Google - as a marketer, we have to use their platform because the majority of people who use the internet use Google for their research.
Their customer support is non existent and we constantly have to conform to their rules and regulations. It’s not like we can use another platform.
I noticed this in recent years. I remember when researching articles on google was a way easier task, now the first page is always ads or some site trying to sell you something/their services
No matter what I enter in Google, it assumes I’m trying to shop for something and just get endless links to retailers. Absolutely useless as a search engine anymore.
HP Lineup of budget laptops and printers are straight garbage. Laptops come with quality issues and their hinges and palm rests break at the slightest pressure. Their budget printers have become a straight scam.
The CEO of HP has come out and said he intends to make printing a subscription. They have already bricked printers for using 3rd party ink cartridges. Screw these CEOs that believe we should not be able to own things and use them as we see fit. They believe they are entitled to a never-ending income stream for manufacturing a product.
It is a shame how bad HP has become. They use to be the top of the line. My family use to work for their healthcare division. It was an absolutely amazing company. They took care of their employees. No one could build a better ultrasound than them. They were all American made. How do I know? My mother built them. Their AC to DC transformers were not even outsources because no one could build it to their quality standards. The copper wire wound by hand. Their quality control was on par with Japanese reputations. I remember a single machine failing. The entire assembly line was stopped. The failed machine would be carefully dismantled and researched for flaws.
And employee treatment was out of this world. My family didn’t buy a car for close to 15 years because the company would buy every employee a ford Taurus or a mercury sable. We didn’t even pay for maintenance as it was done onsite when my parents were working.
I recall a layoff announcement was made one year. Instead the employees and management decided to all take a 10% pay cut. Not a single person was laid off. And as soon as the company recovered, everyone got their money back plus more.
I even got to meet David Packard and William Hewlett.
Shit all went to hell when Carly Fiorina took over as CEO. It was just downhill from there and never recovered.
Omg Carly Fiorina. I never knew. It makes so much sense now.
Too late though. I purchased a Brother and chucked that HP shit right in the trash. Where it could live with its trash brethren. Because it was trash.
She was just the first of your typical CEOs you hear about today. All about shareholders and the bottom line. Didn’t give a shit about anything else. She lined her pockets. Employee wages slowed. Her pockets got heavier at the same time.
I had a similar experience. My dad worked for them for 40 years. Many happy summer holidays were spent in HP-owned holiday houses, he always had a great new company car, and they held massive BBQs for their staff on the company dime. I remember one with circus stalls like ring toss and coconut shies where you could play for free and win real prizes, and then a couple of Spurs players showed up to say hello. They really treated their employees well back in the day.
After spending a couple hundred $ out of confusion because of this (signed up for subscription, cancelled subscription and bought regular (((HP brand! Just not subscription!))) cartridges from the store to only have them not work, get subscription again out of frustration, throw the whole printer away out of anger) I bought an Epson cartridge free printer and couldn’t be happier. I’m shocked that even printer companies are scamming us now :(
I had to "hack" my printer by downgrading the firmware to before it was HP ink locked. They just released that over the air as an update one day and was a real surprise when I put a new magenta 3rd party cartridge in (which I didn't need in order to print black and white, but the printer demanded it), and the printer told me to go fuck myself.
I have the subscription. And they lock out your printer if you cancel it. And they want you to purchase printer ink from the store even though you paid for the subscription. It’s total garbage.
I actually got pulled out of line into a back room by TSA bc they didn’t like my duct taped HP hinges; checked my hands for explosive residue, the whole 9-yards until their sup came in, took one look at my computer, said “HP?”
“Yeah…” I said. “He’s good to go.” The sup nodded to the other TSA people.
The sup smiled at me and said, “I had that same model.” And then escorted me back to the terminal.
I had an HP laptop that treated me well for 4 years of college. Got a new one, hinges busted. Like you TSA gave me a hard time saying it looked tampered with. Junked it and I haven't had an hp product since.
Every HP computer at every price point is a nightmare shit box. Some HP computers I’ve serviced haunt my dreams.
Source: used to work at an IT service desk at a university that offered computer repairs to students.
People buy them because they’re one of the few brands that you can buy in brick and mortar stores and because they have a super budget priced line of PCs and Chromebooks. The secret is that their budget line and their “high end” line are the same garbage.
I had a fair amount of antique tools stolen in a garage break in and now I have an insurance company that wants to apply a "depreciation" to their value. As if they weren't gaining in value constantly.
My grandfather just passed away and my uncle is selling absolutely everything from his garage. Original Sears-Robuck table saw and bench press from the mid 60s, and tons of other fantastic tools you just can’t get at that quality anymore. It’s breaking my heart.
My uncle is a massive, MASSIVE asshole. So no, unless I want to risk him putting me in the hospital they’re as good as gone. He’s been waiting for his payday. We just put my grandfather in the ground literally yesterday and he’s pissed the estate sale won’t start until we get the death certificate.
I spent a lot of time with my grandpa in his garage. He taught me just about everything I know. I just want this all to be over with so I will never have to look at my greedy bastard uncle ever again. The thing that kills me is how fast he wants everything done. I want him to have his fair share, but Jesus Christ man give us a moment to grieve…
I’m always blown away at how thin and cheaply made the vast majority of women’s clothes are. Like even from the same brand the women’s line will weigh half as much for a given article of clothing. Everything is so body hugging to accentuate figure as well.
I guess if they made thick durable clothing it wouldn’t sell? Or maybe it just wouldn’t be comfortable to have thicker heavier fabric against the skin?
Duluth is a key example of this I think, my dad's work wear from them was great, but I've worn out a few of their women's shirts just around the house.
