But you can find examples where the shift has gone the other way too. They have always, and still have, a range of qualities. We just bought a pair of armchairs

But you can find examples where the shift has gone the other way too. They have always, and still have, a range of qualities. We just bought a pair of armchairs that seems to be quite solidly built and with nice material and finish, but I also had to throw away some kitchen chairs after just few years that we bought in 2010 because they were falling apart. In my experience, even pieces that has the same name can change from year to year (in either direction quality wise), because they have found a way to rationalise the manufacturing further or found a different factory that will produce it slightly cheaper but with slightly different standards.