' Wrote:It's as if nobody takes pride in their work anymore.
Nobody does. Before major companies and factories, and even then in the late 1800's, products were made slowly with the best materials. Why do you think Antiques are here? Houses from the 1700's? They were built from real wood, real stone, real materials.
The current apartment I'm living in was built a few years ago, and maybe has twenty more to go before it starts falling apart seriously. (Heh. Apart. ment.)
I do take pride in what work I do. Unfortunately, I don't have the skills, wealth, or know-how to make my own company. I can build you a frame for a dune-buggy, I just need the materials.
Honestly, it's good to see that you're starting to notice this kinda thing, cause it's something you will have to live with for the rest of your life...yeah, it sucks & all, but the corporate bottom line always trumps safety. As what dusty said, basically, contaminated food & dangerous product flaws are discovered on a regular basis...but actual recalls only happen if the payout number of potential lawsuits outweighs the payout of initiating a recall.
& also, the reason why products aren't made to last like they used to be is not only because the companies are looking to manufacture 'more for less' ...they do what they do to maximize repeat business.
For example, why would a company want to sell 5M well made vacuum cleaners that last for 15 years when they can sell 15M poorly made vacuum cleaners to 5M people over the span of 15 years?
Just understand that there really is no such thing as consumer safety & any semblance of it is just BS that consumers like to latch onto in order to maintain their comfy lifestyle.
Even Electronic things were better before.. They were made of hard wood!
No look... even if they can save 2 cents cost (counting shipping) for very cheap product from India over fair quality from a local store with local products, It is worth for mega corporations that are overwhelming the market. Just quit shopping at ''Walmart'' and give a chance to the local market.
I mean when I buy an average quality microwave, I can expect it to last a maximum of 2 years... so much relative cost for such a bad reliability? Its unfortunate but people keep buying budget product... the way the mass product quality dropped over the years is the result of the consumers behavior to pay less for more NOW!. You want things, you do not invest your money for duratio .
Hey, its easy to understand : Lesser Price = Lesser Quality.
The thing is; if the companies would make durable products, they could not exist. They make most of their profits by constant purchase and product replacement. Why do you think repairs cost more then a new one?
When a country's population purchase less, the economy is disturbed. The current economy model is based ( and rely) on a constant mass consumption. One way or another, time will prove the system to be malfunctioning.
It is a disaster for the environment and our future.The Modern Human been is not perfect. It can be modeled in a controlled and calculated system that we call the consumer world. People claim they are powerless and rather act ignorant in such situations but the society will not change for them, it is them that will change and make things change since we hold the money income for the corporations of the world.
Yes, we believe we are powerless to stop big names. Why? Because they have power, wealth, and lots of lawyers. We fear being sued, arrested, or even killed (god forbid they go that far) for speaking against it.
And about purchasing less; It seems that it's practically illegal to sell an engine that uses less gas in America. You have to pay for having your engine modified to bio-diesel (so you don't use gasoline) and someone was busted for creating an engine that had something around 70 MPG.
What's sad is that, our Hybrids (That use both gas and electricity) run at about 40MPG. China has, I believe, 60MPG, plain combustion engines.
China is still balancing out their advancements and cities a little bit, while America is supposedly one of the most technological advanced, and settled.
I seriously invite people to read "Cradle to Cradle". It is a book written by two...erm... forgot...specialists who focus on ecologically improving manufacturers efficiency. Quite interesting to read
I've worked in a grocery store for a good 3 years. I've seen and done some negative stuff. Not life threatening, but still...
Best way to work around genetically modified food is to grow yourself a garden with good seeds. I've done so in the past with my parents and the results were stunning. If you plants your crops well, keep them in shape and posses a good earth, you'll always be satisfied. I remember those old tomatoes that I was eating like apples, miam miam!
As for product quality. yes, it is sad that most object nowadays don't have the same life expectancy as the old ones. I have an old Brothers laser printer, bought in 1992. The thing weights 50 pounds, but the last time we checked it, the repairman told my mother that she would die first:lol:(she's 46). Then, if you look at nowadays printers... their reliability isn't the same. Father bough one, it lasted 2-3 years. Then...it started to break (was quite an expensive one).