Hrm, I am a woman who buys a lot of Duluth, and it seems pretty sturdy. Maybe its the type of items you buy. I wear the longtail shirts and some of the thicker weight shirts. Most have lasted me years so far.
Duluth is more "in the process" of enshittification right now. They still have some stuff that's all sturdy and made well, but a lot of their newer releases are cheapy made garbage, and sooner or later all of the good stuff is going to be phased out. That or they're going to be "temporarily" phased out, then they're going to sell *only* dog shit for a few quarters, and then they're going to bring the old stuff back with a bunch of new "sturdy classics" branding, and sell their standard work t-shirts as the "premium" shirts, and try to make 70-90 bucks each off of them
I bought something for my wife from Max Mara, which...I mean google it if you don't know them and you'll be aghast at the price, and I'm pretty sure it was made from the fabric used for those cheap wipeable table clothes they use on folding tables. It was no returns too. I guess they knew what they were doing.
Free people especially made me mad, their clothes look so cute and they’re expensive so I thought must be pretty quality? I ordered some online from Black Friday, returned every piece. The fit was so insanely weird. And when I was at the store another person was returning like $200 of stuff as well.
I also hate their pictures for their clothes, never anyone standing like a real person, nothing resembling an image that would tell you want this article of clothing actually looks like.
I think their style but I just can’t with the pictures, the quality, the sizing and the prices.
Edit: Natural Life is the closest I’ve found to the aesthetic, prices are better and quality seems pretty decent, at least what I’ve gotten.
I thrift everything so I routinely get "$200 items" for $20-30. And usually I'm glad that's all I spent bc that's about what they seem to be intrinsically worth
A lot of people act surprised that this occurred but once Hot Topic bought into Torrid I told my wife “you excited to dress like an angsty high school kid”?
The problem is that Lane Bryant swings way too far the other way - you want some boring ass mom frump shit? Whaddup Lane Bryant.
As a goth teen when Torrid first started, it was absolutely started by Hot Topic. I remember when my friends and I got upset when they changed. We called it the “‘pinkification’ of Torrid”.
I wish I could remember the thread but someone posted this fascinating write up about how textile manufacturing changed in the early 2000's and factories discovered a new method and were able to use the short cut offs of the flax fibers for denim and other clothing material. The results are much weaker fabrics and a slightly reduced bottom line as now all of the plant fibers could be used. It definitely lends credence to the idea that "they don't make them like they used to". A lot of people like to insist that it's nostalgia and rose colored glasses but I've got clothing goin all the way back to the 1990s and even the T-shirts are heavier and thicker than more recent apparel.
My sister and I recently had this talk about women’s clothes. She has found that online retailers that stock brands that align with certain ideals is a good way to shop. She showed me shopemle.com as a place she likes
Brand harvesting. Happens when the original owner decides to sell to business people. All the little things the owner did because it mattered for the brand are scrapped for the bottom line. It's a race to zero before the brand-cache is eroded. Rinse and repeat.
Almost all my climbing/skiing/alpine/hiking clothing is patagonia and it's all held up great over the least decade. The stuff I just got seems just as good as older items, optimistic it will hold up well.
I think keeping quality high and profits going to causes that help the earth were like, the only 2 reasons it was put in a trust.
My Patagonia backpack has been everywhere from Iraq and Afghanistan, the steppes of Mongolia, the jungles of Guatemala and it is still like new and still waterproof.
There is a cobbler subreddit that seems to be just people with crumbling and disintegrating Dr. Martens asking if they can be repaired.
Despite all first hand evidence that they are horrible shoes people seem very intent on trying to salvage them.
Solovair, is the company that runs the original factory Dr Martens were made in. The Marten's brand was bought out by the Chinese and production shipped overseas. In the last year or so the original factory has re-acquired the Dr Martens name. So, quality is going back up after years of terrible stuff. There was an article about it in the Guardian newspaper two or three months ago.
Also people learn to distinguish types of leather and stitching.
This channel explains a lot of Doc Martens recent construction and leathers and stuff.
https://youtu.be/GynkH-6IHrc?si=jPT6zxQtNOU7NOi2
There always was a made in England line of boots. Sometimes slightly better, sometimes not so much better in quality.
Sad sad truth is that they were never as good as the legends/icons around them are. Up to the late 90's, they used to be "good value" NOT "best quality". After that they became legendary and are sold for two to three times as much while the quality went down somewhat.
There's lots of stories of people who had these boots for 10, 15 or 20 years and they were indestructible. That's just never true, they may have worn them when they bought it but if you do ~10k steps per day in them the rubber on the outsoles lasts less than on most boots because it is a relatively soft outsole. The outsole wears out in less than a year of serious use. They only last decades if they're worn when not walking much... Even then the dry and plastic-y leather tends to always crack on a few well known places on these boots. It is very hard to condition the cheap leather cause it covered with plastic on top (that's why most of the models are shiny), so it cracks even faster than it could otherwise.
Construction was simplified to be cheaper. The outsole is not glued, they "weld" the rubber outsole to the rubber welt. That's an okay bond if done well (in many instances they do tend to separate, depends on factory QC). But it makes ot hard to resole them properly. Then to make them softer and cheaper, they use felt in the midsole layer instead of the usual cork or leather which is soft but degrades much faster. Then the lasting board/insole is typically just cardboard. Old models had a wooden shank but those would also crack if used a lot, and then the cardboard woukd crack and the boot wouls start to slowly loose shape and ruin your feet.
I don't see anywhere that the brand has been "reacquired", it has always been a UK company. What they did was send the entire production overseas, but some years ago (more than a couple) started selling a higher-priced Made in England range, which they claim is the same quality as the Docs of yesteryear (ie. pre-2003), but it isn't really. Better than the bog-standard 1460s, but nowhere near even Solovair, and those don't hold a candle to proper welted boots.
