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Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

johnwhiles.com

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Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#171

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

steelframe wrote: post #50

Semi-serious cyclist chiming in about this part of the article: "Well understood mechanical bike shifting transitions to electronic shifting which requires you to pay more and charge your pedal bike (Not sure about this example, as in theory a bike derailleur needs not be a repeated purchased)" One of my bikes has a Shimano electronic shifter. The others are a mix between mechanical SRAM and Shimano components. The e…

Mechanical rear derailleurs do wear out and get sloppy. Never so bad that you'd notice with friction shifting but indexing will be degraded. It does take a long time and three or four pulley sets before it's noticeable.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#172

Post by kstenerud »

jchw wrote: post #154
kstenerud wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're comparing a Trinitron (must have cost a pretty penny) to a low end Vizio and a Samsung (who have a long history of consumer hostility in their products). You get what you pay for.

I am only comparing it to the Samsung. And for what it’s worth, I have not been buying cheap Samsung TVs. Also yes. You get what you pay for. But also, I have other reasons to not pay the Sony premium. I can actually mildly tolerate Android TV and its stupid home screen ads, for some reason, but having it shipped with my TV seems like a step too far, and that’s exactly what Bravia TVs do. My only real option is to ha…

A big reason I bought the Sharp TV is because it has Android TV built in. When it's disconnected from the internet (I haven't connected it to the internet except once to update the firmware), it behaves just like a monitor. Turn it on, it fast-boots in 3 seconds and displays HDMI1 (the last input I selected).

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#173

Post by ravenstine »

kevinmchugh wrote: post #43
dsco wrote: post #37

I’ve never understood shaving. Why not just buy a trimmer and trim it down to 1mm? Much more convenient, faster and cheaper. Also there’s very little visual difference - especially now that everything is remote.

Hair density and growth rate and skin sensitivity is going to matter a lot. I use an electric razor because I don't have much facial hair and it doesn't grow very fast. But I'll relatively often get irritated skin from it and have to be careful about how I use it in advance of eg a wedding. Getting a close shave still requires maintenance of the electric razor, cleaning it and occasionally replacing the foils.

The irritation might simply result from how close that particular shaver gets.

I never get irritation from a Braun S3 shaver, but if I use my Skull Shaver on my neck it can leave it slightly red and irritated unless I'm careful.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#174

Post by enobrev »

gruez wrote: post #158

>Other examples of products that seem to exhibit a similar trend, where purported convenience leads to higher prices >Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. They also seem to be poisonous. They have their uses. I wouldn't try frying eggs in a cast iron, for instance (technically you…

I cook eggs on cast iron every morning. I do almost all my cooking on cast iron, including crepes on occasion. Proper seasoning and maintenance makes a huge difference.

I bought the majority of my cast iron 20 years ago for about $25 and it'll likely outlast me.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#175

Post by oblak »

maxerickson wrote: post #149
seanwilson wrote: post #59

> Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. I fell for this marketing thinking non-stick was the best out of everything always and kept having to buy new pans and trays when the teflon would eventually flake off thinking it was my fault. Stainless steel is fine: works without a lot of…

The plastic waste thing is kind of silly. People commenting here mostly live near well managed landfills and aren't worrying about burning 10 pounds of oil driving to work. Like fine, feel free to use less plastic, but it really isn't a big portion of most people's resource consumption.

No post body was provided.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#177

Post by flatline »

gruez wrote: post #158

>Other examples of products that seem to exhibit a similar trend, where purported convenience leads to higher prices >Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. They also seem to be poisonous. They have their uses. I wouldn't try frying eggs in a cast iron, for instance (technically you…

I have never put the least bit of thought or effort into frying eggs in cast iron over, say, stainless. It is a better non-stick surface overall. Teflon is gross, do you really want to risk breathing the fumes and eating even more plastic?

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#178

Post by helgie »

jchw wrote: post #114
GingerMidas wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen that video, the takeaway was the difference in price is so miniscule you might as well use what you're comfortable with.

Except that it’s also way more expensive and wasteful (edit: both because you have to buy them more often and because each pod is more packaging and the packaging for all of the pods has to be sealed, unlike powder in cardboard…) than just grabbing the powder. If the discomfort from using powder over plastic pods is anything more than completely trivial to you, I’m not sure we can communicate meaningfully on this sub…

I use pods because, of the options available at my grocery store, the only ones available that I know won't etch glass are sold as pods.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#179

Post by tempest_ »

jasonhansel wrote: post #136
tempest_ wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get the cartridges to last quite a while if you strop them (as best you can) and keep them away from moisture when not in use. I have heard of some people just putting them in a tiny glass of mineral oil. That said for as often as I shave, a couple times a week, I switched to a safety razor and got a sampler of double sided blades years ago. I am just about out of blades now and you can get 100 for like 10$.

Isn't mineral oil now considered carcinogenic?

I have no idea as I don't use the cartridges myself but I think the point is to keep them away from moisture so a closed container with ethanol or food grade oil or whatever would probably work as well.
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