Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Parable of the Sofa

tbray.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

351–357 of 357 posts

Re: Parable of the Sofa

#351

Post by interludead »

alerighi wrote: post #230
Micoloth wrote: post #110

Every time I read takes like this I think people forget why big brands exist? Small business (or “lifestyle business”) vs big brand is often framed about being high quality vs cheap price, because in practice it often is. But in theory the two things are completely unrelated. Yes fixing stuff is good for the planet. But big brands could offer customer service just fine if people wanted it. Small business vs big brand…

> Yes fixing stuff is good for the planet. But big brands could offer customer service just fine if people wanted it. They could but they won't. Because they realized (and probably all agreed) that it's far more profitable to sell the customer a new product, rather than fixing the old one. And since they are the big brands, and they have practically a monopoly (think about big tech companies) they make the rules. The…

>Decrease the quality of the products, make them impossible to repair.

Do not know why but it makes me sad and wanting to live in another century

Re: Parable of the Sofa

#352

Post by cratermoon »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #341
istultus wrote: post #171

Let me posit an ad-hoc theory built on our anchoring bias in regards to price and our inability to think in terms of inflation/hyperbolic discounting: tl;dr - Once a cheap alternative is on the market, us frugal folks can't imagine paying for what was once the default and only option, distorting our understanding of what constitutes good quality * He says buying a new sofa of the same quality today would cost upwards…

> Instead people feel better buying a (say) $800 IKEA sofa every 5 years, which over 25 years is the $4000 nominal he has spent on his own sofa. My IKEA sofa is 10 years old, has been through 4 moves, and looks and feels exactly the same as the day I bought it modulo a smattering of aftermarket pet hair. I see no reason why it wouldn't last another 10 years. The price right now today is $750. I'm sure I didn't pay mo…

Do you have kids or pets?

Re: Parable of the Sofa

#353

Post by ASalazarMX »

interludead wrote: post #351
alerighi wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yes fixing stuff is good for the planet. But big brands could offer customer service just fine if people wanted it. They could but they won't. Because they realized (and probably all agreed) that it's far more profitable to sell the customer a new product, rather than fixing the old one. And since they are the big brands, and they have practically a monopoly (think about big tech companies) they make the rules. The…

>Decrease the quality of the products, make them impossible to repair. Do not know why but it makes me sad and wanting to live in another century

In previous centuries you'd find out sofas are so expensive they're out of your reach, might settle for rustic chairs. Cheap and all, what you have in your house would belong in a palace instead of a peasant home. Farther back, your home would have more riches and tools than entire tribes.

Enjoy the present, and shop wisely.

Re: Parable of the Sofa

#354

Post by krosaen »

Sofas of the last 15 years suck if you think buying a stylish looking $1000-2000 sofa is going to last. Try $4000-5000 and you will get a really nice long lasting sofa. You can repair / restuff / reupholster it every 10 or 15 years. This is not new. Reading people complaining about cheap stylish furniture breaking down after a few years reminds me of people complaining that commercial flights used to have more legroom and hot meals - those same flights also cost a lot more (inflation adjusted).

Re: Parable of the Sofa

#355

Post by selimthegrim »

082349872349872 wrote: post #350
082349872349872 wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(I've edited the original post; could easily be where you think) The process became much easier for our neighbours while I've been here, which, being zero-sum for available slots, is to say it became more formidable for the Old Country. As of today, I wouldn't be surprised if it's easier to get in from Tunisia than from Texas. It could be tougher; no one ever asked me if I could make a roux :-) EDIT: I couldn't rapid…

Oops: went a level too deep on Stern-Brocot, that should be ~2/3 (more than germany, at ~55%)

Indeed, my surmise about your location was correct.

Re: Parable of the Sofa

#356

Post by l0b0 »

I bought an IKEA 2-seat sofa + 3-seat sofa bed in 2005. I tightened the bed springs maybe five years ago, and cut a piece of plywood to put between the bed and cushions to heighten them and to avoid constantly wearing the springs. Aside from that, it's been moved four times, never had a rip, and still looks pretty new except for a little scuffing on the corners. The thing is rock solid, and some of the best money I ever spent.

Re: Parable of the Sofa

#357

Post by kmoser »

toast0 wrote: post #294
brewdad wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

McDonalds may have the most consistent food product in the world.

Eh. I have terrible taste, so I've eaten McDonalds around the US as well as in Paris and Bangalore. Within the US, yeah, it's very consistent. I've not seen much variation, other than the one or two specially decorated locations and the menu is very consistent. Internationally, the branding is very consistent, but the product isn't that consistent. The fries in Paris were very different (and not very good; my feeling…

They purposely tailor items to the country they're in, and even add entirely new items. For example, the fries in Country X might be cooked with different ingredients or in a different manner, in an attempt to satisfy consumers in that demographic. You'd better believe they could serve US-style fries wherever they wanted, if they wanted. The reason they don't is not because they can't but because they don't want to.
Post reply on HN