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I'm not really surprised. I think the reason people pay these higher prices varies from person to person but it all comes down to it being worth it to them. If you think features of a $5K refrigerator are worth it and you have the money for it, why not? This doesn't only apply with appliances, it applies to pretty much everything. It all depends on what one values. Why do people buy a Hermes handbag when you can get a perfectly decent, functional one from Michael Kors for 1/100th the price? Are the added features of a Lexus really worth the extra price over a Toyota? To me a Yeti cooler functions the same as an RTIC one but costs twice as much. Yet, I know someone who I consider good at managing money to buy Yeti products over cheaper ones. To me, as long as people are spending responsibly and can afford it comfortably, more power to them. It's not like there's some kind of chart everyone uses to determine whether something is worth the price.
This^^. If you can afford it, then why the heck not! If you have plenty of money, should you just hoard it, and not spend it? I think it's kinda silly to expect those that are in a completely different income level than you, to live at yours.
Yep....bells and whistles are just something else that can break or malfunction.
Not all high end appliances are loaded with bells and whistles. I bought a house that came with a relatively rare stand-alone Viking gas oven (no cook top attached). It was not rare in the sense of valuable; it was rare in the sense of they didn't sell many of them.
This gas oven had the following bells and whistles:
1) an on/off switch
2) a dial for temperature
3) a switch to turn on/off a convection air fan
That's it. Literally nothing else. No timers, no interior light, no temperature probe, nothing. Bare bones and rather "commercial."
The only things that could go wrong were:
1) hot surface ignitors (serves the same as a sparker to ignite the gas, but works differently) - three of them
2) on/off switches
3) thermostat
4) fan
Please (to the manufactures/marketers). A "sound package"??? I never heard of such a thing until I started looking online at dishwashers. I NEVER had a problem with the noise where one could not hear the TV or a visitor when my dishwasher was running. When did this become an issue? So now this is a new, trendy thing for today's buyers. Trendy equals pricier.......
I also saw that on all the different sites for dishwasher information. the numbers used to buy the quietest to the loudest varied among them all. Since the term used in noise level is dB (for decimals, I am guessing) I didn't know 44 to 54, or 30 something loudness anyway. I purchased without hearing what decimal my dishwasher was and it is fine........
Quote:
Originally Posted by selhars
I know. It's ridiculous. A "sound package" on a frigging dishwasher.
My 2006 dryer (oh no, say it ain't so -- a 2006!) (and all dryers now I guess) has a dial knob option for the "loudness" of the buzzer signaling the dryer is done. It's "loud" or "soft" I think. That's not good enough? Now it's got to be a "sound package."
People have lost their common sense. It's gone too far!
Sorry for the venting but this is how many people end up in debt, not having any money saved and living beyond their means "luxury creep"...crying about how they can't make ends meet or retire. IF they can afford it fine. But, if a person doesn't have a year's living expenses saved, AND isn't putting at least 10% of pay into a 401k (if they have one) -- they don't need a talking refrigerator that's also a computer, and TV screen -- that also weighs the food on the shelf, and tells them when to buy groceries. And they don't need a washer that has 10 settings, or a dishwasher with "a sound package."
My husband and I 'hear' at different frequencies. I can block out a lot of background noise while he hears a 'thump thump'. He has some hearing damage and sound carries in a weird way in some of the open concept type houses. We specifically look for the sound package to reduce the noise. It means something to us so we pay extra for it.
And replacing a Sub-Zero compressor might be 4x the price of replacing the compressor in, say, a GE Monogram unit. (Ask me how I know).
I'm guessing it's because you've owned (or lived in houses that had) one of each and had both fail.
The word I hear from real estate folks is that Sub-Zero refrigerators are somewhat more breakdown-prone than their competitors'. One of their distinguishing features is that their compressors are usually on the top of the fridge/freezer rather than the bottom (in the rear).
We all know there are basic, mid-range and high-end anythings. And then there are commercial grade items, which carry a big price tag! Everyone is free to purchase and use whatever they want, whether they can afford it or not.
The point of this topic is what is being marketed to the masses of all income levels. And that is high-end items. Many folks, focusing here on older folks, need an item, be it an appliance, a vehicle, a computer, etc. etc. They think the only items available are the high-end, expensive, bells and whistles loaded luxury items found on the sales floors of stores. My post was to say that mid-range, affordable items are still available but not made too public. So decide what you want in a product, in this case, appliances, and research it online or go to the store and tell the sales person what you want. Don't settle for over-kill when you don't need it.
I inherited a W&D when I bought my house. The dryer doesn't even have a buzzer when it shuts off, let alone the every 5 minutes tumble. I didn't even know they made dryers that basic. Guess even the buzzer and wrinkle guard features are luxuries.......I adapted.
Last edited by Lodestar 77; 02-14-2023 at 07:57 AM..
This^^. If you can afford it, then why the heck not! If you have plenty of money, should you just hoard it, and not spend it? I think it's kinda silly to expect those that are in a completely different income level than you, to live at yours.
