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I guess "selling things that will wear out soon even though it wouldn't be hard to make better ones that last way longer" is stretching the definition? Because
by svachalek 4y ago
I guess "selling things that will wear out soon even though it wouldn't be hard to make better ones that last way longer" is stretching the definition? Because that's everywhere.
- WalterBright 4y agoPeople aren't willing to pay more for things that last longer.
- Arrath 4y agoIndividuals are. I buy more expensive boots knowing they'll last longer. Communities like the BuyItForLife or the Frugral subreddits discuss products and durability. A large enough cohort of consumers to influence manufacturers aren't doing so, unfortunately.
- _yb2s 4y agoThere is no strong incentive for companies to make products that last longer than a certain period of time, so they put no effort into it. I think that's really what people are calling "planned obsolescence." I think "unplanned obsolescence" would be a more accurate term. I really doubt any companies have teams of engineers tasked specifically with reducing product longevity.
- fhd2 4y agoCompanies evolve whatever strategies work best to extract the highest amount of consumer dollars at the lowest cost. I also doubt most of them have specific goals to make their products worse, but brand power, walled gardens, monopolies and cartels let them get away with quite a few tricks that _end up_ making them worse.
- olalonde 4y agoYes, it's stretching the definition. The fact that consumers are buying plenty of things that will wear out soon is not evidence of planned obsolescence. It is evidence that consumers prefer those products over those that last longer (probably because they are cheaper).
- Eupraxias 4y agoYou're assuming that the intelligence of a consumer of well designed products is at parity with that of a consumer of cheap products. You're also assuming that the critical mass of people have enough money to choose.
- olalonde 4y agoNo, I'm not making those assumptions. Can you elaborate?
- Eupraxias 4y agoI'm just taking issue with the word "prefer". Do people really prefer cheaper things? Often people can only afford cheaper things, and don't prefer them over well-built things. I buy cheap things and often would prefer a more expensive thing. I can further unravel the logic of my two statements if you prefer, but it's probably annoying.
- olalonde 4y agoYou are right, I was not using the colloquial sense of the word. I was using it to mean what people choose to purchase under price/budget constraints[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revealed_preference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revealed_preference