3 ms·

I think the point is more that you can buy expensive fridges today that could last that long - people don't because they care more about spending less on a frid

by DSMan195276 3y ago

I think the point is more that you can buy expensive fridges today that could last that long - people don't because they care more about spending less on a fridge.

js8 3y ago
> people don't because they care more about spending less on a fridge I don't think so. First of all, there are lots of quality improvements that could make life longer, at almost zero additional cost per unit. Also, repairability could be improved. Second, there is an ecconomic problem with information asymetry - while I know the pricetag, I have no idea what the life expectancy is. So you get https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons ; that's not the customer's preference. The latter could be possible to fix if we mandated producers to publish "expected usage per lifetime" (MTBF) numbers and also show price/usage ratio to customers.
- DSMan195276 3y ago
  > I don't think so. First of all, there are lots of quality improvements that could make life longer, at almost zero additional cost per unit. Also, repairability could be improved. I don't entirely disagree, but there's always going to be a weakest link when you're targeting a low price point. It doesn't seem to take a whole lot of research to find that better fridges with those issues fixed _are_ available if you're willing to spend a bit more, people commenting on this article even linked to some. > The latter could be possible to fix if we mandated producers to publish "expected usage per lifetime" (MTBF) numbers and also show price/usage ratio to customers. I support this idea, but I'd also say the numbers presumably would not be significantly different from the warranty already offered on these things. I feel like it's not much of a secret that the warranty is intended to last the minimum lifetime of the product and not more. If they were confident in their product lasting longer, they'd sell you a longer warranty. I think there's also an unmentioned detail here, which is that many people probably won't own the same fridge for 20 or 30 years anyway - when you move, you commonly leave your fridge behind. There's not a huge incentive to buy an expensive fridge that could last a long time if you think it's likely you'll move before then anyway.
forgetfreeman 3y ago
But you can't buy expensive fridges that last that long, they just come with more stainless steel, wifi, and a larger price tag. The internals are all commodity components that are manufactured in the same plants from the same materials as lesser models, all with the same incentives to have households replace their fridge as frequently as possible without actually tanking the brand.
- chollida1 3y ago
  Sure you can. We spent about $12,000 on our fridge 15 years ago when we first renod our house and its still going just fine. Never once has it had to be serviced.
  - forgetfreeman 3y ago
    Yeah and I've got a $400 lab fridge (no freezer, no nothing) of similar vintage that I've yet to have an issue with. Flukes happen. I think it's hysterical that refrigerators that have similar price tags to cars I've owned exist in the world. Nice racket for someone I suppose. Some people's kids...
    - chollida1 3y ago
      > Yeah and I've got a $400 lab fridge (no freezer, no nothing) of similar vintage that I've yet to have an issue with. Flukes happen. I think it's hysterical that refrigerators that have similar price tags to cars I've owned exist in the world. Nice racket for someone I suppose. Some people's kids... :) Well I guess today is the day you learn that everyone has different interests and tastes. We like to cook and a fridge the size of the one we have means we can hold a few weeks worth of food that we prepare. it also means we can stock up on fridge food so we don't need to buy it every day and the large freezer means we can keep food for longer. You could also consider that we just may have alot more money than you and us spending $14,000 on a fridge is the equivalent amount of our income or net worth as you spending $400 on a fridge.
      - 3y ago

I think the point is more that you can buy expensive fridges today that could last that long - people don't because they care more about spending less on a fridge.

js8 3y ago

> people don't because they care more about spending less on a fridge I don't think so. First of all, there are lots of quality improvements that could make life longer, at almost zero additional cost per unit. Also, repairability could be improved. Second, there is an ecconomic problem with information asymetry - while I know the pricetag, I have no idea what the life expectancy is. So you get https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons ; that's not the customer's preference. The latter could be possible to fix if we mandated producers to publish "expected usage per lifetime" (MTBF) numbers and also show price/usage ratio to customers.

DSMan195276 3y ago
> I don't think so. First of all, there are lots of quality improvements that could make life longer, at almost zero additional cost per unit. Also, repairability could be improved. I don't entirely disagree, but there's always going to be a weakest link when you're targeting a low price point. It doesn't seem to take a whole lot of research to find that better fridges with those issues fixed _are_ available if you're willing to spend a bit more, people commenting on this article even linked to some. > The latter could be possible to fix if we mandated producers to publish "expected usage per lifetime" (MTBF) numbers and also show price/usage ratio to customers. I support this idea, but I'd also say the numbers presumably would not be significantly different from the warranty already offered on these things. I feel like it's not much of a secret that the warranty is intended to last the minimum lifetime of the product and not more. If they were confident in their product lasting longer, they'd sell you a longer warranty. I think there's also an unmentioned detail here, which is that many people probably won't own the same fridge for 20 or 30 years anyway - when you move, you commonly leave your fridge behind. There's not a huge incentive to buy an expensive fridge that could last a long time if you think it's likely you'll move before then anyway.

forgetfreeman 3y ago

But you can't buy expensive fridges that last that long, they just come with more stainless steel, wifi, and a larger price tag. The internals are all commodity components that are manufactured in the same plants from the same materials as lesser models, all with the same incentives to have households replace their fridge as frequently as possible without actually tanking the brand.

chollida1 3y ago
Sure you can. We spent about $12,000 on our fridge 15 years ago when we first renod our house and its still going just fine. Never once has it had to be serviced.
- forgetfreeman 3y ago
  Yeah and I've got a $400 lab fridge (no freezer, no nothing) of similar vintage that I've yet to have an issue with. Flukes happen. I think it's hysterical that refrigerators that have similar price tags to cars I've owned exist in the world. Nice racket for someone I suppose. Some people's kids...
  - chollida1 3y ago
    > Yeah and I've got a $400 lab fridge (no freezer, no nothing) of similar vintage that I've yet to have an issue with. Flukes happen. I think it's hysterical that refrigerators that have similar price tags to cars I've owned exist in the world. Nice racket for someone I suppose. Some people's kids... :) Well I guess today is the day you learn that everyone has different interests and tastes. We like to cook and a fridge the size of the one we have means we can hold a few weeks worth of food that we prepare. it also means we can stock up on fridge food so we don't need to buy it every day and the large freezer means we can keep food for longer. You could also consider that we just may have alot more money than you and us spending $14,000 on a fridge is the equivalent amount of our income or net worth as you spending $400 on a fridge.
    - 3y ago