4 ms·
Pretty on the nose. I think even more accurate is that quality/longevity and price are almost completely decoupled. Spending more doesn’t guarantee higher qua
by CPLX 3y ago
Pretty on the nose.
I think even more accurate is that quality/longevity and price are almost completely decoupled.
Spending more doesn’t guarantee higher quality it mostly gets you exceptional graphic design and deftly nested packaging that makes you feel good when you open it.
But it’s not like all the cheap stuff is better. A Rolex is an incredible engineering marvel and is in fact very high quality and durable. So are Festool tools, and so on.
But like so is G-shock and a random and difficult to pin down subset of Harbor Freight.
The broader point is that none of this really makes a fucking difference most of the discussion is just people preening about their choices instead of admitting it’s mostly a roll of the dice.
And the old stuff wasn’t “better” it was just different. When I was a kid in the 70’s and 80’s garages were full of shoddy junk from the 50’s and 60’s. That stuff is just all gone right now.
- nerdchum 3y agoYeah completely agree that price is decoupled from quality nowadays and it's pretty random. Price seems to be based a lot more on marketing and brand saturation than quality. And quality brands get bought up all the time and the new company will coast on the brand while outsourcing manufacturing to the lowest bidder. And you can't trust reviews with affiliate marketing around. So pretty much the only thing to do to identify quality is to experiment or share info with people you trust. I've wasted a ton of money on shitty products on the way to identifying quality products. I'm not even railing against status. I bought a pair of Alan Edmonds specifically for job interviews to signal status but I wear LL Bean shoes and Crocs the rest of the time. Also, there's other factors besides just durability and status. There's aesthetics, variable utility, ease of replacement, warranty availability, price, etc. I hate shopping so I think alot about this haha
- DubiousPusher 3y agoIn the world of fashion perhaps. In the world of tools, absolutely not.
- nerdchum 3y agoIn human society its arguable that fashion is a tool of communication. At least thats how I have to justify it to myself because I hate being forced to participate in it but we all are constantly being judged on how we look.
- DubiousPusher 3y agoMy reply was strictly in regards to > Yeah completely agree that price is decoupled from quality nowadays In the world of physic tools, price and quality are highly coupled. To your other points, I honestly think fashion is very rewarding and healthy so long as you are focused on making yourself look good to you. And I agree, some fashion conformity is unavoidable. Especially depending upon your career field.
- sanderjd 3y agoThe area in which this drives me the craziest is furniture. I have no idea how to find high quality durable furniture. Price signals definitely aren't it, but I have no idea what signals I can look for, or where to go to find them.
- nerdchum 3y agoFurniture is INSANE! Ive never felt like I was in a more skeezy situation than mattress shopping.
- frutiger 3y agoDesign Within Reach, Herman Miller, Room & Board, Blu Dot, ...
- sanderjd 3y agoThanks this is really helpful. But how do I know what is or isn't junk at these retailers? None of the ones on this list have a showroom near me. And what goes in the ... ?
- ticviking 3y agoYou have to learn enough about how they are built and then haunt local consignment shops for good finds. It’s taken my wife and I years to slowly get pieces that will last the rest of our life.
- sanderjd 3y agoI have two young children, I don't have time to "haunt" anything. But before we had kids we tried this with consignment stores, would spend like a year looking for some simple piece of furniture, and end up with junk anyway.
- vGPU 3y agoIn general: pick the heaviest ones.
- msla 3y ago> A Rolex is an incredible engineering marvel and is in fact very high quality and durable. But it's fundamentally worse at being a timepiece than a digital watch synchronized to an NTP time server.
- badpun 3y agoIt's a Rube Goldberg machine.
- Our_Benefactors 3y agoThis is a completely different device than a mechanical watch. Nobody cross shops GPS watches with a Rolex. Maybe a grand Seiko.
- CPLX 3y agoNot after a nuclear war.
- Kirby64 3y agoSure it is. Even a relatively poor quality Quartz watch is higher accuracy than a mechanical watch, without any sort of synchronization. Really good ones are accurate to one second per year. No need for NTP at all. If you're thinking about EMPs or something: well, I'd consider extremely accurate timekeeping to be the least of your concerns if no electronics work anymore...