Ask HN: Anyone else tired of brands discontinuing your favorite everyday items?

Hi everyone, 1 I've run into the same problem over and over again. When an item wears out, I can't buy the exact same one anymore. It's been discontinued. Or it has been changed while keeping only the same name.

2 I assume this isn't only my problem. I've heard many stories about people not being able to buy the same shoes, T-shirt, perfume, or jacket again.

3 I understand why manufacturers do this. I have no questions for them. What matters more to me here is us — customers, or simply people. And I started wondering: what could be done to support a customer's choice for years?

4 This is where I want to bring concepts from software and hardware engineering into the clothing industry — LTS and APIs. What if we freeze the standard and support it? We already have things like SATA or CPU sockets. Why not build a similar concept for clothing? Then the API at the point of contact with the customer is divided into a physically immutable part (color, material, design) and a flexible part (logistics, ingredients). Let's start with the simplest base — a T-shirt. Why not give it LTS support? The idea is that the exact same T-shirt could be sold for 1, 5, or 20 years.

5 Where does my logic break down? What am I overlooking? Are there any similar projects? And would you become a customer of such a company?

Thanks.

There might be something to this. It does seem older models of things are better than newer models of things. So it could be the drive to lower costs and increase profits are causing this, at the appliance, car, etc. level.

It doesn't explain why every couple of years I have another four or six pairs of yet another set of socks, from the same company, but with enough variation that now I have multiple different generations of CK socks that aren't pairable.

I always have trouble buying shoes, most shops don’t stock my size in the first place, and sizes vary greatly across manufacturers, and even styles. Now when i find shoes that fit, i go order at least another 2 pairs online to avoid having to hunt down a new pair that fit well.

One bizarre one, i find when i find some foodstuff i like, the shop will eventually discontinue it, it seems almost personal…

There is cost involved in supporting products for life long, moreover this assumes that the company would provide a life long support for every product it releases.

They discontinued my freaking favorite hamburger, and nobody knows why. (Yes, I asked every branch)