4 ms·

Here's one solution: don't buy cheap garbage. Yes, someone makes a $23 drone. It is cheap plastic shit from China. Do you really need to buy it, and then throw

Here's one solution: don't buy cheap garbage. Yes, someone makes a $23 drone. It is cheap plastic shit from China. Do you really need to buy it, and then throw it in landfill a week (or two days) later after it breaks? Did OP reeeeeally expect a $23 drone to be on the up-and-up and NOT end up as landfill? OP is a bit oblivious to his impact on the environment. This race to the bottom for the cheapest crap is what inspires these tactics.

dan-robertson 6y ago
... Except that Amazon also has a problem with counterfeiting, especially for known brands.
- SoSoRoCoCo 6y ago
  Absolutely agreed. It's a different topic though. Amazon even steals top sellers, copies them, and pushes out the originator! (I think there was a radiolab about a guy who invented a bunch of grill tools that Amazon duplicated, and bottom-listed him). There are lots of problems with Amazon, but in hindsight, perhaps my original comment was a bit offtopic...
omginternets 6y ago
I've heard this phrased as "buy once, cry once". A few years ago my New Year's resolution was to stop buying cheap crap, and to consciously save up for nice things. This had a few unexpected consequences: 1. I accumulate less junk and produce less waste. 2. I buy less stuff and end up spending less money in the long run, since there's only so much you can save up for at once. 3. My purchases bring me much more pleasure; the anticipation and research heightens the joy of actually getting the thing. Number 3 was the most surprising to me, most likely because I have a rather strong anti-materialism streak. I'm not the kind of person who "goes shopping", but even I must admit that deliberately saving up for something makes its purchase a bit more meaningful, and loads more satisfying. Oh, and I basically don't experience buyer's remorse anymore, which is nice.
- ptmcc 6y ago
  I've come to similar conclusions as you. > the anticipation and research heightens the joy of actually getting the thing I've found that the research and thinking process is often the most fun part, and that I can replace that little dopamine hit from buying a bunch of cheap crap by window shopping for nicer, more expensive things for the future. Then when I am finally ready to buy something nice, I've already done most of the research to know exactly what I want/need. It also helps filter out stuff I don't really need or care about, since I tend to forget about that junk if I don't impulse buy it. Put junk in your cart but don't buy it until you sleep on it, and 9 times out of 10 you realize you don't really need it or even care about it once the novelty is gone. I end up buying less throwaway crap, and I end up mostly very pleased with the nicer things I do buy.
kevincox 6y ago
The problem is that we don't have a great indicator of quality other than price. Why do I think the $30 or $50 will be better? It probably is, but I have no way to tell if I am getting a better quality product or basically the same just sold at a higher price. It is hard to decide to take this "risk" when you don't know. Trusted reviews and recommendations can solve this but they are hard to come by.
- PaulKeeble 6y ago
  It has become increasing difficult to find good reviews too. The use of affiliate links means there are a lot of affiliate link farm sites now that do top 10 product listings and sometimes they make really hard to determine if they know what they are talking about or not. You can waste a lot of time trying to find real roundup reviews that aren't just affiliate link scam sites on search engines.
- RandallBrown 6y ago
  There's lots of indicators of quality on the amazon page beyond the price and reviews. Look at the title. It's just restating generic "drone" SEO nonsense over and over. There's not even a real name of the product. The photos of the item are pretty clearly photoshopped stock imagery. The description is full of grammatical and punctuation errors. The brand has no online presence beyond its Amazon listings. It doesn't even have its own Amazon brand page. It may be asking too much of the general consumer to look at these signals, but they seem pretty obvious to me.
prepend 6y ago
It’s a children’s toy meant to be played with for a few hours. So $23 makes since since this is a simple toy. The thinking that people shouldn’t pay low amounts leads to companies selling the same junk but for $100 instead. Cheap things should be cheap, I think.
- r00fus 6y ago
  Amazing mentality. Of course, no concern for the externalities...
  - prepend 6y ago
    I think externalities should be priced into that $23. Lots of things can be cheap and still account for externalities. A wacky wall walker [0] is less than a dollar? Does that amaze you? Should it cost more? Should it not exist? Same with a spinning top. Or a book. Or colored pencils. I’m certainly concerned with externalities and make my children’s toy purchases accordingly. I am curious and would like to know why you think a $23 plastic drone isn’t very good. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_WallWalker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_WallWalker

dan-robertson 6y ago

... Except that Amazon also has a problem with counterfeiting, especially for known brands.

