5 ms·

This sounds to me like a combination of survivorship bias and cost preference. You see the resilient things at your grandparents' house because those are the o

This sounds to me like a combination of survivorship bias and cost preference. You see the resilient things at your grandparents' house because those are the only things that have survived. All the poor quality things they purchased over the years are gone by now. Also, you and your parents probably favor lower-cost items (as do most people these days) over longevity. This may simply not have been possible in your grandparents' time, pre-globalization. It's still very possible to get high-quality and long-lasting goods (the buyitforlife subreddit is a good starting point), but you're going to pay a lot more for them than most people are willing to in comparison to the "replace it when it breaks" mass-produced-in-China goods.

pwpw 3y ago
I definitely agree with you. I would also add that I believe there’s an element of the period of time in which they had the money to purchase their goods. Many goods had been iterated upon and become the best versions while having been around long enough to make an informed decision on high quality products. Today, we have been in a period of rapid change as technology advances. My grandparents bought the best of the analog world. Their CRT TVs were the peak of consumer sets. The world switched to LCDs when I was looking to buy a TV, which took a long time to catch up to the height of CRTs (not until OLED in my opinion). Their film cameras took exceptional pictures. Only recently have most consumer DSLRs begun to achieve the same level of quality. Their cars had battle-tested V6 engines while the cars I looked at had newer, unproven inline 4 engines that came with carbon build up issues. So a mix of survivorship bias and cost preference but also the current state of the market. Fortunately for me, I have been able to purchase a nice PVM to play my old video game consoles on, have made use of my grandfather’s film camera and can develop the film at a local studio, and am able to buy a used car with a proven V6 engine since they are still available in the market. When buying products that will hopefully last, I first look to what my grandparents own as a starting point. Often, purchasing older goods let me take advantage of those points you mentioned. For a current product on the market that is pretty great, I have been pleased with a Moccamaster coffee maker.
- galacticdessert 3y ago
  Small and efficient ICE engines are as proved a technology as it gets. If you end up buying a V6 engine now it is not because of how good or reliable the engine is, it is either nostalgia or status symbol. So, please don’t and be more mindful of your emissions.
mattmanser 3y ago
I personally don't favour cheap over longevity, and I don't really believe most consumer do either. The problem is that it has become increasingly difficult to discern if something will last. An expensive product, from what was a trusted brand, can be just as short lived as a cheap one these days. Cost does not always reflect quality. And brands that build long-lived products struggle as they don't have the repeat customers of products that are good, but contain forced obsolescence features. It's a hidden cost to consumers that is often hard to figure out without extensive research.
- wellanyway 3y ago
  Exactly. Marshall Major headphones I bought some tears ago looked and were priced in a way I thought would guarantee decade of service at least. They fell apart in half a year revealing multiple fundamental design flaws.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- adhesive_wombat 3y ago
  > And brands that build long-lived products struggle as they don't have the repeat customers of products that are good I know of a company that was a national leader in a certain kind of industrial equipment. Now that the industry isn't expanding in this country, the market is saturated and they can't sell anything because what they sold decades ago was designed for excellence and just won't die. Nearly all business now is occasional servicing of their old equipment.
  - peteradio 3y ago
    They should be able to increase the margin of their meager sales at the least, with a history like that.
  - noisy_boy 3y ago
    Well, if their brand is that strong, that itself allows them to start making something else - you know, "from the makers of <stuff_that_just_wouldn't_die>"; won't need much brand building and convincing because people are still eating the pudding containing the proof.

pwpw 3y ago

I definitely agree with you. I would also add that I believe there’s an element of the period of time in which they had the money to purchase their goods. Many goods had been iterated upon and become the best versions while having been around long enough to make an informed decision on high quality products. Today, we have been in a period of rapid change as technology advances. My grandparents bought the best of the analog world. Their CRT TVs were the peak of consumer sets. The world switched to LCDs when I was looking to buy a TV, which took a long time to catch up to the height of CRTs (not until OLED in my opinion). Their film cameras took exceptional pictures. Only recently have most consumer DSLRs begun to achieve the same level of quality. Their cars had battle-tested V6 engines while the cars I looked at had newer, unproven inline 4 engines that came with carbon build up issues. So a mix of survivorship bias and cost preference but also the current state of the market. Fortunately for me, I have been able to purchase a nice PVM to play my old video game consoles on, have made use of my grandfather’s film camera and can develop the film at a local studio, and am able to buy a used car with a proven V6 engine since they are still available in the market. When buying products that will hopefully last, I first look to what my grandparents own as a starting point. Often, purchasing older goods let me take advantage of those points you mentioned. For a current product on the market that is pretty great, I have been pleased with a Moccamaster coffee maker.

galacticdessert 3y ago
Small and efficient ICE engines are as proved a technology as it gets. If you end up buying a V6 engine now it is not because of how good or reliable the engine is, it is either nostalgia or status symbol. So, please don’t and be more mindful of your emissions.

mattmanser 3y ago

I personally don't favour cheap over longevity, and I don't really believe most consumer do either. The problem is that it has become increasingly difficult to discern if something will last. An expensive product, from what was a trusted brand, can be just as short lived as a cheap one these days. Cost does not always reflect quality. And brands that build long-lived products struggle as they don't have the repeat customers of products that are good, but contain forced obsolescence features. It's a hidden cost to consumers that is often hard to figure out without extensive research.

wellanyway 3y ago
Exactly. Marshall Major headphones I bought some tears ago looked and were priced in a way I thought would guarantee decade of service at least. They fell apart in half a year revealing multiple fundamental design flaws.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
adhesive_wombat 3y ago
> And brands that build long-lived products struggle as they don't have the repeat customers of products that are good I know of a company that was a national leader in a certain kind of industrial equipment. Now that the industry isn't expanding in this country, the market is saturated and they can't sell anything because what they sold decades ago was designed for excellence and just won't die. Nearly all business now is occasional servicing of their old equipment.
- peteradio 3y ago
  They should be able to increase the margin of their meager sales at the least, with a history like that.
- noisy_boy 3y ago
  Well, if their brand is that strong, that itself allows them to start making something else - you know, "from the makers of <stuff_that_just_wouldn't_die>"; won't need much brand building and convincing because people are still eating the pudding containing the proof.