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A better incentive would be to require manufacturers to sell unlimited (yearly) warranty for their products. When you buy a product, you'll get the option to pa

by oever 9y ago

A better incentive would be to require manufacturers to sell unlimited (yearly) warranty for their products. When you buy a product, you'll get the option to pay a yearly renewable sum that guarantees that any failings from normal use will be repaired. Such a requirement will make the seller optimize the product for affordable longevity and make it cheap and easy to repair the product. A significant number of consumers will appreciate the predictable cost for the use of the product and take out such a warranty.

zyx321 9y ago
If you're willing to keep paying indefinitely to always have a working product, at a price that is economically viable for the manufacturer, are you sure you really want to buy anything? Wouldn't you much rather have a lease with option to purchase?
TylerE 9y ago
That isn't really reasonable. No product is expected to work _forever_. Things fail. ICs go out of production.
- oever 9y ago
  At some point an equivalent product could be offered as a replacement. Or parts could be replaced. The cost of this will be reflected in the price of the warranty which also serves as a down payment for a replacement product. But still, the producer will have an incentive to do an honest assessment of the longevity of the product via the cost of the warranty. Too low will cost the company and too high will shy away the consumer.
  - undersuit 9y ago
    >At some point an equivalent product could be offered as a replacement. Or parts could be replaced. Some computer graphic card manufactures have a system like this. If the card fails in it's lifetime warranty they will replace the card with an equivalent or better model. One of my friends had their RMAed EVGA card upgraded even though it was 5 years old, and it wasn't to just the current performance equivalent, their $300 5 year old card was replaced with a $300 new card.
- sly010 9y ago
  Buildings fail over time. Yet when you rent a flat you have a reasonable expectation that it won't collapse on you. Perhaps there is a good function between product age and monthly warranty cost that creates the right incentive.
deleted 9y ago
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closeparen 9y ago
Almost no consumer could afford to purchase a lifetime supply of cars or even computers upfront. Hopefully the credit market would lend it to the common man, otherwise he would simply not have these things (at least until very late in life after decades of savings accumulation, at which point lifetime replacements aren't worth much).

by oever 9y ago

zyx321 9y ago

If you're willing to keep paying indefinitely to always have a working product, at a price that is economically viable for the manufacturer, are you sure you really want to buy anything? Wouldn't you much rather have a lease with option to purchase?

TylerE 9y ago

That isn't really reasonable. No product is expected to work _forever_. Things fail. ICs go out of production.

oever 9y ago
At some point an equivalent product could be offered as a replacement. Or parts could be replaced. The cost of this will be reflected in the price of the warranty which also serves as a down payment for a replacement product. But still, the producer will have an incentive to do an honest assessment of the longevity of the product via the cost of the warranty. Too low will cost the company and too high will shy away the consumer.
- undersuit 9y ago
  >At some point an equivalent product could be offered as a replacement. Or parts could be replaced. Some computer graphic card manufactures have a system like this. If the card fails in it's lifetime warranty they will replace the card with an equivalent or better model. One of my friends had their RMAed EVGA card upgraded even though it was 5 years old, and it wasn't to just the current performance equivalent, their $300 5 year old card was replaced with a $300 new card.
sly010 9y ago
Buildings fail over time. Yet when you rent a flat you have a reasonable expectation that it won't collapse on you. Perhaps there is a good function between product age and monthly warranty cost that creates the right incentive.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

closeparen 9y ago

Almost no consumer could afford to purchase a lifetime supply of cars or even computers upfront. Hopefully the credit market would lend it to the common man, otherwise he would simply not have these things (at least until very late in life after decades of savings accumulation, at which point lifetime replacements aren't worth much).