
about £1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)



Steering slightly off topic....
I've recently realised what an obscene rip off the prices of kitchen
cabinets are.
I mean in terms of comparing them as a collection of self assembly
slabs of laminated chip board.
Just choosing at random fromthe B&Q web site.
2 Drawer Chest Beech Effect - £25
and
IT Kitchen 30cm wide wall cabinet £35 (claiming 'Half Price' uhuh!)

The 2 drawer chest has some 'decorative' or
even 'lifestyle' quality

The kitchen cabinets appearance is entirely nominal.

Am I missing something?

On the other hand, some IKEA stuff is so cheap you couldn't buy the timber
for the price of the complete item.

Coffee tables & wooden shelving are good examples.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
news
Ron Lowe wrote:
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had
to buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be
about £1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide
you with a £3 kettle?

Possibly its the choice between starve to death or work in a kettle
factory & earn enough to eat.

Nothing new here. Happened in England during the industrial revolution.
Question is, does the average Chinese consider himself better off?
Probably yes.

As they usually earn enough to send some home to the rest of the family, I
would agree.

ISTM that the main problem with the sweatshop factories is the conditions
that workers are expected to endure, not the wages

tim

In message , Lobster
writes
Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide
you with a £3 kettle?

-- Ron

Possibly the same that provides a £20 kettle which has had an
'acceptable / known' transfer stuck on it to give the retailer a
profit. The far eastern factory probably sells them for £1 to
whoever will take them - and will stick a name on to suit.
Possibly more expensive devices do simply represent a bigger
mark-up, with equal exploitation at the actual manufacturing stage.
I don't know.

And how can a far eastern factory produce something like that for £1 ?
Once agin, the question is: what kind of exploitation is going on to
provide you with a kettle at that price?
I have no doubt that a huge amount of exploitation goes on, but
looking at
prices or pay rates can be very misleading without looking at the relative
buying power, cost of living, etc.

Absolutely - it's totally simplistic just to make assumptions.

Example: about 5 years ago I visited Thailand with my family and took
the chance to get off the tourist trail a bit. I remember in
particular visiting a restaurant in a small town where we had a
fantastic slap-up meal for five: total cost (including beers) was 3 GBP.

This wasn't some wooden hut in the middle of a jungle but a very clean
and respectable 'proper' restaurant and clearly we paid the going rate
to make the place viable - we'd have paid 20 or 30 times that much for
an equivalent meal back home.

We were still pretty surprised at how little it cost, and I think we
gave a tip of two quid; which we realised afterwards was actually the
wrong thing to do. The owner was mortified by the 'huge' amount we
left, and with hindsight it probably seemed really patronising: bit
like a wealthy American tourist dropping a bundle of fifties as a tip
in a UK restaurant (though I doubt that would cause much embarrassment
here!)

Yes, a few years ago things were good and cheap. Now the price of petrol
and rice has rocketed. You could eat for 25p and travel by minibus would
be 10s of pence across a city

I bought a 4 bedroom house in a complex in Indonesia for £21,000 the
year before last. Prices are rising fast and outpacing peoples' ability
to afford basics. China is buffered from this a bit, but one of the next
things to fall in our global house of cards economy will be cheap goods
from the far easton which we rely because its the only place left with
any real industry



--
geoff

In message , tim.....
writes

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
news
Ron Lowe wrote:
"John" wrote in message
...
Bought a new electric kettle at ASDA - only £3.

It made me think - how much would a 13 amp plug cost if we still had
to buy one when we bought an appliance? I recall they used to be
about £1:50 in the good old days (for a white one)





Do you not wonder what kind of exploitation is going on to provide
you with a £3 kettle?

Possibly its the choice between starve to death or work in a kettle
factory & earn enough to eat.

Nothing new here. Happened in England during the industrial revolution.
Question is, does the average Chinese consider himself better off?
Probably yes.

As they usually earn enough to send some home to the rest of the family, I
would agree.

ISTM that the main problem with the sweatshop factories is the conditions
that workers are expected to endure, not the wages

Its not only what might be traditionally considered a "sweatshop". You
get a lot of family and private enterprises working in the same
conditions for the same hours and wages

You have to be VERY careful here. Some years ago Mark Thomas did a
program about sweatshops, concentrating on Nike in Bandung. Great, you
might think - except that Nike closed their connections in Bandung and
moved to IIRC Vietnam, leaving thousands with no work at all.


--
geoff