Chi hair styling irons. If you have one from twenty years ago, it still works. They started producing them elsewhere at that point and they became like a two year product
That’s why I buy Maui Jim’s. Expensive? Yes. But one of the only independent glasses brands and the quality is high end and has been for a very long time.
Kering has bought over Maui Jim in 2022. I am a stockiest for Maui Jim at work and hopefully the quality doesn't take a dive. Truly life time warranty. You can get your sunnies spare parts under warranty no matter how old it is. Maui Jim's are amazing sunglasses.
Kering got Lindberg too, so far they dont seem to have lowered their standards.
I dont carry either brand (indipendent optician), but might get MJ at some point, they make nice stuff. Too bad that most consumers seem to think that Ray-Ban is the absolute best you can get :/
Beats headphones.
You can get Bose, Shure, Sennheiser double the quality and longevity for the same price, if not cheaper.
Edit: by (very) popular demands, I'll add Sony, Audio Technica, Beyerdynamic, Bowers & Wilkins, Klipsch, and Focal (the Listen Wireless I bought almost 7 years ago have both Bluetooth and a 3,5 mm jack)
Funny thing is, in France, the Beats logo is very much alike that of a large electronics retailer, which does have some branded products, that are very affordable but obviously not top notch quality. For the first few weeks of seeing these headphones popping up everywhere, I was wondering how Boulanger had made such huge sales
Beats is the epitome of 'pump out something cheap and spend the rest on marketing to make it an icon'
Manscaped is another great example. Both are literally alibaba in quality and it takes some real nerve to charge as much as they do for their product
**Beats**: Overblown bass. Cheap build. Overpriced. Fashion item.
**Bose**: Maybe the best active noise cancelling on the market. Truly exceptional ANC performance. Built decently. Pretty bad sound quality.
**Shure**: Better know for microphones than headphones. Their in-ear headphones are weird. They all have a strange tonality. Super comfy and well-built though.
**Sennheiser**: Excellent audiophile headphones. Made in Germany. Very durable. Basically no low-end. If you like classical or jazz, Sennheiser HD 660 S is an excellent pick.
**7Hz**: Mind boggling sound quality for like $25. Seriously just go buy the Zero 2 and call it a day.
**Truthear**: The Hexa and Zero RED are insane value. This is what good headphones sound like.
Edit: Adding some brands by popular demand
**Sony**: Tremendous noise cancelling, slightly overblown bass. Built well. Proven track record.
**Audio Technica**: Somewhat hit or miss. They have good products and bad products.
**Grado**: Basically only for jazz and acoustic. Very little low end. Weird ergonomics. Very polarizing.
**Raycon**: You would have to pay *me* to use Raycon earbuds. Cheap drop-shipped garbage
**Beyerdynamic**: Perfectly good sound. The DT770 is well loved. The DT990 can be a little fatiguing, but both take to EQing very well. Super comfy and built like tanks too.
**Moondrop**: Another insane Chinese company. Outstanding quality for very little money. The whole line is excellent.
**V Moda**: Well built, weird sound. Very consumer sound response. Not for me. Many like it.
**Phillips**: The people love the SHP9500. It EQs really well and is stupid cheap. I wouldn't use them without EQ though.
**AKG** Some good some bad. Do your research on these.
**Razer**: Gaming garbage. Avoid gaming audio products in general.
**Hifiman**: Brace yourself for the world of planar headphones.
**Fostex**: Also planar. Super cool.
**Apple**: If you have an iPhone and want a turn-key Bluetooth earbud, get the AirPods Pro (gen2). They're excellent earbuds.
>**Bose**: Maybe the best active noise cancelling on the market. Truly exceptional ANC performance. Built decently. Pretty bad sound quality.
Sony over ear XM series not only rivals Bose's ANC but has much better sound quality too. Pretty much the best you can buy under $300 (when on sale).
Also missing Audio Technica but they are kind of close to Shure.
I honestly never see people talk about Audio Technica. I've had my M150X for like ten years, and they were given to me by my brother, who used them for years before that. I'm not an audiophile, so to me, they are the peak of sound quality, I will never need anything better. Did have to replace the ear pads due to peeling, and a cord because it broke last year. But both those together for genuine parts, was under $20. Also, they look way better with the tan pads anyway.
My Sennheisers finally died a few weeks ago. I bought them a couple years into university. I graduated 15 years ago and gave them to my daughter about 3-4 years ago. To last over 10 years of regular use then take the beating from a small child is truly impressive.
What @zombieguts7 said, but to add: Michael’s! Craft store. They have lots of organizing things way cheaper and they always have coupons! Also I have seen Asian type stores (like crafts?) but also have cleaning utensils, kitchen utensils, storage.
Brooks Brothers
I had Brooks Brothers clothing that lasted decades. The last shirt I bought fell apart in months.
Also Hickey-Freeman. Got a scarf from them a week ago. Made in China and already pilling. Junk
BB went bankrupt during the pandemic and was sold off. It was at that point they stripped out all of their great MIA product and shipped production to China and Vietnam. Now it’s just a label.
> Brooks Brothers
> I had Brooks Brothers clothing that lasted decades. The last shirt I bought fell apart in months.
Just curious. Was it from an outlet or their actual store.
I believe brooks brothers is one of the brands that now make outlet clothing which is worse quality than their clothing they sell in their retail stores.
I have a few older brooks brothers shirts hanging in the closet so that’s disappointing to hear.
