Stop buying crap and help stop the crap!

Another angle to think about... a couple months ago a friend, who had a first generation ipad, was saying that it had recently stopped working well on facebook and youtube and she was stuggling with not wanting to buy a new one but really needing it for work. I was kind of surprised because I had a blackberry playbook do exactly the same thing at the same time. It seems that the systems at large change to accommodate the new technologies and operating systems and that leaves previously working technology in the dust.

KInda sucks cause my tablet was awesome and paid for. Still use it as an alarm clock and calendar though. Can't afford a new one anyhow since my work laptop just crapped out too.

Planned obsolescence... looks like it will be the way of our species, not just our technology.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Its not just high end electrics which the people keep going after... its stuff like this which is destroying the planet too:




There's much more cleaning products than this lot... do we really need all these different ones when they all do the same thing?

Do you notice any difference in your cleaning when you buy the NEW cleaning product on the market which promises to do a much better job than the one already got??

Smartphones = Slavery

After working at a big box retailer for a year and a car dealership for 6 months I can tell you that the quality in everything isn't what it used to be and isn't meant to last.

Although cars last longer or at least hold up better than they did 50 years ago the quality of parts and durability is generally horrible. Unfortunately I didn't start to realize this until I traded in my 1994 Toyota Truck. The truck was slow and a bit of a gas guzzler but it was tough. It could take pretty much whatever I threw at it and made out only with a small dent after being rear ended. The other car was nearly totalled. I traded that vehicle in for a 2003 Honda Accord and although the vehicle is reliable I recent got into a minor fender bender and now need a whole new bumper. Something my truck would have taken with ease.

I am also finding that when our newer vehicles break down I resort to getting the parts in my Dad's 67 Mustang. By far that car is the easiest to work on, it's tough, and has been surprisingly reliable for a 47 year old car.

As far as my experience with selling electronics, most everything is cheaply made and when the new models come out there is barely a difference! The difference between the iPad Air and Air 2 is so minimal no one's going to notice a difference using it. Sure some technology is worth buying (like solid state drives) and has good quality but the majority is cheap.

I think the age of consumerism is coming to an end soon. It's not sustainable.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
a reply to: rickymouse

The staff at Megacorp would like to express their condolences and will be happy to reimburse you providing that you approve of the following conditions:

-I will not divulge my dissatisfaction to any immediate family members, co-workers or friends.

-I will not speak of Megacorp in a manner that insinuates substandard business practices.

Click 'yes' to accept.

As usual the yes button didn't work. It incorporated planned obsolescence to quit working just before you tried to press it.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

You don't happen to listen to the lovedoctors on Realradio do you? I was cracking up when they had the lady on the other day who kept saying "stop the crap!!!"

originally posted by: CraftBuilder
Another thing we can do to improve the situation is claim warranty. Almost everything we buy now has a problem right off the shelf or soon after. Manufacturers are slack because they know most people will usually just live with the problem. But if people started taking things back consistently, the manufacturers would be forced to implement quality control.

Sometimes you don't even need a warranty.

Consumer watchdogs and other such agencies set the standards and sometimes knowing those standards can help.

For example the lifespan of many white goods are five years or more and if your fridge or washing machine stops working after a year then you can claim that it has not met the industry standards and a warranty is not needed-However the laws vary depending on what nation you live in.

Microsoft are one of the worst offenders-If your hard drive fails you have to pay for another copy of windows, and if you have problems you have to take the computer to a certified Microsoft servicemen because if you don't your warranty could be voided. And those 'certifiable' servicemen charge a small fortune.

a reply to: CraftBuilder
Gone are the days of quality goods.

Everything is garbage, right down to the food we buy and have to eat.

I doubt the younger ones even know what quality is. I think the 1960's saw the last of it.
Just glad I'm a hoarder and I still have some authentic items to admire and can still actually use.

originally posted by: TruthxIsxInxThexMist
a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Its not just high end electrics which the people keep going after... its stuff like this which is destroying the planet too:

There's much more cleaning products than this lot... do we really need all these different ones when they all do the same thing?

Do you notice any difference in your cleaning when you buy the NEW cleaning product on the market which promises to do a much better job than the one already got??

Yeah they're all the same. Soap is soap. So many laundry soaps to choose from. I tried finding normal stuff the other day. Couldn't find one. I see that's become obsolete. What makes me laughi is one I see on TV that cleans your washing machine. I think that one is geared towards idiots.

a reply to: Char-Lee

yeah, I`ve had that situation some times too.
I replaced the engine on a riding mower even though the cost of the engine was %80 of the price of buying a new riding mower. I won`t do that again there`s too many other parts on a riding mower that can wear out and break so it`s probably better to just spend that extra %20 and get a new mower.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

It's all a matter of choice. You can buy stuff that is meant to serve you for decades or more. Stuff that can be repaired. You'll just have to pay a bit more initially - but will end up having spent less money than most in the long run.

