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The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

wsj.com

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Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#31

Post by dryanau »

quatrefoil wrote: post #22

I mean, it's cool to pin it on manufacturers trying to increase margins, or on "planned obsolescence" - but a lot of it is our doing. We're willingly enabling it. There are manufacturers that make simple and serviceable appliances; for example, most Frigidaire fridges don't have cool-looking displays, wifi connectivity, and other bells and whistles. But how many Frigidaire products are sold every year, compared to LG…

> This day and age, the knowledge is at our fingertips.

I don't feel this way at all. I don't know how to access information about products that I know to be unbiased. I can certainly find comparison websites and blog posts, some of which I'm sure are unbiased, but it's not clear to be how to reliably ascertain which is which.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#32

Post by lettergram »

janalsncm wrote: post #24
lettergram wrote: post #13

It might be an unpopular opinion, but globalization did this — the consolidation and exportation of manufacturing out of the west has decimated manufacturing capabilities in the countries. My father was a tool maker (top of his profession, top shop at Molex for a time). He and everyone he knew had such pride in their work. They also knew who would use their products. They cared about the quality and worked hard to de…

Globalization and planned obsolescence (PO) are just two prongs of the same thing: profit maximizing corporations. Another one is the pervasive subscription model. These companies want a consistent, predictable revenue stream. In a way you can think of PO as a sort of subscription. If my AirPods last 3 years on average they cost me around $25 per year to own.

100%, that said I don’t think you get the same degrading in quality when you know the people using the product. You simply can’t have your neighbor hating you for the bookshelf they made poorly.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#33

Post by j45 »

moandcompany wrote: post #14

It's hard to maintain a revenue stream if your product is good enough to last, so the products are engineered to either be part of a subscription, to be replaced far sooner than necessary, or both. They're worried more about their revenue sustainability than they are actual product "sustainability." The "buy-it-for-life" brands ran into this problem because once you sell someone the classic product, they aren't going…

People move into new homes.

Most people don’t, or don’t know how to make their appliances last much longer.

For example the minimum of maintenance for water tanks, or changing air filters more often when your home has AC.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#34

Post by giantg2 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #8
dhc02 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been thinking the same thing...

I would even pay a subscription like Costco meets Ikea to make sure the business is always there to produce quality products (not just when I need to buy an appliance), but I want strong governance and controls to prevent enshittification, change in control to someone who is going to squeeze the business and leave it for dead, etc.

"I would even pay a subscription like Costco"

Maybe pitch the idea. A Kirkland brand large appliance line doesn't seem so far fetched. It could be beneficial to the higher end manufacturers they contract with if the revenue structure looked right.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#35

Post by giantg2 »

jaimex2 wrote: post #23

As a consumer you have to do your research more than ever. There are still appliances out there that will outlive you but you need to hunt them down. I recently bought the Gaggia Classic Pro coffee machine for this very reason. You can get into and fix anything in this machine in under 5 minutes.

Shouldn't this be any basic coffee machine? It's a switch, a waterheater, and a hot plate.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#37

Post by ptek »

The annoying thing is that you see arcticles in paper and clips on tv that you have to upgrade all your old equipment from the 60s so you can "save energy".

Who wants some iFridge/iOven when the equipment made in the 60s was built to survive two zombies apocalypse and one nuclear war and won't connect to the internet for a firmware update.

Also the CIA can't hack your fridge so you get salmonella from your chicken because they have access to your shopping patterns from the super market.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#38

Post by abdullahkhalids »

quatrefoil wrote: post #22

I mean, it's cool to pin it on manufacturers trying to increase margins, or on "planned obsolescence" - but a lot of it is our doing. We're willingly enabling it. There are manufacturers that make simple and serviceable appliances; for example, most Frigidaire fridges don't have cool-looking displays, wifi connectivity, and other bells and whistles. But how many Frigidaire products are sold every year, compared to LG…

The companies that compromise on quality while having a slightly lower price, still have more money left over for marketing.

Social coordination problems are solved by coordinated action - 99% of time that is law.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#39

Post by karlshea »

theyeenzbeanz wrote: post #6

It’s not just appliances, it’s even common household items too. Someone disassembled a portable toothbrush that died within some months vs the many years of the one that died before. The original one had what looked like a custom/in house engineered motor with a solid structure and beefy battery. The new one had those cheap toy motors that cost a few pennies each along with a flimsy frame and tiny battery to match.

I have a Sonicare that rattled the head off within a half year of buying it. I took it apart and it was due to a screw with no thread lock being the only thing holding everything together. On a vibrating part.

Put some thread lock on it and it’s been totally fine since, but that seems like it’s intentionally planned to fail. Good job, Philips.

Re: The lifespan of large appliances is shrinking

#40

Post by porphyra »

csa wrote: post #36
godzillabrennus wrote: post #2

Seems like a good time to start an appliance business.

Very good appliances that last a long time currently exist. They are just not at the price point that many/most folks prefer to pay.

My life goal is to buy a True Residential fridge [1]. But I will probably never be able to afford one as it costs more than a car.

[1] https://true-residential.com/

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