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If there really is such lost value on this, then maybe a startup could capture it, by re-purchasing things, fixing them and reselling them. But there is a reas
by conanbatt 9y ago
If there really is such lost value on this, then maybe a startup could capture it, by re-purchasing things, fixing them and reselling them.
But there is a reason why that is not such an easy business. Take for example startups that buy furniture when you move out and have to re-sell it: furniture is worn but usable, and it is very hard to sell at a profit after handling it.
Many times we can see a market "inefficiency" or lost opportunity value,but its not easy to make it real.
- detritus 9y agoWhy must such things be driven by start-ups and not simply culture?
- tzakrajs 9y agoI am going to guess that people secretly like when their gadget breaks because it gives them an excuse to buy something new.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoBecause billions upon billions is spent on reinforcing the idea that we should throw away something that's "out of fashion" and have a new thing, because new things make you feel great. You want to feel great, right? So throw away that old thing - get a new thing. Being able to find a part to fix something makes me feel way better about myself than increasing the pile of junk being sent to be re-mined in some Chinese junk-yard.
- tzakrajs 9y agoTotally agree!
- conanbatt 9y agoIf there is value ready to be captured, then u can just build a solution to capture it. iCracked lives off of this for example. But it doesnt apply easily to the rest of devices.
- detritus 9y agoMy thinking was more of instances, many, where ‘there isn't much value to be captured’. A profit-led mechanic hasn't the scope or motivation to foment much useful change.
- rootusrootus 9y agoI picked up a Steelcase Leap v2 for $150 at a store that specializes in liquidating office furniture from companies going out of business. On the one hand that means there isn't much of a market there (almost 90% discount for a few years old chair is pretty steep) but ... there is a market.
- adrianN 9y agoThere are billions spent on marketing efforts to bias consumers against buying used goods. It's no wonder that selling refurbished items is difficult.
- fjsolwmv 9y agoIt's also simply expensive to pay for transportation and marketing and the absird sales tax on used goods.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoThere's a lot of lost value. But profit is gained by it's disposal, if we bury a TV then there's an environmental cost but the company gets to sell a new TV and everyone up the supply chain stays in a job a little longer. Profit and value can often point in opposite directions.
- conanbatt 9y agoConsumers have no point in burying the tv. But they cant easily trade a broken thing for money. You can go to craigslist and see people auctioning off perfectly fine stuff for peanutes. I.e. I bought a working printer at 25 with ink: its new value is about 100. But I had to look for it online, find the opportunity, pay in cash, go fetch it, bring it back, and I was also subject to the risk of it being broken, etc.
- lozenge 9y agoThere are plenty of people running phone repair businesses on eBay, but a lot of people can't even be bothered selling their broken phone to a repair shop.