5 ms·
With decreasing quality of branded products, there's less to distinguish them from dupes. https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/ https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/
by bcraven 3mo ago
With decreasing quality of branded products, there's less to distinguish them from dupes.
https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/ https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/
- morkalork 3mo agoCool website! Some examples I was aware of before: https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/brands/dr-martens https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/brands/dr-martens https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/brands/corningware https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/brands/corningware
- dgellow 3mo agoI didn't know WMF got acquired and is doing some heavy restructuring. If the quality reduces that would be really sad to see https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/brands/wmf https://ledger.worseonpurpose.com/brands/wmf
- aitchnyu 3mo agoYup, need a new term like reputation hacking to use a good reputation to sell lower quality products or increase prices, sometimes from a new owner.
- RobotToaster 3mo agoIsn't this just another form of enshittification.
- Rebelgecko 3mo agoSports jerseys are funny- they've gotten to the point where the dupes are cheaper AND higher quality (eg embroidered instead of cheap iron-on patches)
- uxhacker 3mo agoBut as the Frankfurt School Famously said about the Mona Lisa that the copies make the original. In other words the copies give the original all the publicity to make it famous.
- coldtea 3mo agoThey said that, but it was already quite famous for centuries. As were other paintings, not copied, and not involved in some high publicity heist like it.
- uxhacker 3mo agoThat was exactly the point. The fame came from the number of copies of the painting. Some people say brands like Gucci became more famous because of the number copies made.
- deleted 3mo ago[deleted]
- secabeen 3mo agoThat's because Fanatics took over the jersey manufacture and cut the quality. Fanatics sucks in all sort of dimensions.
- coldtea 3mo agoI don't think it's uniquely Fanatics. All kinds of "luxury" brands have been dropping their quality standards for several decades now. And not for making some mass market cheaper products, but on their regular supposedly "luxury" lines.
- shimman 3mo agoIs fanatic some localized term for capitalists I'm not aware of?
- Rebelgecko 3mo agoIn a manner of speaking. They have a monopoly on selling official jerseys for some big North American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB)
- secabeen 3mo agoIn this case, Fanatic is the long-form version of the word "fan" used in the expression "sports fan". > Fanatics, Inc. is an American sports platform that consists of several businesses, including licensed sports merchandise, trading cards and collectibles, sports betting, special events, and live commerce. --Wikipedia
- marysol5 3mo agoIncidentally I've seen some where they've taken off the sponsors too. So cheaper, better quality, and I'm not a walking advert!
- matheusmoreira 3mo agoAmazing resource, thanks for posting it.
- throwaway219450 3mo agoSeems about the only kitchen things you can trust now are cast iron, carbon steel and sheet pans, because you can’t really do much to cheapen them in terms of materials except take them offshore (and most of the brands like Lodge are proudly domestic). After spending some time in culinary I started buying stuff from restaurant stores. It’s not always pretty but it tends to be a lot more practical. Glad Cambro is on there. I’ve also started to pick up ceramics from local makers as there are a lot of potters lurking around. Often the prices are good, certainly comparable to the luxury consumer brands like Wedgewood. Also we’re a Makita household, not because the usual options are insufficient for home use, but they’re one of the only independent power tool makers left. Most other hand tools I try and buy vintage/restored when I’m in Europe as they’re much cheaper than in the US. Point6 as a successor to IceBreaker I didn’t know about. There are very few good merino companies and apparently their conglomerate also owns Smartwool.
- everybodyknows 3mo ago> kitchen things Made in Japan: Gangy 300 can opener. No moving parts, just a handle of heavy stamped steel, with a stainless claw blade riveted on. Last opener I'll ever need. $12 online from the usual suspect.
- julian_t 3mo agoAnd copper pans. They need re-tinning every now and again, but they'll last forever.
- pir8life4me 3mo agoSad but true, but sometimes the brand itself is responsible for this as they cost optimize production and offshore their products. If the dupe market isn't doing it the wonks inside are busy selling off the brand name as fast as they can.
- t0mpr1c3 3mo agoSolvair now make the real Dr Martens (in the UK)! The high street brand that owns the name makes all theirs in the far East. Check out Solvair if you can find them, they are better quality.
- marcus_holmes 3mo agoThis is like a reverse-dupe situation. The people who actually made the boots (NPS, a co-op in the UK) never owned the brand [0]. Then in 2013, the brand was acquired by a PE company [1] who did what PE companies do and got cheap, nasty, versions of the boot made in East Asia. So the "dupe" non-branded version is actually the original, and much, much better quality than the branded official version of the product. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solovair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solovair [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Martens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Martens
- DoneWithAllThat 3mo agoIt’s Solovair, not Solvair. Also if you want legit ones, including vintage, check out the UK Boot Company in Camden Town.
- julian_t 3mo agoThe British Boot Company (britboot.co.uk)
- DoneWithAllThat 3mo agoA correction to the correction! Thank you.
- t0mpr1c3 3mo agoOops. Thanks for the correction.