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Planned Obsolescence is your fault
12-31-2018, 11:45 PM
Post: #16
RE: Planned Obsolescence is your fault
(12-31-2018 10:13 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  
(12-31-2018 12:55 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  Nothing lasts as it used to

Counter-example: cars. If you'd told me 30 years ago that I'd ever be driving an econobox for twelve years and counting, with 240,000 km on the clock, and zero major repairs, I don't think I would have believed you.

Being an apartment dweller, I don't own any large household appliances, but the ones I know about from family and friends tend to do their jobs, and when they break, are easy to repair.

Nobody expects to repair a calculator or a cheap cell phone since replacing them costs less than having a technician even take a look at them. If my $1000 TV were to break, I'd want to get it fixed, but if my $59 DVD player or my $59 camera stop working, I'm just going to replace them. Why would manufacturers go out of their way to make devices like that easy to repair?
If you'd bought a Volvo or a Toyota back then, you'd be convinced Wink
As for your "cheap" camera and DVD; 40 years ago my dad worked at an electric appliances repair shop. They did house calls to do repairs on everything from washing machines to toasters. And yes, they repaired the consumers appliances. Even Razors were repaired. They rewound electric motors at the shop, which is unheard of in the "western world" today. While I was working in the GOM (I'm a ships engineer), we sent electric motors for rewinding to Mexico, just recently. I live in Latvia; here they repair things still. My (now late) amplifier broke twice, first the power supply, then the internal RIAA. Both repaired, before eventually all the analogue inputs broke and I thrashed it. They repaired my Subwoofer's power supply at the cost of 1 -one- % of the Subs total price. My wife is Russian, and in Russia they do repair just about everything at low cost and the appliances lasts "forever". My wifes son still has his Nokia 1101, 16 years and counting. Still hasn't even replaced the (NiCad) battery..

(12-31-2018 10:56 PM)David Hayden Wrote:  I understand planned obsolescence. People shop primarily on price and most manufacturers build inexpensive stuff that breaks. I get it.

What I find frustrating is that you can't get a high quality product even if you're willing to spend the money on it. We have a 3-year-old range that cost a fortune and it's a piece of crap. Reviewers heavily weigh price rather than durability. Sigh.
I'm with you here. I'd rather buy a product at higher initial price if it would last or at least have servicable parts.
We have worn out 3 coffee machines (whole bean grounding and brewing type). Normally they start leaking, and I've tried to repair them. Guess what? You don't get spares. The O-Rings are made of an obscure standard that noone can provide. I've taken the rings onboard to work to make new ones from O-Ring kits we have. They last a few months and then brakes. The coffee piston in the compressor I've 3D-printed, since one cannot get new ones. Until I cave in and by a new one. But then, be assured, I *never* buy the same brand. The one we have now has lastet almost 4 years and counting. I'm impressed Smile

Luckily, some manufacturers see that the consumers demands and wants higher quality products with servicable parts. Take Epson and their ink tank technology. You don't have to buy heroin priced ink cartridges, instead you get refillable ink tanks and buy ink flasks at 1/100th the price.

The ones who has *not* learned the business are the light bulb mafia. They banned (at least in Europe) incandecent bulbs and everyone is now forced to buy environmentally catastrophic CFL lamps or ugly coloured non-dimmable LED's at 10x the price. "The LED's lasts at least 40.000 hours" they claim. What a sack of donkey's droppings that statement! I've replaced as many "long lasting" LED bulbs as I've replaced halogen and incandecent bulbs. Sad

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RE: Planned Obsolescence is your fault - DA74254 - 12-31-2018 11:45 PM



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