Exactly. I would break this issue down into two parts - those for whom an expensive appliance is a big deal and a major purchase, and those for whom it is trivial. A person making $50k that buys a $5k fridge sounds like one that has a poor sense of "value" or is trying to show off (which either way is their right) but a person making $500k doesn't need to waste time on it. They can get the fridge they like the best for whatever reason (color, style of handles, etc.) and move on. It isn't going to mean skipping their vacation to Europe or getting the lower trim level of a new car.
We all know there are basic, mid-range and high-end anythings. And then there are commercial grade items, which carry a big price tag! Everyone is free to purchase and use whatever they want, whether they can afford it or not.
The point of this topic is what is being marketed to the masses of all income levels. And that is high-end items. Many folks, focusing here on older folks, need an item, be it an appliance, a vehicle, a computer, etc. etc. They think the only items available are the high-end, expensive, bells and whistles loaded luxury items found on the sales floors of stores. My post was to say that mid-range, affordable items are still available but not made too public. So decide what you want in a product, in this case, appliances, and research it online or go to the store and tell the sales person what you want. Don't settle for over-kill when you don't need it.
I inherited a W&D when I bought my house. The dryer doesn't even have a buzzer when it shuts off, let alone the every 5 minutes tumble. I didn't even know they made dryers that basic. Guess even the buzzer and wrinkle guard features are luxuries.......I adapted.
I'm going to say that my observation of your premise is that we "older folks" do indeed know there are various grades of products and younger ones do not.
My wife bought a new Forester back in 2009. I drove it to work (meaning school) one day and one of the younger teachers commented on it and couldn't believe I didn't buy a Benz like she had just done. By younger teachers I mean one at Step 2, $42,000/year. I had topped out the salary scale a few years prior at something north of $80K.
We have two Sub-Zero refrigerators that came with the Arizona house when we bought it. They're both over 20 years old now and still going strong. I'd pay $5k to replace either of these.
The other house has a small crappy refrigerator that sporadically fails.
To each their own.
My Sub-Zero failed at about 12 years. It would have cost a little over $2,000 to fix it - and that was ten years ago. I just went to an appliance store and bought something on sale.
We all know there are basic, mid-range and high-end anythings. And then there are commercial grade items, which carry a big price tag! Everyone is free to purchase and use whatever they want, whether they can afford it or not.
The point of this topic is what is being marketed to the masses of all income levels. And that is high-end items. Many folks, focusing here on older folks, need an item, be it an appliance, a vehicle, a computer, etc. etc. They think the only items available are the high-end, expensive, bells and whistles loaded luxury items found on the sales floors of stores. My post was to say that mid-range, affordable items are still available but not made too public. So decide what you want in a product, in this case, appliances, and research it online or go to the store and tell the sales person what you want. Don't settle for over-kill when you don't need it.
I inherited a W&D when I bought my house. The dryer doesn't even have a buzzer when it shuts off, let alone the every 5 minutes tumble. I didn't even know they made dryers that basic. Guess even the buzzer and wrinkle guard features are luxuries.......I adapted.
That's nonsense. You don't think that if a someone, be s/he "older," younger, or somewhere in between, goes to a large nationwide chain store such as Best Buy, Lowe's, or Home Depot looking to buy an appliance, that they won't find a plethora of "mid-range affordable" options available on the showroom floor? Of course they will. They'll find everything from the most basic model to models with the most bells & whistles. It's ludicrous to think that stores are keeping lower-end models a secret from their shoppers.
In fact, this entire thread is nonsensical. Did I wander into the Frugal Living Forum or the Jealous Living Forum?
It's not that new an idea, although a store that just sells those appliances may be a new idea.
I got three window air conditioners once at a low price because a friend worked for Sharp Electronics, and the employees were given the opportunity to buy AC units in damaged boxes. The actual units were so well-insulated, though, that when you opened the damaged cartons, the ACs were fine. I had no central air and they came in handy.
$1K for a washer or a dryer doesn't seem too terrible to me. Two years ago I bought an all-in-one washer/dryer unit for around $1400. It's small enough to fit in the closet made for it in my condo. Full-size pieces might easily run a thousand apiece.
A year or two before that, I spent $1200 on a fridge. It's smallish, though not one of those "apartment-sized" ones, and it's very basic--no icemaker, no cold water (my fridge space is too far from any plumbing to use any of those features). $5K sounds like a lot, but depending on size and features, someone may want it.
The all-in-one had a very high price because it was a specialty item. Combining both functions into one appliance is more expensive, plus there's less demand for a niche item, so they're priced higher. Professional-grade under-the-counter fridges also cost a lot more than standard fridges, or used to.
I just checked fridge prices, including Sears Kenmore. They're all selling for $1000 and more, except for models that are on sale, which are about 25% off. Comparable GE fridges' full retail prices are the same as the Kenmore sale price. GE fridges on sale are around $500. Looks like GE these days are the better value. It's almost as if Kenmore has become a luxury brand or something.
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A "sound package"??? I never heard of such a thing until I started looking online at dishwashers. I NEVER had a problem with the noise where one could not hear the TV or a visitor when my dishwasher was running. When did this become an issue? So now this is a new, trendy thing for today's buyers. Trendy equals pricier.......
