I’ve got an old Homelite gas-powered string trimmer that I decided to try to bring back to life.  It was running when I put it away, but it was very hard to start, since the pull rope wouldn’t retract correctly.  I recently found the Homelite parts supplier and ordered the rope, spring, and spool components for the starter.

What’s interesting is that the pull rope came in a plastic bag that was marked “Made in United States, Packaged in Mexico.”  That one caused me to do a double-take for a second.  It’s just a bit of rope. Wouldn’t it be cost prohibitive to ship rope from the US to Mexico to have it put in packages?

I guess they can ship it down there in spools and then cut and package it, but it just seems weird.  You’d think the shipping costs in both directions would eat up any savings in labor.