I realized recently that I expect pretty much everything purchased lately to break within months, no matter what it is. Buy a brand new shirt? It’ll have a thread unraveling on the first day you wear it. Buy a tray table? It’ll collapse after a few uses. I was gifted a tumbler for Christmas and the lid is already cracked. Everything is made so cheaply that nothing lasts anymore.
I think about how, generations ago, things were built solid. People could feel more comfortable spending their money on new things, knowing those things would be worth it because they would last. Today, it’s a shitshow. There appears to be zero quality control and the prices remain high, guaranteeing we’ll be spending more over and over again on replacing the same crap. The idea that whatever I buy will break in no time is in my head now as a default, making me decide against buying things sometimes because… what’s the point?
These days I only buy things that have years of good reviews, or that I know how to inspect for quality issues. Learn what makes a good shirt, a good knife, a good tool… what are the signs of quality and signs of cost cutting that you should be aware of? A consumer really does need to do a bit of homework to find the diamond in the dung pile.
I also really love old gear and tech for that reason. Fewer things to break and easy to fix. I use film cameras that are older than I am, often by decades. It might be old, but at least it’ll keep fucking working AND can be fixed if it doesn’t.
I realized recently that I expect pretty much everything purchased lately to break within months, no matter what it is. Buy a brand new shirt? It’ll have a thread unraveling on the first day you wear it. Buy a tray table? It’ll collapse after a few uses. I was gifted a tumbler for Christmas and the lid is already cracked. Everything is made so cheaply that nothing lasts anymore.
I think about how, generations ago, things were built solid. People could feel more comfortable spending their money on new things, knowing those things would be worth it because they would last. Today, it’s a shitshow. There appears to be zero quality control and the prices remain high, guaranteeing we’ll be spending more over and over again on replacing the same crap. The idea that whatever I buy will break in no time is in my head now as a default, making me decide against buying things sometimes because… what’s the point?
I hear ya.
These days I only buy things that have years of good reviews, or that I know how to inspect for quality issues. Learn what makes a good shirt, a good knife, a good tool… what are the signs of quality and signs of cost cutting that you should be aware of? A consumer really does need to do a bit of homework to find the diamond in the dung pile.
I also really love old gear and tech for that reason. Fewer things to break and easy to fix. I use film cameras that are older than I am, often by decades. It might be old, but at least it’ll keep fucking working AND can be fixed if it doesn’t.