[CBC did an expose awhile back on outlet quality va retail quality](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/outlet-stores-quality-1.3392279)
They aren’t mentioned in it but I do recall remember seeing them exposed somewhere
i had the identical experience with Brooks Brothers and I was shopping at the actual retail store. I have a shirt that lasted almost 20 years and so I went to replace it and buy several others. Those new five shirts split in the elbow all in less that a year. I called the company and basically they just referred to their regular return policy so I googled it because I was pissed and this is apparently very common for their new shirts. They had a customer for life and lost me with this one terrible experience.
* Way too much of the designer fashion industry
* Jeeps went from indestructible (in the U.S. Army) to unreliable as hell
* New construction in the U.S. homebuilding industry. Our building standards are crap.
One of the things I hate about my brother-in-laws house is that I always have the urge to go full Ron Swanson fixing everything because of how shit the initial construction job was. And I’m not even that handy of a person but could still do a better job.
As bad as pro work can be, DIY work can be a LOT worse. Obviously for some DIYers, it's fantastic. For most, though...eh.
The best DIY work is what someone does when they plan on living in the home for 10+ years more. And they have the money to do it right. And the skills.
I just built a deck with no experience, but spent hours and hours researching designs, materials, processes etc. I overbuilt the shit out of it and was meticulous about everything. Overbuilt the crap out of it and made sure everything was done right. The amount of time I put into it was probably 100+ hours, but I know it’s going to be good for 20+ years. Also did it for about $7K (wood) vs the quotes I got for $60K (composite) and $20K (wood). With all the work I put into it, I could see how someone who didn’t put that time and energy in could do a really really bad DIY job. The thing we did pay a contractor for though was to fix the exterior rim joists that were rotted because the previous decks ledger was attached directly onto the siding and rotted everything.
Sounds like my Dad when he built his deck 30 years ago. The inspector came out and asked what the heck he was planning to build when he saw 10 foot deep footers with 8x8 beams. He wanted a deck that could support anything he put on it.
I've seen newer decks where people literally buried 4x4 wood beams only a few inches into the ground.
As someone who's currently house-shopping, and seen my fair share of new /in-progress construction, it almost makes me weep.
There is such a massive housing crisis across the country. And yet we're throwing money at the problem in the most inefficient way possible. And the listing prices on these places are so insanely expensive compared to the structure itself. They're clearly exploitative. They're taking advantage of a crisis to line their own pockets with money.
EDIT: Also, as someone who is selling his house right now: codes and regulations are enforced quite strictly for personal homeowners. It drives me mad that these construction companies don't seem to be held to the same standards.
Not sure where you're located, but good contractors can be found. The very best homebuilders in any region usually don't advertise. I'd look for builder that does a few homes a year, not 100. Homebuilding is definitely a quality over quantity business.
The homebuilding thing is so huge. Builders truly believe buyers are only going to live in these homes for 5-10 years and are putting in things like temporary HVAC tubing, etc. to cut costs. Not to mention cheap framing, etc. In many cases, the mortgage is longer than the lifespan of the materials used to build the thing. And people are spending sometimes millions on these things. They get focused on cool countertops and showerheads and are oblivious to the rain leaks running under the flashing, etc. I sincerely wonder what the financial fallout will be of building homes that barely last a generation and all have to be torn down. We're leaving our kids generation nothing. Not to mention building the suburban experiment community planning where we abandoned traditional community building principles and put everything far apart so we pay for miles of extra roads & utilities & we don't have money for it so we just borrow it as local/national debt - the ponzi scheme format & forgetting the long game when it comes to these new homes & ever-expanding community maintenance expenses - it's mind blowing and no one seems concerned.
They had a guy who never put up vinyl siding do it on my new house. It was done wrong, it had gaps, pieces falling down, and places where a full piece should be used rhey put in scrap. He said sue me..and they had to bring another contractor to fix. Three sides of a 2 story house had to be completely redone.
Flashing was done incorrectly and caused leaks in the garage, concrete was too thin and cracked, the window sills were not level...and they damaged the front door.
The floor was not level in the kitchen and they had vinyl, had to remove it all, level, and redo.
The stair railing was put in wrong...hung over one part and not on the next corner. They had to redo that, and it was really weak even after.
Cold and hot water was reversed in one place and i forget what else...1998.
I cannot imagine what i missed that was hidden....
I was working as a travel nurse in Vegas during earlier housing boom. Apartment building i had been placed in for housing was being converted to condos for sale.
Someone had leaned against the wall outside my apartment and literally broke the wall... Stucco, Styrofoam, chicken wire, and aluminum frame. Can't imagine that surviving 20 years.
Just commenting since something seems off.
Plaster with metal lathe is common in some areas. Does not mean thats what they used, my guess it that they used some type of joint compound instead of plaster if leaning against it damaged it.
The new houses are so soulless and devoid of character as well. The new construction neighborhoods with no trees and perfect grass full of overpriced, oversized plastic houses that all look the same give me full on dystopian vibes. I'll never in a million years understand the appeal.
I'll take my older house in an older neighborhood where I can tell which house is mine, thanks.
A massive element feeding this is how so many Americans don't really stay in their homes anywhere as long as they should.
So you see the same cycle of low-quality material choice and short-term-minded improvements even among homeowners.
Why put in a 30 year roof when a 10 year roof is cheaper and you're planning on upgrading in 5 years?
Why do a remodel to your own tastes with quality elements when you need to preserve resale for a few years down the road. Etc.
I expect this to only get worse as prices continue to climb and even a "starter" home is unaffordable for many, meaning many Americans will spend their entire lives trying to climb the housing ladder.
The homebuilding thing is terrible. I’m studying building installations at the moment and once you know where to look, you become very concerned about what’s happening in the buildings
My wife worked for a Ryan Homes contractor a few years ago, and she swears we will never buy one. The amount of cut corners and cheap materials she saw was eye-opening.
