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[freeformschooler]

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[MetalSlimeHunt]

Above-average costs from trusted brands have always worked well for me. An example on my end would be Panasonic, I bought a small plastic headset from them that lasted four or five years, while the average headset lasted about a year. I also bought a pair of headphones from them that haven't broken yet, and have already outlasted the usual lifespan of most headphones I've had.

[wierd]

What you are describing is called "Product Lifecycle Managment"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_lifecycle_management

Basically, if your business is to make and sell microwave ovens, you want to ensure that you do not saturate the market with durable goods that last too long, but also that your products are not so inferior in workmanship that they break on first use.  A great deal of research and development into materials and manufacturing practices/standards is employed to meet these requirements in the durable goods marketplace.

Tools, for instance, often focus on being of high manufacturing quality if they are a name brand-- OR, they focus on being just barely fit for function, if they are a cheap disposable one. (The difference between a name brand tool brand, like Snap-on or craftsman, VS commodity crap like great-neck or harbor freight.)

It isnt so much a conspiracy-- so much as it is an open business practice.  Before the rise in globalist consumerism, producing the best possible quality of durable good was the ideal that all manufacturers strove for, and durable goods were over-built.  Look at this electric drill gun from the 1940s, for instance.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Compare it with a contemporary electric drill

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The former has all-metal exterior housing, the cord attachment to the handle has a longer and studier rubber support grommet, and is placed at a lower contact angle to avoid it being bend or kinked, it has a ruggedized keyed chuck for the tool holder, and was designed for aggressive, heavy, and sustained use. With proper care, such a tool could last for over a hundred years, and remain serviceable.

The latter has much of its exterior housing composed of polymers, has a plastic clutching chuck which can fail under normal workloads, the cord angle is such that the connection near the main body could become kinked and produce shorts in the wire over time, and is clearly intended to be replaced after about 5 to 10 years.

You are not wrong to wonder why things dont last longer.

The reason is simple: The people that make things would not stay in business if they made products that can last for 100 years or more-- People would pass down perfectly servicable durable heirlooms instead of buying new ones.

In the consumer world, this practice has the rather sordid appellation of "Planned obsolescence". You can find some very poignant examples of this in the Apple "iDevice" lineup.  Just ask somebody that needs a lightning cable how they feel about the cable being redesigned with every new iteration of iphone, for instance.

In this day and age, if you want a quality product that is built to last, you have 2 choices.

1) Look for an antique that was built that way (Like that drill. Estate sales are a GREAT place to look!)
2) Make the product yourself, and pay slavish attention to workmanship and durability.

I am currently in the process of doing the second one on a hiking backpack I am building. I am fabricating it from 300lb test cordage to produce the main backpack fabric. I will be able to load it with platinum nuggets and hoist it from a crane, and not rip it, if I were to feel so inclined. When I am done with it, I fully expect it to last longer than I do.

 

[freeformschooler]

Interesting, thank you for your responses. I've had some luck with MSH's advice in the computer/accessories world (this nice mouse has outlived all previous ones), but for anything else, I'm kind of stupid. For example: a decent-quality, "good" brand microwave would probably require a visit to a microwave enthusiast forum (something which almost definitely exists), but it's not as big of a deal as things I'd use more often.

Estate sales are a good idea, too. Again, thank you for the input.

[nenjin]

Where I really see this is coffee makers. Mine gets on average 8 to 12 cups a day through it, sometimes twice that on the weekends. And they last about 6 months to a year before they either a) fail completely or b) start to disintegrate to the point of uselessness.

Point in fact. Bought a GE coffee maker sometime the year before last. Thought it was fancy. Within 6 months, all of the moving plastic parts had developed cracks and splits. The entire top cover of it is gone now because it totally fell apart. Electronic sensors that tell it when it's done brewing are going out, so it will think it's done midway through making a pot.

I'm sure it's great for businesses but it's BS by the consumer. We pay MORE than we did (after price adjustment) 30 years ago for inferior goods. They may be lighter, have more lights and have rechargaeble batteries. But they don't last for shit.

[eerr]

Oh YEAH? Well I need a goddam comfy sweater that doesn't rip itself apart in a month.

Where do I get that?

[wierd]

Most walmarts still have a knitting/craft department. You can get a wide assortment of yarn, hooks, needles, and books on the subject there.

Be sure to get double worsted yarn, in a variety that is sturdy.

Then make the sweater yourself. Knit goes faster than you think when you get it down.

(*admits to crochet as a hobby. Said backpack is made by single crochet with 300lb catfish dragline. It's exactly the same diameter of a good 00 size yarn.)

[weenog]

Alternatively, pick out a sturdy material you like, get your measurements, and commission an elder with knitting or sewing skill to craft it for you.  Tell them you want to emphasize durability, and praise and thank them generously.  You want someone that knows what they're doing, is old enough to remember the time before planned obsolescence, and you want their pride invested in it so they're that much more motivated to do an excellent job.

