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It says more that customers overwhelmingly prefer cheap products. A 1962 washing machine was 184.95 [1] ($1523.97 today) and a 1959 model was $209.95 [2] ($172
by scrooched_moose 8y ago
It says more that customers overwhelmingly prefer cheap products.
A 1962 washing machine was 184.95 [1] ($1523.97 today) and a 1959 model was $209.95 [2] ($1729.97 today); which are both more expensive than all but the highest end front loader currently at Best Buy. The vast majority of top loaders are in the $500-700 range, top loaders $800-1000. There simply isn't much market for $2000 machines that will last decades.
It's a similar story for almost all home appliances I've looked at.
1) http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60selectrical.html http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60selectrical.html
2) http://www.aei.org/publication/appliance-shopping-1959-vs-2012/ http://www.aei.org/publication/appliance-shopping-1959-vs-20...
- philsnow 8y ago> The vast majority of top loaders are in the $500-700 range, top loaders $800-1000. There simply isn't much market for $2000 machines that will last decades. Those "high end" washing machines will also fail in the same time range that the low end ones will. There is a market for them, but it will remain unfulfilled because the manufacturers make more money in the short term with the low-reliability ones.
- jandrese 8y agoI've never seen a washing machine manufacturer put their money where their mouth is with a $2000 machine with a 20 year comprehensive warranty.