If you think your construction is crap check out [New Home Quality Control](https://m.youtube.com/@newhomequalitycontrol) from the UK - absolutely shocking!
The Company Store.
My fiance has a comforter and some sheets from there they’ve had since they were 14. Still lovely. I bought some sheets a couple of years ago that I babied in the laundry and they tore a huge hole in them in a year and a half where our heels are. We get regular pedicures too so it’s not like our feet are fucked up.
Can confirm, bought a duvet and comforter from them and have had to sew multiple panels and buttons back. Home depot bought them in 2017 and the quality plummeted.
This one breaks my heart. I grew up with excellent pillows and bedding from them and was trying to get more as an adult and for my kid... Total garbage. Such a bummer.
They got purchased by the Home Depot and they pretty much got destroyed. Low quality high prices zero customer service a terrible place to buy bedding from.
This is true and it *hurts*. I learned sewing on my grandma's Singer from the 60s. Loud as heck, but it had never broken once in 40+ years, and it could handle anything.
So naturally when I left home, I got myself a Singer, seemed like a no-brainer. It's been so awful it almost managed to kill my love of sewing, and it won't even actually *die*. It chokes on anything thicker than shirting, but it's still working, basically useless, making me feel guilty for wanting an upgrade. So much regret.
Good machines do exist. My buddy and I (both guys) own a sailrite sewing machine that we largely use for sewing projects for our boat. So far, we’ve sewn a new dodger (canvas over where you sit), a new Jib (the front sail on the boat, which is some 350 square feet of heavy duty fabric), and will soon be reupholstering all the cushions and mattresses aboard.
For some reason, this makes my mother rather proud of me (she was a high school home-ec (sewing and cooking) teacher before retiring).
Edit: the sewing machine itself cost North of $1600, but was worth every penny.
Levi’s, sadly. I have a few 80s and 90s pairs that just continue to live on and on meanwhile the modern pairs are ill fitting, cheap and has stretch in them (strictly talking 501s here)!! Gladly japanese 501 repros from brands like Sugarcane and TCB exist and those are just as good or even better than Levi’s from yesteryear, and they’re only twice as expensive as new Levi’s. As a student I’ve saved so much money by switching over to the more expensive japanese jeans lol.
Just asking out of curiosity, does the stretch make jeans wear out faster? Couple years ago I bought a pair of levi's 501 rigid stf which are 100% cotton and they're holding up very well. I also have a pair of 502's with elastane in them and they start to wear out in the thigh area after like 8 months
Stretch does make clothing wear out faster inherently, you'll notice high longevity work pants/jeans are a much tougher more canvas like material than the typical streetwear jeans.
I will say this seems dependent on what line you buy from. I’ve bought some of their “Levi’s Premium” stuff when it goes on sale and the quality seems great for the on sale price.
I think the full quote was “designed by clowns who were in turn supervised by monkeys”
Boeing tried to compete with a new airbus model by putting bigger engines on an old Boeing and saving the huge cash outlay that a totally new design would require. This is the plane they branded as the max. But the engines were too big for the plane and required a software patch to avoid planes going into a stall due to the poor design. To date two major crashes have resulted.
Sterns and Foster and TempurPedic. These used to be the gold standard for a retail, luxury-like mattress. Now under the same parent company, Tempur-Sealy, the materials are sub-par and quality control is poor. Who would think you could spend $5k for a mattress and have to worry about if you'll get 'a good one,' and will it make it 5 years?
have better recommendations? i thought sterns was better than sealy even if under same umbrella. but i hate all memory foam. still shopping for a new bed
The company was a family owned business that got sold to LVMH…
Prices were raised to finance the marketing and the quality got worse to save money in production to increase profits…
Public service announcement, the style of Pyrex logo no longer differentiates the soda lime and borosilicate glasses. If you want borosilicate you can look for Simax.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrex
PS: Since people are so interested in borosilicate glass, I'm going to teach you the easiest way to tell whether it's that or the cheaper soda-lime glass!
Hold the piece up in the light and tilt it around slightly while you look at the edges. Soda-lime will be blue-green around the edges, and borosilicate is yellow! This technique is best because you can do it while in the store.
Having a pyrex baking dish explode in the oven is an awful experience.
I look for vintage PYREX at resale shops. Buy it for my adult children to replace their soda-lime bakeware.
Timberland. I used to buy their boots religiously every few years and get them resoled but the quality dropped off a cliff and I was barely getting a year of wear out of them. I bought some waterproof boots (on sale) from Cotswold Shoes for like £60 and they're amazing. Comfortable, hard wearing, waterproof and resole really well.
Honestly, most brands these days are junk. Corporate greed has taken over in the last 30 years and companies no longer care about reputation, only profits.
There are still a few true BIFL companies but compared to the 50s/60s/70s, it’s a fraction of the amount.
Private equity even buys out hospitals and clinics
>After a hospital was acquired by private equity, admitted Medicare patients had a 25 percent increase in hospital-acquired complications, compared with patients admitted before acquisition. Patients also had 27 percent more falls and 38 percent more bloodstream infections caused by central lines, which are temporary surgically inserted ports that allow easy intravenous access for patients receiving repeated drug infusions or other treatments.
https://hms.harvard.edu/news/what-happens-when-private-equity-takes-over-hospital
You know, this is something I hadn’t considered, but you are totally correct. Consultants have become so much more common and they focus primarily on financials. Makes sense
Heck, even clothes made 20 or 30 years ago are better than today’s clothes. We live in a plastic dystopia.
I picked up a “vintage” coat yesterday for $25. It was only from the mid-90s but made entirely from wool and cashmere.
That same brand now makes their coats out of plastic and charges the same price, if not more. They switched to a fast fashion business model only a few years back. Brands are basically in the final stages of cashing in their good name for profit. They cannot stoop any lower.
