Now the GH600 is not a very expensive item, but I thought I should get at least few years of operation out of it. My prior edger that was "Made in the USA" by Black and Decker and given to me for father's day some 17 years ago. I still even had the Instruction Manual (not the box or a receipt) that came with it and I did as instructed "If you should experience a problem with your Black and Decker Product Please Call 1-800-54-HOW-TO (544-6986)?"
Follow the prompts long enough and they'll send you on to the website, to a "local" repair facility (the nearest was Richmond), or return it to where you purchased it for replacement. You could also send the item for warranty repair (allow 60 days). So off I went to my original place of purchase.
Arriving at Lowe's I was advised that they needed a receipt and the box and would make a full exchange. Knowing I had neither, I did a little further checking of the area where I originally picked up the trimmer and found a replacement "cap and spring" for my GH600 in s plastic bag for $3.48. By this time it wasn't worth the effort to do anything other than just buy the replacement.
After some checking I'd note the original was "Made in China" protected with U.S.patents, and the replacement part came with "Made in Mexico" label. I noticed right away that the replacement had a higher elasticity than that the original. So far the $3.48 part is working and the lawn is trimmed. But this has become one more small example of what people have to put up with when manufacturers move operations offshore.
Companies like Black and Decker want the protections of US Patents and Trademarks, access to the US consumer and US financial markets and yet do not want to provide quality products "Made in the USA". When will the US government step up and protect the American consumer, our labor force, our manufacturing base, and even our way of life?