Something I've never understood... It is cheaper to buy a new printer (cartridges included) than buying new cartridges... Doesn't make any sense.
I've never been miserly so I don't hesitate to pay a few more bucks for a better product. Before making big investment I always read all the critics I can find on the web (like I did before buying my car)... Avoid making some big mistakes
' Wrote:Yes, sometimes you find a company that makes very good quality products, but they have a very small selection. Sometimes, a bigger company makes good products. But sooner or later, it's all about the almighty dollar.
Businesses exist to make money. Next thing I know you'll be telling us the sky is blue.
Listen, this type of shtick has been done to death already and normally I'd ignore it, but the posts by some otherwise intelligent people in this thread have got me staring at the screen in shock :wacko:
Quote:Anyway, back on topic. It's pretty easy to second what Saronsen said above, and I dun' thing anyone can argue with that. Now that everything is large companies, and the majority of goods sold here (The US), are manufactured in Canada (Oh god my dyslexia is getting bad. I meant China.), quality has down gone the drain. It's as if nobody takes pride in their work anymore.
Products made in China are cheaper to manufacture - and the savings are passed down to consumers here in North America and Europe. If you choose to shop at cheap places then don't expect high quality. As far as quality "going down the drain" - what are you comparing it to? The stuff you had...five years ago? It's all being made by the same corporations, in the same Chinese/Mexican/wherever factories. It's been that way for decades and last time I checked, people have more and nicer things today than they did before.
Quote:Honestly, it's good to see that you're starting to notice this kinda thing, cause it's something you will have to live with for the rest of your life...yeah, it sucks & all, but the corporate bottom line always trumps safety. As what dusty said, basically, contaminated food & dangerous product flaws are discovered on a regular basis...but actual recalls only happen if the payout number of potential lawsuits outweighs the payout of initiating a recall.
On the whole I'd say that the products we use are exceedingly safe. Think about how much food has been recalled, and what a small fraction that is of the food that's been consumed. It's not even a blip on the radar.
As long as human nature stays on consuming course, people will try to produce more with less and eventually, we will eat lead, copper, zinc, tungsten, deuterium, magnesium, uranium, plutonium, zerg, wifi modem and such.
Whatever gets the job done cheaper and produces more profit.
To be sincere, I HATE being human and living on this planet because of this.
I can spend hours and hours laying awake worrying about consumer goods.
What if that pasta I didn't fully heat this morning was in fact infected with pesticides or maybe even lead to give it more mass and by that extend make it cheaper?
What if those sunglasses I wear actually intensify the UV beams so that some corporate hot shot can buy another sports car? Maybe the glasses industry is involved as well!!!!
What if my back yard is actually made with inferior sand that will turn into quicksand when it rains really hard? Imagine a far cousin I never see comes for a visit and walks through the garden oblivious of the danger... he could drown!!!!!
For three months now I've been taking more and more heavy medicines to help my mind cope with the dangers of modern life... I tried a week of jungle retreat but couldn't bear the thought that my house might have been made with inferior concrete and it would come down when I wouldn't even be there...
Does anyone have any tips to help me with these problems? I don't dare to go to a doctor any more because he might give me bad medicine to earn more money...
The thing is, Economic focuses have changed. Dramatically. I am sure all of us can talk to our father/grandfather and he'll say that things used to be more durable in his day. I feel the focus has shifted a little from "Appreciable quality at a reasonable price" to "Just-do quality at a dirt-cheap price."
It's common business sense really. As someone here said, why sell something that will last for about 20 years (say, a Washing Machine) at around 1000$ when you can get a cheaper one which does have the same sexy features at around half that price? Few Consumers today think long term. Car today, Apartment tommorow, etc etc. The current generation of young uns' wants everything early. So it follows that demand will rise exponentially. What follows from this is that the Companies are not completely to blame. The current Consumers are creating a huge set of demands that are difficult to fulfill as it is, let alone put time into producing quality goods.
So nowadays, Product Research revolves around garnering as much of the demand market as possible, which is done by producing as much as possible and at cheapest price.
This is a kind of downward spiral, which can end in our resources getting exhausted really fast. That is, unless lifestyles and producers' producing habits change.