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Did you actually need a welder before you watched that show? Were you actively looking at different welders and weighing up their features vs. costs? If so, ha

Did you actually need a welder before you watched that show? Were you actively looking at different welders and weighing up their features vs. costs? If so, had you considered the possibilities of hiring a welder for those seldom/rare occasions you need one? Or just paying someone to do the occasional bit of welding you might need done? (I am assuming, maybe incorrectly, that since you don't already own a welder, you are not someone who actually has high demand for welding at present. Perhaps you're planning some future activities that imply "lots of welding".) If you were not actively Welder Shopping, then their advertising worked, didn't it?

tragic 11y ago
I think parent's point is that, precisely, it does work, when things are intelligently targeted, rather than unintentionally weird and annoying.
- mikro2nd 11y ago
  And I think my point is that they probably didn't really need that crap, but the advertising convinced them that they did. I think that's a bad thing. (And possibly I'm straying offtopic for the thread. Begs forgiveness.) :)
jacquesm 11y ago
I've got two welders (MIG and SMAW aka stick), never looked at a single advertisement. I went to the local welding specialist, outlined what I wanted to do, listened to his advice. Then I went to three more such stores. Then I went to a friend of mine who is an all-position welder in the offshore industry, told him what I wanted to do, listened to his advice. Based on all that I made my decision and bought what I thought I should and have been pretty happy with that choice. Nowhere in this whole affair did 'marketing' or 'advertising' play any significant role other than maybe product documentation. Also, at no point during all this would an ad for a welder have made me decide to purchase that particular product because there is no way a broadcast ad could inform me about a product in as much detail and with as much knowledge as the above process could.
WalterBright 11y ago
There is such a vast array of welders available, I really had no idea what the tradeoffs were, such as MIG or TIG? The show not only explains the differences, they go through how to use them. No, I don't need a welder. But the point of tinkering with a muscle car is to do the work yourself. Besides, it'd be a lot of time and hassle paying someone else to do the work, besides being far more expensive. I've also learned from the show how freaking useful tools like angle grinders and sawzalls are. I've bought both, and they've made my work much easier than the older methods. One area they go wrong is electrical work. They don't use proper technique in connecting wires - the work they do will degrade after a couple years and cause frustrating erratic behavior.

tragic 11y ago

I think parent's point is that, precisely, it does work, when things are intelligently targeted, rather than unintentionally weird and annoying.

mikro2nd 11y ago
And I think my point is that they probably didn't really need that crap, but the advertising convinced them that they did. I think that's a bad thing. (And possibly I'm straying offtopic for the thread. Begs forgiveness.) :)

jacquesm 11y ago

I've got two welders (MIG and SMAW aka stick), never looked at a single advertisement. I went to the local welding specialist, outlined what I wanted to do, listened to his advice. Then I went to three more such stores. Then I went to a friend of mine who is an all-position welder in the offshore industry, told him what I wanted to do, listened to his advice. Based on all that I made my decision and bought what I thought I should and have been pretty happy with that choice. Nowhere in this whole affair did 'marketing' or 'advertising' play any significant role other than maybe product documentation. Also, at no point during all this would an ad for a welder have made me decide to purchase that particular product because there is no way a broadcast ad could inform me about a product in as much detail and with as much knowledge as the above process could.

WalterBright 11y ago

There is such a vast array of welders available, I really had no idea what the tradeoffs were, such as MIG or TIG? The show not only explains the differences, they go through how to use them. No, I don't need a welder. But the point of tinkering with a muscle car is to do the work yourself. Besides, it'd be a lot of time and hassle paying someone else to do the work, besides being far more expensive. I've also learned from the show how freaking useful tools like angle grinders and sawzalls are. I've bought both, and they've made my work much easier than the older methods. One area they go wrong is electrical work. They don't use proper technique in connecting wires - the work they do will degrade after a couple years and cause frustrating erratic behavior.