It is well known that product quality across all categories has steadily declined over the years, but they don't even try to hide it anymore. I was in an appliance and home goods store and stopped to look at some mini-choppers; the junk looked like a toy it was literally made of the same plastic as my daughter's toy blender. I saw the coveted Ninja blenders and guess what they were made of plastic too: $300 for a blender made of flimsy plastic.
I went with my mom to buy a new stove because the old one was about 23 years old; it was quite worn out and rusty, and the burners barely produced a flame. I think it could have been salvaged with some good maintenance and a fresh coat of paint, but in the end, my mom wanted a new one. She did buy one that looks very nice, but you only have to touch it to feel the thin, flimsy metal; the burners also feel like they are made of very light, weak metal. She also bought a set of three frying pans, and one of them is already peeling on the bottom and it hasn't even been two months since she started using them. Before I forget, I should also mention a potato masher that broke the third time it was used because, yes, it was also made of ridiculously weak metal. I remember when these kinds of items used to be made of thick, heavy metal that could easily last for two generations. The worst part is that they are expensive relative to their quality. I am holding a small pot that my grandmother used to prepare food for my father when he was a baby I’m talking about a pot that is over 50 years old. It isn’t broken; it’s still usable I actually used it a little while ago to make tea, and I am sure that this pot isn't from any coveted brand on the market.
I call this the intensive margin of shrinkflation.
Most people are familiar with shrinkflation as making physically smaller versions of the same product and selling them at the same price.
This is making products using cheaper materials and/or processes and then passing it off as if it were the previous higher quality product.
I feel like it runs deeper than just shrinkflation.
Off the top of my head, as markets become more anonymized and less community-driven, reputation for quality may start to matter less than cheap upfront pricing. I can imagine that if everyone in town bought their pots and pans from same two coppersmithing families, the reputation for quality much more salient
Something like that should exist for brands, though. I think it comes from knowing consumers are more tolerant of quality reductions than they are of nominal price increases.
Not as easily detected in small portions
Also, not usually easily detectable immediately.
But is there a reason that this is changing? Because the perception is that quality is getting worse, despite data access probably being better?
I speculate that it has something to do with having someone come up to you, looking you in the eyes, and telling you personally, "That thing you sold me was shit." Versus the nameless customer service calls that complaints get routed to in large companies.
In other words, I speculate that it has something to do with the decision makers never actually having to look their customers in the eye to defend their decisions.
It could also just be something related to norms changing as we outsourced more stuff to China :shrug:
Maybe, but I think we'd see more brands really try to stand out by maintaining quality standards if it were viable. The fact that this seems to be happening across the board, suggests to me that it's about tendencies in consumer sentiments.
Another version of that is that maybe high quality goods were never economically efficient and businesses are gradually finding the true equilibrium, now that decision makers have some distance from the customers.
Regardless of what's happening, it's an interesting question.
I recently went through a relevant personal experience. Our fridge broke down after only 4 years. The repair person told us there was a coolant leak. He said fridges don't last as long as they used to, partly because they now use a mix of aluminum and copper pipes (to save on costs), and welding the two metals together is error prone. He said all the manufacturers do this now.
I also did some research into fridges. It turns out that the most robust way to design them is to have the freezer on top, without a built-in ice-maker, which is how old fridges used to be (along with all copper pipes). But most modern fridges have the freezer on the side or the bottom, and come with ice-makers. For the dimensions we needed for our home, there are literally zero top-freezer options available, but I would have gladly sprung for one if the dimensions worked.
That definitely fits with my sense that the tradeoff between reliability and a complex feature set is pretty large.
Exactly. Things don't last at all anymore.
What you are describing is called planned obsolescence; here is the definition, and it matches exactly what you described.
Planned obsolescence is a design and business practice in which a manufacturer deliberately limits a product's lifespan so that it stops working or becomes obsolete within a short time. Its primary objective is to force the consumer to repeatedly purchase a new unit.
but why would they purchase a new unit from the same company that sold them the previous shitty one?
However, the customer makes the final decision on which product to choose and must do their research to select the best and most durable one.
My answer was to a specific question: Why choose a shit company to buy a shitty product from?
Even so, your point is only partially valid.
There is nothing forcing the customer to do research. And even less so to optimize for durability.
Furthermore, the customer has effectively no control over regulatory restrictions of the market. Their selection is already artificially distorted regardless of what optimization they may aim for.
Maybe the customer is stupid or wants to be scammed, I can't think of anything else.
No idea; it doesn't seem logical, but to each their own.
I don't believe there is some grand conspiracy. I think it's all based on consumer preferences, which dictate methods of production and materials. But not all is lost, you can just buy vintage if you miss the good old days.
Brands seem to have been battered by globalization and leveraged buyouts, but their benefits still exist when one wants quality and long-term support. I still see some old brands when I shop for appliances and as long as I wasn't screwed by them before I'd consider them ahead of, and pay more for them, than a new no-name product.
The other thing is you could go used / repair forever but like your mom said, she wanted a new one and it's hard to argue with that.
I love it, it's very convenient. And nothing stops you from paying up for durable quality
And no, this is neither well known nor true
You rise a brilliant point with this story. I'll add it to our next TM7 newsletter for the ~AGORA marketplace.
Honestly yes. I still have a few old things around the house that have lasted forever, and the new stuff barely makes it a few years.