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How long have I wanted to make this thread!! Anybody else start noticing ten or twenty years ago that almost everything is now built like crap?? (There are a few exceptions). I found an old remote control toy today.........twenty or thirty years old. Sure, the electronics might not have the 2018 features that we have today, thanks to technology. BUT THE SAME TOY BUILT TODAY IS A PIECE OF UTTER CRAP! The old one that I found still worked, and here's a big part of my complaint: it had SOLID, tough plastic. I SWEAR that consumer products companies are having a contest to see who can invent and produce the flimsiest plastic. It is AMAZING how thin much of it is today.........it flutters like paper and breaks with a touch. And they don't care. Most companies do not care if their garbage product breaks. They hope it does. Then you have to go buy a new one.
I would say that 80% of what is on the shelves today is utter crap. There are quality products which are still very good.........but you have to pay super premium to get those products that will last. This is not how it used to be.
How has it come to this??
80% of our products made in China; 80% of our products utter crap. Surprise, surprise.
1) compare costs in 2018 dollars. That remote control toy (that went forward and then turned in reverse) I got as a kid in 1977 cost $20. In 2018 that would cost $83.
2) to make the same toy today for $20 in 2018 dollars it is built to a price. To keep the same major functions other corners are cut.
3) China happens to be the place currently where a manufacturer can make it to a low enough price that all the middlemen can still make a profit and sell it for $20. If China keeps developing then eventually it will shift elsewhere as China will be too expensive.
4) consumers are the ultimate judge. If people didn’t buy it then it wouldn’t sell. And nobody would make it.
I’m not debating that a lot of Chinese toys are cheap and break easily. I’ve also been there and seen all the cheap knockoffs they sell. But you can’t merely equate Chinese = crap.
That's why I buy next to nothing. All my brickabrack could be loaded into the back of my truck with room to spare. Most of it is very old. my grandkids don't have much in the way of toys. Hot Wheels don't seem to have lost much when it comes to quality nor have Lincoln logs 2 sets of which I made myself for the kids. There's no Barbies in my granddaughters life, no my little ponies. She likes making pictures out of paper and glue, playing on her kids I pad and visiting me and the old couple next door in her spare time.
What really pisses off their moms is the shabby quality of the kids cloths and cloths in general. They don't last and they aren't cheap. We need to do something different.
I’m not debating that a lot of Chinese toys are cheap and break easily. I’ve also been there and seen all the cheap knockoffs they sell. But you can’t merely equate Chinese = crap.
I can’t remember where I read this article but it was about someone who spent some time in China. He said that in the home market in China, there are some very good quality Chinese manufactured products. Some of these are exported but it’s not a general case. He said the exports are usually built to a demand. China does not have the regulations we do on manufacturing so if someone wants something and wants to maximize profits or undercut the competition, or split the difference and do both, China is only too happy to accomodate. As said above, consumers drive this and China delivers.
Buying American may cost more upfront, but it saves you money over the long haul by lasting longer. It's not like other countries aren't capable of making the highest quality consumer products, it's just that some choose not to. They want said product to break, you buy another, break, you buy another, ad infinitum...rinse and repeat.
It may keep the economy's engine purring, but it's not doing any favors for our landfills.
Buying American may cost more upfront, but it saves you money over the long haul by lasting longer. It's not like other countries aren't capable of making the highest quality consumer products, it's just that some choose not to. They want said product to break, you buy another, break, you buy another, ad infinitum...rinse and repeat.
I do not believe, in general, that is true of automobiles or clothes.
I can’t remember where I read this article but it was about someone who spent some time in China. He said that in the home market in China, there are some very good quality Chinese manufactured products. Some of these are exported but it’s not a general case. He said the exports are usually built to a demand. China does not have the regulations we do on manufacturing so if someone wants something and wants to maximize profits or undercut the competition, or split the difference and do both, China is only too happy to accomodate. As said above, consumers drive this and China delivers.
We customers may have created this monster ourselves by starting to choose crap products back in the 90s--at times---(instead of spending a few more bucks and getting quality). But now the monster is completely out of control.
1) compare costs in 2018 dollars. That remote control toy (that went forward and then turned in reverse) I got as a kid in 1977 cost $20. In 2018 that would cost $83.
2) to make the same toy today for $20 in 2018 dollars it is built to a price. To keep the same major functions other corners are cut.
3) China happens to be the place currently where a manufacturer can make it to a low enough price that all the middlemen can still make a profit and sell it for $20. If China keeps developing then eventually it will shift elsewhere as China will be too expensive.
4) consumers are the ultimate judge. If people didn’t buy it then it wouldn’t sell. And nobody would make it.
I’m not debating that a lot of Chinese toys are cheap and break easily. I’ve also been there and seen all the cheap knockoffs they sell. But you can’t merely equate Chinese = crap.
Nope, I am talking 1990 dollars to 2018 dollars. Same cost to buy most things. Except now it's junk.
Point number 2 is moot. The dynamic you are talking about was true back in 1980 or 1990 as well.
China makes a bunch of money making this junk, as it costs them almost nothing to make it. The fat cat executives and middle managers who work for the companies which get the Chinese to produce this junk also make very good money. It's the American consumer who gets screwed by having to buy crap.
As to point 4, when almost ALL of the stuff on the shelves is
crap, you don't have much "choice". As I said, you now have to pay a 25% premium to get a quality product, whereas quality was the NORM in 1970 or 1980. No premium cost involved.
Last edited by maineguy8888; 08-19-2018 at 12:45 PM..
"Almost all consumer products sold in discount/cost-cutter stores are junk, because that's the price/quality point the majority of people are seeking."
Remember repair shops? Unless it’s for a vehicle or maybe a computer/cell phone; you don’t see repair shops. You don’t see tailor/alterations offered for the crap clothing, shoe/boot repair, small appliances, TV’s, vacuums, etc ...
If you’re lucky, you buy from somewhere with a good refund/exchange policy & waste a lot of your time but less of your money. Then again; time IS money so they get you coming & going.
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