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That's an interesting point, but I doubt it's much worse than it is today if at all. Poor poeple can be in trouble when their car or washing machine gives up th

That's an interesting point, but I doubt it's much worse than it is today if at all. Poor poeple can be in trouble when their car or washing machine gives up the ghost. So they buy a new one on credit. The monthly instalments are quite similar to a subscription model. I'm not sure which one is more expensive.

mantas 9y ago
There's a huuuuge second-hand market for cars and washing machines and whatnot. You can easily get another run-down item for super cheap. Then there're repair services that refurbish old items. You'd be surprised what handy people can do. Yes, they wouldn't be as good as new, but they'd work pretty well. With service-everything approach, there would be no second-hand market. Independent garages/repair shops wouldn't get much business either. Everybody would be stuck in rent market wether you like it or not/
- fauigerzigerk 9y ago
  True, I'm just saying that in terms of fixed monthly payments renting may not make a huge difference compared to buying on credit. More than half of all used cars in the US are bought using some sort of financing as well. But I do agree that there are important differences.
  - mantas 9y ago
    The main difference is wether you keep the item or return it. If it was purely service and everybody turned in their cars, there wouldn't be used market as we know it. Either those cars would be recycled or rented out for lower price again.
    - xorcist 9y ago
      I am convinced that is where we are heading. It's just that the market moves slowly. Cars are already chipped up, all we need to do is put keys in there, call it a protection mechanism and it can be made illegal to both re-sell and service the equipment without the proper license. This process can then be repeated for dishwashers and other capital intensive equipment.
      - mantas 9y ago
        If you look from that perspective, it can be applied to anything. Shoes can be chipped up easily too. Market may be trying to move in that direction, but there's plenty of force against it. Like recent right-to-repair laws. Or people ditching subscription-only software for worse, but paid-once alternatives.

mantas 9y ago

There's a huuuuge second-hand market for cars and washing machines and whatnot. You can easily get another run-down item for super cheap. Then there're repair services that refurbish old items. You'd be surprised what handy people can do. Yes, they wouldn't be as good as new, but they'd work pretty well. With service-everything approach, there would be no second-hand market. Independent garages/repair shops wouldn't get much business either. Everybody would be stuck in rent market wether you like it or not/

fauigerzigerk 9y ago
True, I'm just saying that in terms of fixed monthly payments renting may not make a huge difference compared to buying on credit. More than half of all used cars in the US are bought using some sort of financing as well. But I do agree that there are important differences.
- mantas 9y ago
  The main difference is wether you keep the item or return it. If it was purely service and everybody turned in their cars, there wouldn't be used market as we know it. Either those cars would be recycled or rented out for lower price again.
  - xorcist 9y ago
    I am convinced that is where we are heading. It's just that the market moves slowly. Cars are already chipped up, all we need to do is put keys in there, call it a protection mechanism and it can be made illegal to both re-sell and service the equipment without the proper license. This process can then be repeated for dishwashers and other capital intensive equipment.
    - mantas 9y ago
      If you look from that perspective, it can be applied to anything. Shoes can be chipped up easily too. Market may be trying to move in that direction, but there's plenty of force against it. Like recent right-to-repair laws. Or people ditching subscription-only software for worse, but paid-once alternatives.