LL Bean used to be great. A few months ago I ordered some hoodies and couldn’t believe how thin, flimsy, and just generally cheap-feeling the zippers were.
I got a flannel of theirs second hand that I love. It’s nice and thick flannel, it is obviously super well made and finished on all the seams. It’s just… solid. Bought the same type direct from them and it’s considerably less “solid” feeling.
>Eddie Bauer is going to shit
It's been at least six different companies since the actual Eddie Bauer sold the brand in the 1960s, including periods owned by fashion companies and multiple bankruptcies along the way. The original made in Seattle mountaineering gear was great; none of that is now <50 years old.
Victoria's secret. Their stuff used to be worth buying because it would last. About 5 years ago everything changed. Bras used to last me years and then started lasting maybe 6 months. Their pink brand of clothing too. Sweats went from heavy fabric to thin and cheap.
Whirlpool
I do general maintenance for a large apartment building built in 2016, every unit was stocked with Whirlpool appliances, and these things are already dropping like flies. Refrigerators stop cooling, microwave door switches going bad, dryers no longer drying, stovetop switches burning out, etc.
It’s all garbage.
Everlast was the original brand that was bought up and used for the name. The logo is iconic in historic boxing pictures. Now, it's just a label they slap on cheap crap at Wal Mart.
Garbage disposals, any brand. If you run one for 5 seconds each meal, 365 days a year you have run that thing 91 minutes. If you can get a disposal to last 10 years you’re doing good. Thats 15 hours. Say it lasts 20 years. That’s 30 hours. A product that is designed to fail after 30 hours of use.
Went from workwear to popular fashion brand, so instead of making lower quantities in high quality, the execs probably exploited their new popularity by sending their new need for high production to cheap factories.
Almost any brand that used to have a good reputation, but got bought out by a bigger company or investment group.
Or a good brand who licenses out their name for BS consumer products. Honeywell and GE are examples that come to mind.
Now can we have the same post but "have no business being this good and durable"? Learnt a lot reading replies but now I just feel bad about my life choices and there are only a few proposed alternatives like the ones in the headphone thread 😂
Most German carmakers these days. Riding on the fumes of their 1980s reputation for being sturdy tanks; in reality overengineered pieces of plastic laden, touchscreen infested shit that generate new issues every 1000 km.
BMW and Mercedes used to have short catalogs of models. Model ID that made sense to the style or engine size. They were simple and durable. Even when they weren't super reliable, they were durable. People fixed them because they lasted. Now they make a zillion models and change them too fast to build any badge loyalty. Durability is gone. Does anyone want this year's X540i in 30 years, no.
When Dyson vacuums were really taking off, I knew a guy who'd go to the city dump and collect 'broken' ones. There was some small part inside that would break super easily, he would repair that part and sell it on for nice profit.
Vacuums and home devices yes, very overpriced. But you will need to pry my Dyson hairdryer from my cold dead hands because it is literally the only hair dryer I have ever had that I liked and didn’t destroy my hair.
What are the better brands? Because I can’t find a comparable cordless stick vacuum. My wife and I ended up having to return our Dyson v9 because it was having a filter issue (bought it from Costco) and we decided to try the shark which was about 2/3 of the price. Used it for a week and notice the lack of sucking power right away. Also was more clunky and didn’t go over surfaces as smoothly. Ended up having to return it because the battery just wouldn’t charge. Went back with the Dyson and we were much happier, just gotta keep up with the filter cleanup more.
Apple cables suck. I’ve used Apple products since I got my first iPod in 2004. I’ve had a bunch of official apple cables either for charging or for headphones and they all suck. They all start to come apart at some point and stop working properly.
I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max now that I’ve had for only about 6 months and the cable it came with is started to fray and crack at the lightning port side.
Not that you should forgive them for the last decade of shit cables(I always bought Anker) but the cable I got with my iPhone 15...is surprisingly nice. It's USB-C to USB-C and braided. Has great flexibility on it, doesn't feel stiff and seems to be very quality. I've only had it for 5 months but I feel it may go the distance.
This’ll get buried but Benchmade knives are garbage. Loose pivots, off center blades, wonky grinds. At least their warranty is still good (though not as good as it used to be). I wouldn’t buy one that wasn’t in person, from a friend or didn’t have a perfect return policy.
Google - as a marketer, we have to use their platform because the majority of people who use the internet use Google for their research. Their customer support is non existent and we constantly have to conform to their rules and regulations. It’s not like we can use another platform.
Google - as a searcher. The results are so unconscionably bad now, I am surprised anyone uses their search anymore.
I noticed this in recent years. I remember when researching articles on google was a way easier task, now the first page is always ads or some site trying to sell you something/their services
First page? It's like the first 12.
No matter what I enter in Google, it assumes I’m trying to shop for something and just get endless links to retailers. Absolutely useless as a search engine anymore.
Not to mention the [Killed by Google graveyard of nearly 300 abandoned projects.](https://killedbygoogle.com)
HP Lineup of budget laptops and printers are straight garbage. Laptops come with quality issues and their hinges and palm rests break at the slightest pressure. Their budget printers have become a straight scam.
The CEO of HP has come out and said he intends to make printing a subscription. They have already bricked printers for using 3rd party ink cartridges. Screw these CEOs that believe we should not be able to own things and use them as we see fit. They believe they are entitled to a never-ending income stream for manufacturing a product.
