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Let's make quality the norm again

forbrukerradet.no

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Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#421

Post by mitxela »

wombatpm wrote: post #294
wafflemaker wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not always. I got a pair of T-shirts from These Glory Days. Wore them like 20% of time last two years and they look better then some others after 2 washes (albeit changed from them after coming back to work, and use work clothes at work, so not like they were used THAT much. So it's not always the expensive stuff that's equal to the cheap stuff. And funny thing, got them on a sale because they were pretty cheap, not…

Good to clarify the definition of seamstress with DiscWorld/Pratchett quotes floating around.

Explanation: in discworld, seamstress is a euphemism for prostitute, so much that people can't find actual seamstresses.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#422

Post by mitxela »

justonceokay wrote: post #289
piker wrote: post #3

While it does relate to price discovery--i.e., some folks just aren't willing to pay for an additional unit of quality at 10x--my theory is that the decline in quality is another hidden form of inflation. Thing continues to cost X even though regulations have increased costs Y, ship production to China and scrimp on the inputs. (Or have market forces do that for you.)

If you watch The Price is Right episodes from the 80s, it is clear that household items have only had mild inflation. Many items are prices a little lower than today but not outrageously so. On the other hand, the quality of the items is often much nicer. So someone might win a $500 desk, but that desk is hand-made out of hardwood. Today you can still buy a $500 desk but it will be IKEA quality. A product of comparab…

This is how CPI is measured - with the substitutes. The desk CPI is the difference between the old hardwood desk and the new MDF desk, not the old hardwood desk and the new hardwood desk.

It's not a terrible philosophy as many people don't care what their desk is made of, and the cheaper materials are actually better in some aspects (MDF doesn't warp as it dries..) but some people do and it's resulted in inflation being massively undercounted, possibly by a factor of 10.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#423

Post by account42 »

CM30 wrote: post #321
testdelacc1 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it’s expensive to be poor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory “The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. ... But…

It's a great theory, though it doesn't seem as accurate nowadays. Now, even supposedly 'high-end' brands will be low-quality garbage hollowed out by private equity firms or other corporate acquisitions. We're not in a world where you can necessarily choose between quality at a high price and disposable junk at a low price, we're in a world where you're often choosing between disposable junk at a low price and rebadge…

That's just the middle class disappearing. I'm sure you can still pay experts to get you actual quality with enough money.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#424

Post by mitxela »

jaggederest wrote: post #334
Maxatar wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is entirely untrue. Almost anywhere you live in the U.S. you can find local brands with local production.

Where can I find an oven made with entirely US parts (or even ~85-90%+)? I'll tell you in advance that I haven't been able to locate one in a few years of looking. Most major appliances are, at best, 60-80% american with no accurate accounting, even if they're "assembled in the USA". Cars are the only thing with accurate sourcing labels due to legislation.

Entirely US parts is a very high bar. Isn't it the final product design and assembly that counts in the end? If China has a comparative advantage making resistors, who cares, let them.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#425

Post by mitxela »

red369 wrote: post #344
pif wrote: post #88

Quality was never the norm: cheap always beat quality with a hand tied behind his back! Western working class has spent decades complaining about cheap imports from China... while feeding that market with their own money. Western frequent fliers keep reminiscing about the grandiose pre-deregulation era or air travel, but cry a river when their low-cost carrier of choice actually enforces the limit on cabin baggage. E…

Why such a personal attack? I don't think I even know you! I'm kidding, but what you say is hitting pretty close to home. I always mean to vote with my wallet, and I usually try, but for every Mikrotik router or Framework laptop I buy, there are so many Aukey Magsafe chargers, or McDodo Lightning to USB hubs. BTW, I'm not specifically calling out Aukey or McDodo, but for me those decisions were based on moments of we…

For what it's worth, Apple chargers are, or used to be, pretty high quality. There's this infamous teardown video of a cheap clone showing 0.5mm of air is all that's between you and a potentially fatal electric shock.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#426

Post by mitxela »

themaninthedark wrote: post #284
pif wrote: post #88

Quality was never the norm: cheap always beat quality with a hand tied behind his back! Western working class has spent decades complaining about cheap imports from China... while feeding that market with their own money. Western frequent fliers keep reminiscing about the grandiose pre-deregulation era or air travel, but cry a river when their low-cost carrier of choice actually enforces the limit on cabin baggage. E…

Really?! Yes, let's blame the working class for spending money on Chinese goods after their jobs were offshored and their spending power was decreased.

Is there any way we can take back control of the economy from paperclip maximisers?

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#427

Post by mitxela »

akoboldfrying wrote: post #339
LtWorf wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everybody hates ads, but no-one is willing to pay a penny for a service they use daily. Because paying a penny won't prevent ads or tracking.

Paying for an ad-free service will prevent ads. Example: YouTube Premium.

Great example! YouTube is currently being sued because people with Premium still get ads.

Granted they're the ones creators put in their own videos, which is kind of a technicality. Premium does block the overt ads that YouTube itself pushes. (There's no telling if it blocks submarine ads that are videos) However, it was promised to block all ads, and that's what the lawsuit is about.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#428

Post by wafflemaker »

wombatpm wrote: post #294
wafflemaker wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not always. I got a pair of T-shirts from These Glory Days. Wore them like 20% of time last two years and they look better then some others after 2 washes (albeit changed from them after coming back to work, and use work clothes at work, so not like they were used THAT much. So it's not always the expensive stuff that's equal to the cheap stuff. And funny thing, got them on a sale because they were pretty cheap, not…

Good to clarify the definition of seamstress with DiscWorld/Pratchett quotes floating around.

Happy to be corrected.

Couldn't remember the word tailor, and seamstress felt very outdated and weird, hence the explanation.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#429

Post by account42 »

asdff wrote: post #241
chairmansteve wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Problem is, you pay 10x for shirt that is made in the same factory as the cheap shiry, just has a different logo.

This has become a sort of unintentional skill in the ecommerce era. Everyone is using china, either the actual "first party" brand that is really just ordering bulk from china and reselling it stateside, or the various clones of that brand. The skill then becomes feeling out which of these various products and clones are coming from the better option of the couple chinese manufacturing companies everyone is using, th…

This misses the quality control aspect. Just because two items come out the same production line doesn't mean they have the same quality.

Re: Let's make quality the norm again

#430

Post by mitxela »

jolt42 wrote: post #234
vladms wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see "quality brands" as a potential way to avoid knowing yourself stuff about what you buy. In itself, outsourcing one's expertise about a product might be the root cause of the detrimental effects you mention. As an example: I was once shopping with someone that had experience in fashion. While I don't remember all the details, with one look/touch the person could tell and explain if something was poor or high qua…

I've heard the ratings on Amazon can make or break you, so I think most people are at least trying to get quality by taking the ratings into account.

no they just pay a marketing company for 5 star fake reviews lol. Same on app stores.
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