Xiaoniu 小妞

On my quick trip to BJ’s to pick up boxes tonight I made a stop at the local 99 cent store. I’ve been to a number of “dollar” and none of them stand up against this one. I’m always in awe when I walk around in this place. Everything and I mean everything is made in China. The only things in that store not made in China is the electricity and the money. Everything else is an import. Even the owners are Chinese.
I never would have entered the doors if it wasn’t for Sue. The first time we went there to buy a bag to wrap around a big present. We didn’t get a bag, but we went home with plenty of cheap, but useful items. Tonight I went to pick up some cheap, packing tape, which I did actuall come home with, but I did pick up a few other things too.

Like I said everything in the place is made in China. At least 75% of the items are rip-offs of common products you can get anywhere in the US. Many of the items are very obvious rip-offs. For example, a large, colorful rainbow array of markers that at a glance look like Sharpies, but if you look really close at text on the barrels of the markers you can almost make out the name amonst the Chinese characters and it definitely is not Sharpie.

They sell lots of odd and sometimes useful items. Where else can you buy a cauking gun for 99 cents? How about a home pregnancy test for 99 cents? Seriously! They sell them. I just can’t imagine anybody actually buying one. Could you really rely on it?

They also sell lots of cooking wear and hand tools. Hammers, mallets, coils of rope, plungers, saws; all 99 cents. Bowls, chef knives, pots, serving dishes; all 99 cents. Underwear, ties, socks, etc; all 99 cents. You name it and they probably have it in stock or they can order it.

Sounds wonderful and all, but oh boy this stuff is cheaply made. Very cheaply made indeed. I do my best to buy only things that look like they’ll be usable after one use. Tonight I picked up a large roll of packing tape. I unrolled a bit to make sure it was actually sticky enough to do the job. Then I picked up a tape dispenser, some light bulbs and a bucket for Sue. $4.28 including tax. Not bad.

The stuff I got was pretty good too. The tape worked well and the dispenser worked better than I expected. It saved me plenty of time and stuggle taping all the boxes.

So, why do I mention my trip to this store and the crap I bought? Well, I’m still amazed at the amount of very cheap products they sell. To this day seeing “Made in China” makes me weary of laying out money for the item. Chinese made items are improving in quality, but there is plenty of crap out there still. Take a trip to any Chinatown and see for yourself.
I’m not the only one that realizes it though. When we took our trip to China our local tour guide made plenty of jokes about the low quality of Chinese made products. “Oh your unbrella broke after opening it for the first time? Must be made in China. Hahahaha!” I can still remember him saying stuff like that.