A few examples: we just bought ourselves a new washing machine, a Miele. The old Miele had served us for almost 26 years, washing everything in a houshould that started out with the wife and me, then grew to five. We had it repaired a number of times: a new set of switches, a new pump and the motor got new brushes. That's all.
Mieles are expensive but very solid and have a timeless design. You can still get spare parts for even the oldes types. Though they will not always have the exact same old parts, they will provide a matching substitute. They manage to do that by keeping the look-and-feel of their machines constant over many decades. For example: the old front panel switches were plain oval shaped white buttons which you could press in or out. When some of them stopped working I got a new replacement board with the exact same switches - but this time they had little LEDs in them that lighted up when the switch was pressed. The new Miele looks almost the same as the old one: same shape, same knobs, knobs work just like the old one and are roughly in the same location. They even have the same colour. Okay, the new one now has a display that shows the remaining time - bloody innovation :-p.. I'm sure it will serve me for the next 20 years, and when I'm still alive then I will buy my last Miele.. 3 of these in a lifetime. Pretty good!

Another example: my car. It's a Volvo. Serves me for 16 years now. Still drives like it was bought yesterday, but has 320.000 kilometers (~ 200.000 miles) on its odometer. We fully expect it to serve us for another 100.000 kilometers. Yes, it consumes some oil now. And it has a vortex in its tank. But that vortex has always been there, we're kinda used to it. But eventually THAT will probably be the reason it has to go.
Like Miele, Volvo maintained a very timeless design for decades. They stopped that after being bought by Ford after which their cars started to look like a Focus on bad steroids - so I'm not so sure I want my next car to be a Volvo again. It may be a Volkswagen. But I will drive that for at least 20 years too, if Law and life allow it..

PC's: my oldest one is a Compaq (the brand does not even exist anymore) from 1994. Still works fine. Hard disk has been spinning since then (20 years..) and I never had a problem. My laptops are all "oldies" but still work fine. All of these were regarded top of the line once: Sony Vaio, IBM Thinkpad, stuff like that.

Phones: we typically buy a new personal phone every 5 years. I recently got a smart-phone and it works just fine and will probably still be in use in 2020. The old Google G1 I had still works fine too but as I have developed cataract I had to switch to a bigger screen.

Stoves: buy Jøtul. Will last for life. Magnetron: we had a Miele magnetron, which I bought in 1984 (!) and which still worked in 2012. Only had to replace a fuse once. And the plastic top plate inside the compartment got brittle and so I replaced that too. Did not even have to pay for it "because it should not have been brittle after only 20 years". We only got rid of it because it was very bulky and did not fit in our new kitchen.

Stereo: the old Akai amp I bought in 1980 is still used by my younger brother after being repaired once. He also still uses my old BASF (really!) digital tuner which I bought in 1984 or thereabout. My own amp has been serving me for 15 years and is still working fine.

And even equipment that can't be used anymore is not scrapped either. Our old washing machine for example has been taken apart by a friend of ours who uses its parts to repair other old Miele washing machines. In my country, you can return electronic equipment etc. to any retailer who is obliged to take it back and take care of proper recycling.

So, dunno. Seems to me that y'all have a choice - either buy solid stuff and be prepared to live with it for 20 years - or buy fashionable el cheapo rubbish.

I agree that we're dealing with planned obsolescence, but there's still a lot we can do to mitigate a lot of the things we face. It often times depends on where we live. I live in a small town near a major city. I shop here in the small town whenever possible, quite frankly, because I'm too lazy to be bothered to go into the city for most things. I buy locally from the region whenever possible. Knowing who makes something is always a great thing because if something goes wrong, you know who to go to to fix it. I also admit that I drive an older vehicle. It's a 99 Jeep Wrangler Sport. Tough as nails, goes anywhere, and is easy to work on myself. My computer is a 2012, and does what I need it to do. A power surge took out my last one, and there was nothing I could do about it. Suffice it to say, I bought a better surge protector. I do replace my iPhone every other generation, and I do it primarily because of the camera in the phone. I'm a hiker and love the quality of video I can shoot with the phone, and the increased size of internal memory means I can shoot more while on hikes and vacation. As for the actual phone, I make less than ten phone calls a month, and I don't use Facebook or Twitter.

There is obsolescence in things out there, but it comes down to what your mindset is when you buy things. I think the major corporations are counting on the vast majority of people being blind idiots and buying cheap crap that is going to fail them soon. Of course these are the very same people who can't park their cars in their garages because the garage is full of crap that they bought. They have their rooms full of stuff, the attic full of stuff, and the storage business is doing well because people will pay to store stuff off their property. George Carlin nailed it when he said the American pastime is Consumption. It's not so much that people are buying things that fail them, it's that people are buying things that they won't even use and will pile up on top of all the other things they bought and won't use. They are accumulating debt without care. How many of us have gone to a store to buy something in a city and watched as a shopper had to figure out which of their 15 credit cards wasn't maxed out? I know I've seen it plenty of times. I'm sure you all have too.

When I purchase items that aren't for immediate use (like food, fuel, toiletries, etc) I look at the purchase from the standpoint of handing it down. Will it survive to the point where it's handed down? If not, then find something that will. It takes a bit of effort, but it can be done. As it is, I have a standing rule now, and that is, I don't care where on earth something is made so long that it doesn't say China. I always prefer American made. I always try to buy everything locally. I do what I can, but I'd rather buy something made anywhere but China.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

I just want to say I love this, i love everything about the fact that you are talking about this.

However you feel about capitalism and consumerism, planned obsolescence breaks the system, corrupts it, and destroys the environment and damages our souls!

Let's break it!