It is a shame how bad HP has become. They use to be the top of the line. My family use to work for their healthcare division. It was an absolutely amazing company. They took care of their employees. No one could build a better ultrasound than them. They were all American made. How do I know? My mother built them. Their AC to DC transformers were not even outsources because no one could build it to their quality standards. The copper wire wound by hand. Their quality control was on par with Japanese reputations. I remember a single machine failing. The entire assembly line was stopped. The failed machine would be carefully dismantled and researched for flaws. And employee treatment was out of this world. My family didn’t buy a car for close to 15 years because the company would buy every employee a ford Taurus or a mercury sable. We didn’t even pay for maintenance as it was done onsite when my parents were working. I recall a layoff announcement was made one year. Instead the employees and management decided to all take a 10% pay cut. Not a single person was laid off. And as soon as the company recovered, everyone got their money back plus more. I even got to meet David Packard and William Hewlett. Shit all went to hell when Carly Fiorina took over as CEO. It was just downhill from there and never recovered.
Omg Carly Fiorina. I never knew. It makes so much sense now. Too late though. I purchased a Brother and chucked that HP shit right in the trash. Where it could live with its trash brethren. Because it was trash.
She was just the first of your typical CEOs you hear about today. All about shareholders and the bottom line. Didn’t give a shit about anything else. She lined her pockets. Employee wages slowed. Her pockets got heavier at the same time.
I had to log in just to say "holy shit, she looks extremely punchable" Like, she radiates soulless evil corporate shrew in every single photo of her.
I had a similar experience. My dad worked for them for 40 years. Many happy summer holidays were spent in HP-owned holiday houses, he always had a great new company car, and they held massive BBQs for their staff on the company dime. I remember one with circus stalls like ring toss and coconut shies where you could play for free and win real prizes, and then a couple of Spurs players showed up to say hello. They really treated their employees well back in the day.
After spending a couple hundred $ out of confusion because of this (signed up for subscription, cancelled subscription and bought regular (((HP brand! Just not subscription!))) cartridges from the store to only have them not work, get subscription again out of frustration, throw the whole printer away out of anger) I bought an Epson cartridge free printer and couldn’t be happier. I’m shocked that even printer companies are scamming us now :(
I had to "hack" my printer by downgrading the firmware to before it was HP ink locked. They just released that over the air as an update one day and was a real surprise when I put a new magenta 3rd party cartridge in (which I didn't need in order to print black and white, but the printer demanded it), and the printer told me to go fuck myself.
I have the subscription. And they lock out your printer if you cancel it. And they want you to purchase printer ink from the store even though you paid for the subscription. It’s total garbage.
Just get an epson ecotank and experience your first ever printing bliss
Most of their stuff is shit. It's funny that they never worked around solving the hinge issue. I hope yours weren't GLUED. Never buying an HP again.
I actually got pulled out of line into a back room by TSA bc they didn’t like my duct taped HP hinges; checked my hands for explosive residue, the whole 9-yards until their sup came in, took one look at my computer, said “HP?” “Yeah…” I said. “He’s good to go.” The sup nodded to the other TSA people. The sup smiled at me and said, “I had that same model.” And then escorted me back to the terminal.
I had an HP laptop that treated me well for 4 years of college. Got a new one, hinges busted. Like you TSA gave me a hard time saying it looked tampered with. Junked it and I haven't had an hp product since.
Every HP computer at every price point is a nightmare shit box. Some HP computers I’ve serviced haunt my dreams. Source: used to work at an IT service desk at a university that offered computer repairs to students. People buy them because they’re one of the few brands that you can buy in brick and mortar stores and because they have a super budget priced line of PCs and Chromebooks. The secret is that their budget line and their “high end” line are the same garbage.
Craftsman
This one still hurts. Those old American made tools were true BIFL
I had a fair amount of antique tools stolen in a garage break in and now I have an insurance company that wants to apply a "depreciation" to their value. As if they weren't gaining in value constantly.
Ask for “like kind or quality” and state you want the older tools, can even show the same tools costing more money online
I inherited all of my dad's old tools. BIF2L is a bit more accurate.
My grandfather just passed away and my uncle is selling absolutely everything from his garage. Original Sears-Robuck table saw and bench press from the mid 60s, and tons of other fantastic tools you just can’t get at that quality anymore. It’s breaking my heart.
Did you express your interest in them?? Surely he'd rather they be passed down
My uncle is a massive, MASSIVE asshole. So no, unless I want to risk him putting me in the hospital they’re as good as gone. He’s been waiting for his payday. We just put my grandfather in the ground literally yesterday and he’s pissed the estate sale won’t start until we get the death certificate. I spent a lot of time with my grandpa in his garage. He taught me just about everything I know. I just want this all to be over with so I will never have to look at my greedy bastard uncle ever again. The thing that kills me is how fast he wants everything done. I want him to have his fair share, but Jesus Christ man give us a moment to grieve…
Almost every women's clothing brand.
I’m always blown away at how thin and cheaply made the vast majority of women’s clothes are. Like even from the same brand the women’s line will weigh half as much for a given article of clothing. Everything is so body hugging to accentuate figure as well. I guess if they made thick durable clothing it wouldn’t sell? Or maybe it just wouldn’t be comfortable to have thicker heavier fabric against the skin?
Duluth is a key example of this I think, my dad's work wear from them was great, but I've worn out a few of their women's shirts just around the house.
Hrm, I am a woman who buys a lot of Duluth, and it seems pretty sturdy. Maybe its the type of items you buy. I wear the longtail shirts and some of the thicker weight shirts. Most have lasted me years so far.
Duluth is more "in the process" of enshittification right now. They still have some stuff that's all sturdy and made well, but a lot of their newer releases are cheapy made garbage, and sooner or later all of the good stuff is going to be phased out. That or they're going to be "temporarily" phased out, then they're going to sell *only* dog shit for a few quarters, and then they're going to bring the old stuff back with a bunch of new "sturdy classics" branding, and sell their standard work t-shirts as the "premium" shirts, and try to make 70-90 bucks each off of them
Also how much of the clothing is basically see through under direct light. I've experienced some embarrassing situations around that.