SoSoRoCoCo 6y ago
Absolutely agreed. It's a different topic though. Amazon even steals top sellers, copies them, and pushes out the originator! (I think there was a radiolab about a guy who invented a bunch of grill tools that Amazon duplicated, and bottom-listed him). There are lots of problems with Amazon, but in hindsight, perhaps my original comment was a bit offtopic...

omginternets 6y ago

I've heard this phrased as "buy once, cry once". A few years ago my New Year's resolution was to stop buying cheap crap, and to consciously save up for nice things. This had a few unexpected consequences: 1. I accumulate less junk and produce less waste. 2. I buy less stuff and end up spending less money in the long run, since there's only so much you can save up for at once. 3. My purchases bring me much more pleasure; the anticipation and research heightens the joy of actually getting the thing. Number 3 was the most surprising to me, most likely because I have a rather strong anti-materialism streak. I'm not the kind of person who "goes shopping", but even I must admit that deliberately saving up for something makes its purchase a bit more meaningful, and loads more satisfying. Oh, and I basically don't experience buyer's remorse anymore, which is nice.

ptmcc 6y ago
I've come to similar conclusions as you. > the anticipation and research heightens the joy of actually getting the thing I've found that the research and thinking process is often the most fun part, and that I can replace that little dopamine hit from buying a bunch of cheap crap by window shopping for nicer, more expensive things for the future. Then when I am finally ready to buy something nice, I've already done most of the research to know exactly what I want/need. It also helps filter out stuff I don't really need or care about, since I tend to forget about that junk if I don't impulse buy it. Put junk in your cart but don't buy it until you sleep on it, and 9 times out of 10 you realize you don't really need it or even care about it once the novelty is gone. I end up buying less throwaway crap, and I end up mostly very pleased with the nicer things I do buy.

kevincox 6y ago

The problem is that we don't have a great indicator of quality other than price. Why do I think the $30 or $50 will be better? It probably is, but I have no way to tell if I am getting a better quality product or basically the same just sold at a higher price. It is hard to decide to take this "risk" when you don't know. Trusted reviews and recommendations can solve this but they are hard to come by.

PaulKeeble 6y ago
It has become increasing difficult to find good reviews too. The use of affiliate links means there are a lot of affiliate link farm sites now that do top 10 product listings and sometimes they make really hard to determine if they know what they are talking about or not. You can waste a lot of time trying to find real roundup reviews that aren't just affiliate link scam sites on search engines.
RandallBrown 6y ago
There's lots of indicators of quality on the amazon page beyond the price and reviews. Look at the title. It's just restating generic "drone" SEO nonsense over and over. There's not even a real name of the product. The photos of the item are pretty clearly photoshopped stock imagery. The description is full of grammatical and punctuation errors. The brand has no online presence beyond its Amazon listings. It doesn't even have its own Amazon brand page. It may be asking too much of the general consumer to look at these signals, but they seem pretty obvious to me.

prepend 6y ago

It’s a children’s toy meant to be played with for a few hours. So $23 makes since since this is a simple toy. The thinking that people shouldn’t pay low amounts leads to companies selling the same junk but for $100 instead. Cheap things should be cheap, I think.

r00fus 6y ago
Amazing mentality. Of course, no concern for the externalities...
- prepend 6y ago
  I think externalities should be priced into that $23. Lots of things can be cheap and still account for externalities. A wacky wall walker [0] is less than a dollar? Does that amaze you? Should it cost more? Should it not exist? Same with a spinning top. Or a book. Or colored pencils. I’m certainly concerned with externalities and make my children’s toy purchases accordingly. I am curious and would like to know why you think a $23 plastic drone isn’t very good. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_WallWalker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_WallWalker