[sackhead]

another option for long lasting clothing is getting it from a workplace safety store as if protective gear fails the company that makes it are in trouble . For example my current pair of leather dress shoes are steel caped and designed for buisness men on building sites. i have worn them most days for 4 years and they are barley showing signs of wear. for furniture and a lot of other stuff their is also craftsmen still around who work at excellent quality.
buying from brands known for reliability is a good idea as they probably  don't want to harm their reputations.

so in short if you want longer lasting stuff avoid mass production and if you cant get stuff that will harm the company if it fails.
also try 2nd hand stores and military surplus gear usually lasts. (my most trustworthy coat is an army trenchant from the late 70s) 

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Perhaps go after devices meant to supply another company? For example, the coffee maker in a diner will probably prepare dozens of pots of coffee throughout a normal day. Just looking at them you can tell they're super old: probably purchased from a previous restaurant like the oven, dishes, chairs, etc. Maybe they occasionally need someone to come in and service them, such as replacing that sensor, and if the device is larger and more expensive such service actually makes sense; you'd never pay someone to come to your house and fix a $30 coffee maker.

I have some articles of clothing from a decade ago. Getting faded but who cares what you're wearing when you work out or do some painting. Then again I've had a shirt split down the back as soon as I put it on, not because I'm some hulking superhero but because the material was weak and cheap.

Last night I had some of this salad dressing that comes in a jar, usually about twice the price of salad dressing in plastic bottles. It was delicious! The texture and flavor was better, it was just wonderful. Sometimes spending more gets you a better product.

Similarly, my girlfriend is into designer bags. Her brand is Coach, kind of a lower-middle on the designer bag scale. But the difference in construction between the new $150 bag from last year that she gets at the outlet store, and a fake leather $30 bag from a department store outlet, is pretty large. I can definitely see the Coach bag lasting at least five times as long as the cheap fake bag, and it's a nicer bag while you use it.

Dish soap that you get for a dollar per bottle is pretty shoddy and watery and you run through it almost immediately, and you hate washing with it because it's horrible. Pay for the $4 bottle and while it might only wash 3 times as many dishes, it sure is more pleasant to use.


But a separate point: do you need everything in your life to last forever? I've been using one mouse for a couple years and it's fine. If it dies I can hit an office supply store and get another for like $5. If your mouse is a special one that cost a lot of money maybe you'd care more.

I shave with cheap disposable razors. If I bought a straight razor I could get a closer shave, possibly with less skin irritation, but I would also spend more time shaving and sharpening. And when disposable razors are so cheap, and a good straight razor is so expensive in comparison, I'd have to shave SO MANY TIMES to find the straight razor monetarily worthwhile.

Although I guess there is an emotional benefit to using things that will last for a long time. It's like living in a nice old house vs. a cheapass balloon-frame construction bullshit house. But if you built a house today with solid construction (solid stone masonry, thick timber, hardwood floors, solid doors) it would cost a whole lot of money.

Anyone know how much? I'd like to price it out just for my own information. It's hard to get quotes on price for crap construction much less what now amounts to artisanal construction.

[wierd]

Price of house construction, with quality materials?

Need more information. Housing markets, and local domestic market prices for labor apply.
If you ignore labor, and costs for getting permits, you can get a reasonable price estimation if you research your intended building materials, and make a comprehensive bill of materials for the task.

(Has assisted in building "overbuilt" modern construction many times. My family almost always does its own construction for non-regulated constructions: sheds, barns, et al.)

The major differences in costs of construction come from labor costs. Using shoddier materials makes construction "easier", which speeds up construction time, driving down labor costs.

If you do the labor yourself, then the cost difference comes in intangible forms: cost against free time for other activities, costs from effects of doing the hard work yourself, etc.

Making a sound decision requires thinking about many many things. Be as informed as possible when making *any* investment of that type.

[martinuzz]

I shave with cheap disposable razors. If I bought a straight razor I could get a closer shave, possibly with less skin irritation, but I would also spend more time shaving and sharpening. And when disposable razors are so cheap, and a good straight razor is so expensive in comparison, I'd have to shave SO MANY TIMES to find the straight razor monetarily worthwhile.

Funny you mention this.
I just exhausted my last supply of "Schick II Injector" refill blades.
I got these when my grandpa died a few years back. He had a brand new Schick II Injector razor. It's one of those early models with replaceable (single) blades, I'd say from somewhere around 1985-1990.

Now I have pretty heavy facial hair growth. A single 'throwaway' blade of these suckers would last me for a good 15 shaves, without the knife getting too blunt, (and without cutting myself.)

However, if I buy the present day equivalent of disposable refill blade razors, like a Wilkinson Sword Ninja'd Ninja Edition, or a Gilette Mach3 ++ Super Extra with strawberry flavoured skin moisturing, the darn refill blades will be ready to throw away after a meager 3 uses.

So, even 'disposable' seems to have become less durable.
(I've searched all pharmacies I could think of, just can't get refills for that Schick anymore, anywhere)

[Zangi]

(I've searched all pharmacies I could think of, just can't get refills for that Schick anymore, anywhere)

Have you tried searching for it online?

[nenjin]

*snip*

This is why I'm thinking of 1 of 2 things:

1. Buying a Kuerig. While that's a little too much tech in my coffee, everyone I've talked to says they're bulletproof and last years.

2. Buying an electric kettle and an Aero Press. I already used these for work and in truth vastly prefer it to drip coffee.

Ironically though the electric kettle just died after only a year of use.........

[Bauglir]

1. Buying a Kuerig. While that's a little too much tech in my coffee, everyone I've talked to says they're bulletproof and last years.

I was going to ask how they could possibly know this, but apparently they've been on the market for about 15 years. Wow.

While I'm in here, does anybody have any good recommendations on a durable mouse? Mine keep developing problems with unintentional double-clicking, usually right around the time I play Skyrim for any length of time at all (holding down the button causes these problems, is my current guess).