The author talks about cheap crap, but does not talk about cheap good stuff. Here is an example of cheap good stuff:
I needed an electric razor, go to Wally World. American made razor $120 (at least I think it is American made, it says so on the box), Chinese one $30. I decide on the Chinese made one.
It has lasted 4 years now with no sign of faltering. I had to buy new blades and a new screen for the cutters, but I bought the same brand as the American made one.
Here is my point.... would the American made one have lasted as long? Probably, but since it cost 4 times as much as the Chinese one, It needs to last 4 times longer. In other words, if my Chinese razor breaks today, the American one would have to go until 2019.
.....Bob
My sister-in-law used to insist that they not receive anything made in China. Both because of human rights reasons and toxicity issues. It’s a good idea, but it was a pain in the butt to buy them anything for gifts. Made gift buying a whole lot less fun.
Well, as fun as it is to generalize and while yes of course there is plenty of cheap crap on the market, I actually think that the overall quality of the stuff I’ve been buying in recent years is far higher than I was buying a couple of decades ago.
Tools: Better materials and better quality control. Advanced batteries and cordless tools, with more powerful motors that can actually do work. Compare a DeWalt 18v drill today with any drill on the market thirty years ago.
Cars: Remember when car paint was only expected to last a couple of years and had to be regularly re-done? I do. Engines may be more complex but they are also far more reliable, more powerful and more efficient. I’ve got a Ford Mustang that is now seven years old and haven’t had to turn a wrench on it beyond oil changes. It’s still solid and tight, everything still works and it still looks great. Today the average Ford, Chevy, Honda, Toyota has quality, fit and finish that thirty years ago might only have been available in a Mercedes or Cadillac.
Clothes: Materials, colorfastness, quality of manufacture are all better and they don’t just fall apart after a few washes. Used to be that you wash a new shirt once and half the color was gone along with a couple of buttons.
Appliances: Dishwashers really do wash things well, and they’re quieter too. Fridges are quiet and don’t keep you up all night running with loud noises.
Computers: *far* less aggravating than even ten years ago. Orders of magnitude more power and capability. Like it or not, a Windows pc or Mac today is *far* more reliable than it used to be, does more stuff and is smaller and lighter. Hard drives last longer, servers stay up for years without rebooting. System crashes are a tiny fraction of what they used to be. Staying up all night with crashed servers used to be a way of life in IT. Now its far, far more rare.
On and on... I think across the board things are *improving* not getting worse. Sure, there’s crap available if that’s what you want. But there’s far better and higher quality available too, and at a price that’s more affordable than it would have been back in “the old days”.
Valid question but...whatever happened to the days when American ingenuity would drive folks to learn about the devices they use everyday and fix what's broken?
I have a wide range of devices at work in my household, none of which I am leary of opening up and repairing should the need arise. Many have already been repaired thusly...including Ham radios, a washing machine, VCR, microwave oven, stereo amplifier and tuner, toaster oven, televisions and three 7 year old PCs which are running just fine, thank you very much.