My own theory is that we used to make the trade off between quality and cost. Now we make a trade off between quality, cost, and convenience - with convenience

My own theory is that we used to make the trade off between quality and cost. Now we make a trade off between quality, cost, and convenience - with convenience being heavily weighted. Consider the rise of bottled water, or Apple (it just works...) People have shown that they will pay a huge premium for convenience. That premium might be paid in the form of sacrificed quality or it might be paid in dollars.