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Generation Junk

walterkirn.substack.com

31–40 of 471 posts

Re: Generation Junk

#31
I have sort of found this - some time ago (10 years maybe?) the "average" and unresearched purchase was "average quality". You knew roughly what you were getting by buying something that was a no-name brand or on a whim etc. "Cheap and cheerful" etc - it might not last as long as the more expensive brands but it would at least work and not break after 3 uses etc.

These days it feels like you need to do extensive research to make sure you are not buying something that is total crap. Amazon is literally flooded with totally random brand named (all weirdly uppercase? EEVYUI, XAATYE, WURIHT etc) trash which 9 times out of 10 (at least) will be awful shite. I have found myself going back to "traditional retailers" for a lot of things now as I cannot trust a lot of things I order online not to be the absolute cheapest possible shite ever produced. And it's not like they are priced cheaply either - example recently was a specific light bulb I needed - Osram and Philips had models on Amazon for approx £9 which I would vaguely trust, but they were hidden in a sea of made-up brands asking £7 to £8 which you know will fail within a month or two.

That said, I don't fully agree with the sentiment. With a little research and accepting that quality costs and so not buying the cheapest/second-cheapeat models we have appliances/things that have lasted many years - washing machines, dishwashers, coffee grinders, fridges, cars etc. Some of these we have replaced for other reasons like changing needs or wanting new features (e.g. we needed a dishwasher that dried plastic things since kids stuff is all plastic - the old machine was perfectly fine when we got rid of it and yea, no one wanted it).

It is somewhat galling to think "wow why am I paying £600 for a dishwasher when I can get one for £250!?" but then £600 only seems expensive because of the crappy £250 one that will only last a month or two past the 12 month warranty.

Re: Generation Junk

#32

This feels like something that could be ameliorated by trustworthy curation, but The Wirecutter hasn't given good signal for years now, if it ever did, and I haven't seen anything else yet. Maybe I should try paying for Consumer Reports

I read the comments on wirecutter articles. That's where the good suggestions are, if there are any.

Re: Generation Junk

#33
post #4

I feel arguments like this always ignore the fact that buying a toaster in 1950 was a major investment for a family, and if you want to spend $2000 on a high-end toaster in 2023, which is probably equivalent in inflation-adjusted price to the 1950s toaster, it will probably also be very nice.

It probably won't. Chances are it'll be just a shiny "high end" model which is the same parts and materials as the cheap ones but with some additional functions nobody cares about. High prices are just a market segmentation strategy to CEOs.

I've grown so disillusioned with these "products" that I've started trying to make them myself instead of buying them. It's difficult though. Even something "simple" like a high quality knife requires a lot of skill to create. I want to create at least one before I die though.

Re: Generation Junk

#34

This feels like something that could be ameliorated by trustworthy curation, but The Wirecutter hasn't given good signal for years now, if it ever did, and I haven't seen anything else yet. Maybe I should try paying for Consumer Reports

Wirecutter is definitely hit and miss but I will say that their upgrade pick for towels (Riley Home) are phenomenal and have held up to everyday use for 3 years and counting:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-bath-towel/

Re: Generation Junk

#35
post #4

I feel arguments like this always ignore the fact that buying a toaster in 1950 was a major investment for a family, and if you want to spend $2000 on a high-end toaster in 2023, which is probably equivalent in inflation-adjusted price to the 1950s toaster, it will probably also be very nice.

I feel arguments that treat inflation as a magic singular variable around which the universe revolves ignore that decades of progress and technology and economies of scale are also factors, and they make possible in 2023 a hypothetical toaster that's both affordable and reliable.

Re: Generation Junk

#36

So this article implies that a number of things that we buy previously were built to last longer, and indeed did last longer. The first few examples are kitchen appliances. In this case I don't really know, but I'm at least willing to listen. Ultimately the evidence is people responding to a thread on Twitter where he solicited complaints. Not so compelling. But then he mentions a "hybrid sedan". Here I'm aware of th…

For those goods which are in fact more durable and reliable (e.g. modern cars) the downside tends to be that they are less repairable.

Re: Generation Junk

#37

So this article implies that a number of things that we buy previously were built to last longer, and indeed did last longer. The first few examples are kitchen appliances. In this case I don't really know, but I'm at least willing to listen. Ultimately the evidence is people responding to a thread on Twitter where he solicited complaints. Not so compelling. But then he mentions a "hybrid sedan". Here I'm aware of th…

> Modern cars are much, much more reliable and durable than ones built at any time in the past. Forget "durability" - safety is paramount. Those old cars were tanks, simpler, last longer and easier to repair but absolute death traps and dump smog. [Edit] Guess they didn't last longer, either way I'm happy to leave behind the cars of yester-year... even the 90's a bit sketch (though WAYYYY better).

They were simpler and easier to repair, but they absolutely did not last longer.

Re: Generation Junk

#38

So this article implies that a number of things that we buy previously were built to last longer, and indeed did last longer. The first few examples are kitchen appliances. In this case I don't really know, but I'm at least willing to listen. Ultimately the evidence is people responding to a thread on Twitter where he solicited complaints. Not so compelling. But then he mentions a "hybrid sedan". Here I'm aware of th…

[deleted]

Re: Generation Junk

#39
Just need to know how to fix it and have the tools. Have to perform good maintenance. Can keep them going a while. I’ve got blankets from decade ago and that time only because I flew to different country to start life. Have stitched up bags and shirts. Fixed bikes, peloton even. Motorcycle. Ducati from 2007. Dead in crash now but good till then.

Everything I haven’t lost mostly lasts. Don’t know what to tell you. Even like 55” TV I bought in 2014 for like $500. Life’s pretty good.

Re: Generation Junk

#40

So this article implies that a number of things that we buy previously were built to last longer, and indeed did last longer. The first few examples are kitchen appliances. In this case I don't really know, but I'm at least willing to listen. Ultimately the evidence is people responding to a thread on Twitter where he solicited complaints. Not so compelling. But then he mentions a "hybrid sedan". Here I'm aware of th…

> Modern cars are much, much more reliable and durable than ones built at any time in the past. Forget "durability" - safety is paramount. Those old cars were tanks, simpler, last longer and easier to repair but absolute death traps and dump smog. [Edit] Guess they didn't last longer, either way I'm happy to leave behind the cars of yester-year... even the 90's a bit sketch (though WAYYYY better).

They didn't last longer.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/diagnosing-car...

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