I don't agree with the punchline. This is a nice thing to flex, and I don't have anything bad to say about buying military/professional/etc stuff when you actually need, but taken literally this is just straight-up a terrible advice. In fact, as someone who is way over-meticulous and tends to overthink when buying stuff, I'm advicing myself (and anyone who is like me in that regard) the polar opposite: if you don't 100% know what you need, just buy (reasonably) cheap simple stuff. Both OP and I just
love that feeling of "owning the best stuff", but this is sickness. I
just need a toaster, for God's sake, I shouldn't spend 2 evening looking for and $200 buying "the best stuff". "$5 Chinese crap" will do just fine, and, no, it won't break. And if it won't do just fine, I can just throw it away and buy a better thing, now knowing what exactly do I need and why the cheapest option wasn't enough. Similarly like if you've just gotten into climbing, it would be stupid of you to buy the most expensive La Sportiva shoes: you don't know how to use them anyway, and it will be horrible experience. You can buy La Sportiva if you want, but just get a fucking model for beginners. But, really, if you buy half as expensive "meh" brand shoes, you'll be just fine for the first 6 months too. And, yeah, having a beaker as your glassware is cool, but many people would appreciate it more if you'd serve them beer in an actual glass or cup, which is way cheaper and easier to get.
But, anyway, the punchline isn't why I'm writing this: I'd just ignore that if there would be nothing interesting here. What actually strikes me is "I don't think corporations/businesses are to blame" part. I mean, I don't care whom to blame, this is counter-productive. But I've been thinking about that lately, and I cannot let go of the idea that customers being that horribly misinformed is a real problem. This isn't something given. Customer disinformation is an active pursuit of corporations. And, you know what, if I spend a few weeks on the problem, I think I can get an idea of what do I need from a microwave. But everyday I am "choosing" countless stuff just by selecting the "most trustworthy" package. I have no idea what toilet cleaning products should contain, what actually makes them effective and if there is any difference besides the price. I know that 80% of everything written on toothpaste or shampoo package is a lie, but I have no idea what isn't. And this really shouldn't be that hard, people should have at least somewhat clear idea of what is essential, and what is just their preference. Whole markets exist simply by virtue making it a customers' habit to buy their stuff, without knowing why they do so.
This isn't anything new, of course, even though every generation tends to think that nowadays ads are especially horrible and misleading. But given how much some jurisdictions appear to care about fair treatment of customers, I think more money could be spent by governments on countering corporate activity in this area, not helping them. Not necessarily by forbidding stuff, just by sponsoring studies and keeping folks informed.