It’s not only that. There was a shift in the 70s because plastic became easier to industrially use, and it replaced more sturdy materials like metal. And after that came the electronicization of production, now electronic is less durable then mechanic. The neoliberal revolution made the salaries grow slower than before. Add to that planned obsolescence… all that opened the way for cheaper and less reliable production. Every decade since produced less and less durable things… There’s a reaction now, but as the salaries are still low, it’s a hard fight.
A rule I follow for kitchen tools is if I can find a manual, metal version, the better off I am. I use a pour over coffee maker and French press. Electronics just don’t have the lifespan for me to waste money on them.
Same, some things I just do by hand because it’s not so much more work, or leads to a better end result. Moka pot, big knife, iron skillet, some tools are so amazing and low tech. I can’t refrigerate by hand though. We got a monster of a big fridge for the pantry, not hooked up to water, just a cavernous fridge/freezer thing and I LOVE it - it’s like the TARDIS, will look full but if I shove things at I can add two loaves of bread dough, a cabbage, dozen eggs, so far it’s never run out of space even around Thanksgiving with two turkeys in there. I am hoping that because there are fewer moving parts it will last.
And my Honda? I want it to live forever. 6 speed Accord Sport, stealth fun car in a mom car costume.
I agree for most things, they were just built to last a lot longer because product quality was a priority. These days, a company doesn’t want you to buy once, they want to sell you a product that lasts just long enough you’ll buy the same brand after it breaks. I’m a tradesmen and I can attest, the older a tool is, usually the higher quality it is. Same goes for lots of equipment. I once saw a sears model pressure tank from 1972 still in working condition when newer tanks last 5-10 years and the average before that was 15-20. That specific case might be survivorship bias, but every retiree i talk to will claim sears had some high quality stuff when they were yoinger.
Back then, not everyone had a washing machine, a frige, a stove, etc. The untapped market was those without those appliances. The focus was on reducing price while keepijg quality. Later, when most people had a fridge and the sales went down, the execs got the idea to add a shiny new shelf, a built-in freezer, a window, an ice machine, etc. Then they thought up of stuff like energy efficiency, durability, etc for marketing and planned obsolesence for maintaining their bottom line.
Nowadays, I wouldn’t be surprised that more money is spent on researching novel ways of planned obsolesence (while avoiding laws against that in places where it exists), than just using “tried and true” methods would.
Bingo! Everyone thinks they’re so smart coming to these threads to shout about survivorship bias, but much of modern quality, and lack thereof, comes from cutting 1,000 tiny corners over time.
People now days gravitate towards the cheaper option. How is a company to stay in business when their competitors are making shit products, yet outselling them because consumers want cheap?
When there were only a couple of options for a refrigerator, everyone knew how those very few options ranked in quality. Appliances were far more expensive when I was a kid. In 1975, a fridge was $1,800 to $3,700 (adjusted for inflation). You asked friends, neighbors, coworkers, other parishioners, what they thought, because that shit better last! Generally speaking, more expensive was better. Now I have no clue what manufacturers are still quality, lost their way or are new and great quality. Lowes.com has over 700 models listed.
You asked friends, neighbors, coworkers, other parishioners, what they thought, because that shit better last!
You can still do this, I use the Internet tho. There are still brands here and there for each appliance that put the work in on some models, but you have to find them and you’ll pay more. But that $1000 washing machine will easily outlast three $400 machines.
I mean, in a lot of appliances this might be true…but when it comes to refrigerators it’s mostly because the refrigerant we use is a lot less effective, but a lot better for the environment. The demand put on modern day compressors plus the need to meet certain energy consult requirements just makes for a more fickle machine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias
It’s not only that. There was a shift in the 70s because plastic became easier to industrially use, and it replaced more sturdy materials like metal. And after that came the electronicization of production, now electronic is less durable then mechanic. The neoliberal revolution made the salaries grow slower than before. Add to that planned obsolescence… all that opened the way for cheaper and less reliable production. Every decade since produced less and less durable things… There’s a reaction now, but as the salaries are still low, it’s a hard fight.
A rule I follow for kitchen tools is if I can find a manual, metal version, the better off I am. I use a pour over coffee maker and French press. Electronics just don’t have the lifespan for me to waste money on them.
Same, some things I just do by hand because it’s not so much more work, or leads to a better end result. Moka pot, big knife, iron skillet, some tools are so amazing and low tech. I can’t refrigerate by hand though. We got a monster of a big fridge for the pantry, not hooked up to water, just a cavernous fridge/freezer thing and I LOVE it - it’s like the TARDIS, will look full but if I shove things at I can add two loaves of bread dough, a cabbage, dozen eggs, so far it’s never run out of space even around Thanksgiving with two turkeys in there. I am hoping that because there are fewer moving parts it will last.
And my Honda? I want it to live forever. 6 speed Accord Sport, stealth fun car in a mom car costume.
I agree for most things, they were just built to last a lot longer because product quality was a priority. These days, a company doesn’t want you to buy once, they want to sell you a product that lasts just long enough you’ll buy the same brand after it breaks. I’m a tradesmen and I can attest, the older a tool is, usually the higher quality it is. Same goes for lots of equipment. I once saw a sears model pressure tank from 1972 still in working condition when newer tanks last 5-10 years and the average before that was 15-20. That specific case might be survivorship bias, but every retiree i talk to will claim sears had some high quality stuff when they were yoinger.
Back then, not everyone had a washing machine, a frige, a stove, etc. The untapped market was those without those appliances. The focus was on reducing price while keepijg quality. Later, when most people had a fridge and the sales went down, the execs got the idea to add a shiny new shelf, a built-in freezer, a window, an ice machine, etc. Then they thought up of stuff like energy efficiency, durability, etc for marketing and planned obsolesence for maintaining their bottom line.
Nowadays, I wouldn’t be surprised that more money is spent on researching novel ways of planned obsolesence (while avoiding laws against that in places where it exists), than just using “tried and true” methods would.
Yes, Craftsman was top of line, across the whole product line. When I worked at Lowes, Craftsman was the shittiest option in the garden center.
I see your survivor bias and raise you my value engineering.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_engineering
Bingo! Everyone thinks they’re so smart coming to these threads to shout about survivorship bias, but much of modern quality, and lack thereof, comes from cutting 1,000 tiny corners over time.
People now days gravitate towards the cheaper option. How is a company to stay in business when their competitors are making shit products, yet outselling them because consumers want cheap?
When there were only a couple of options for a refrigerator, everyone knew how those very few options ranked in quality. Appliances were far more expensive when I was a kid. In 1975, a fridge was $1,800 to $3,700 (adjusted for inflation). You asked friends, neighbors, coworkers, other parishioners, what they thought, because that shit better last! Generally speaking, more expensive was better. Now I have no clue what manufacturers are still quality, lost their way or are new and great quality. Lowes.com has over 700 models listed.
You can still do this, I use the Internet tho. There are still brands here and there for each appliance that put the work in on some models, but you have to find them and you’ll pay more. But that $1000 washing machine will easily outlast three $400 machines.
I mean, in a lot of appliances this might be true…but when it comes to refrigerators it’s mostly because the refrigerant we use is a lot less effective, but a lot better for the environment. The demand put on modern day compressors plus the need to meet certain energy consult requirements just makes for a more fickle machine.