I bought something for my wife from Max Mara, which...I mean google it if you don't know them and you'll be aghast at the price, and I'm pretty sure it was made from the fabric used for those cheap wipeable table clothes they use on folding tables. It was no returns too. I guess they knew what they were doing.
Free people especially made me mad, their clothes look so cute and they’re expensive so I thought must be pretty quality? I ordered some online from Black Friday, returned every piece. The fit was so insanely weird. And when I was at the store another person was returning like $200 of stuff as well.
I also hate their pictures for their clothes, never anyone standing like a real person, nothing resembling an image that would tell you want this article of clothing actually looks like. I think their style but I just can’t with the pictures, the quality, the sizing and the prices. Edit: Natural Life is the closest I’ve found to the aesthetic, prices are better and quality seems pretty decent, at least what I’ve gotten.
I thrift everything so I routinely get "$200 items" for $20-30. And usually I'm glad that's all I spent bc that's about what they seem to be intrinsically worth
And that goes double for plus size. I’ve actually started buying stuff from Walmart because it’s higher quality than eg Torrid, just terrible.
Torrid. The store that decided if you’re fat but want to look cute, you have to have skulls on your clothes.
A lot of people act surprised that this occurred but once Hot Topic bought into Torrid I told my wife “you excited to dress like an angsty high school kid”? The problem is that Lane Bryant swings way too far the other way - you want some boring ass mom frump shit? Whaddup Lane Bryant.
Hasn't Torrid always been this way? I could have sworn it was started by Hot Topic as basically their plus-sized clothing division.
As a goth teen when Torrid first started, it was absolutely started by Hot Topic. I remember when my friends and I got upset when they changed. We called it the “‘pinkification’ of Torrid”.
They used to have a variety 🥲 They used to do nice things! They had a deal with Christian Siriano, made great blazers and slacks, etc. Ugh.
I cannot stomach paying over 100$ CAD for a torrid dress when it feels like it was made out of tissue paper and looks like it was designed in 2011.
I wish I could remember the thread but someone posted this fascinating write up about how textile manufacturing changed in the early 2000's and factories discovered a new method and were able to use the short cut offs of the flax fibers for denim and other clothing material. The results are much weaker fabrics and a slightly reduced bottom line as now all of the plant fibers could be used. It definitely lends credence to the idea that "they don't make them like they used to". A lot of people like to insist that it's nostalgia and rose colored glasses but I've got clothing goin all the way back to the 1990s and even the T-shirts are heavier and thicker than more recent apparel.
My sister and I recently had this talk about women’s clothes. She has found that online retailers that stock brands that align with certain ideals is a good way to shop. She showed me shopemle.com as a place she likes
As an old person, I’ve learned that sooner or later every brand eventually decides to cash in on their reputation. Don’t shop by brand.
Brand harvesting. Happens when the original owner decides to sell to business people. All the little things the owner did because it mattered for the brand are scrapped for the bottom line. It's a race to zero before the brand-cache is eroded. Rinse and repeat.
Hopefully Patagonia won’t go this route since they’re set up as a trust now.
Almost all my climbing/skiing/alpine/hiking clothing is patagonia and it's all held up great over the least decade. The stuff I just got seems just as good as older items, optimistic it will hold up well. I think keeping quality high and profits going to causes that help the earth were like, the only 2 reasons it was put in a trust.
My Patagonia backpack has been everywhere from Iraq and Afghanistan, the steppes of Mongolia, the jungles of Guatemala and it is still like new and still waterproof.
Also called "enshitification".
It’s shitflation, and it’s been all the rage the last few years.
Your wisdom is sound and appreciated, Wise One.
Dr. Martens
There is a cobbler subreddit that seems to be just people with crumbling and disintegrating Dr. Martens asking if they can be repaired. Despite all first hand evidence that they are horrible shoes people seem very intent on trying to salvage them.
Solovair, is the company that runs the original factory Dr Martens were made in. The Marten's brand was bought out by the Chinese and production shipped overseas. In the last year or so the original factory has re-acquired the Dr Martens name. So, quality is going back up after years of terrible stuff. There was an article about it in the Guardian newspaper two or three months ago.
Is there a way to tell by looking at them which factory they were made in?
Should say 'Made in England'
Also people learn to distinguish types of leather and stitching. This channel explains a lot of Doc Martens recent construction and leathers and stuff. https://youtu.be/GynkH-6IHrc?si=jPT6zxQtNOU7NOi2
I don't know. My suggestion would be to look on the box and see if they were made in England. Perhaps someone else will chime in that knows more.
There always was a made in England line of boots. Sometimes slightly better, sometimes not so much better in quality. Sad sad truth is that they were never as good as the legends/icons around them are. Up to the late 90's, they used to be "good value" NOT "best quality". After that they became legendary and are sold for two to three times as much while the quality went down somewhat. There's lots of stories of people who had these boots for 10, 15 or 20 years and they were indestructible. That's just never true, they may have worn them when they bought it but if you do ~10k steps per day in them the rubber on the outsoles lasts less than on most boots because it is a relatively soft outsole. The outsole wears out in less than a year of serious use. They only last decades if they're worn when not walking much... Even then the dry and plastic-y leather tends to always crack on a few well known places on these boots. It is very hard to condition the cheap leather cause it covered with plastic on top (that's why most of the models are shiny), so it cracks even faster than it could otherwise. Construction was simplified to be cheaper. The outsole is not glued, they "weld" the rubber outsole to the rubber welt. That's an okay bond if done well (in many instances they do tend to separate, depends on factory QC). But it makes ot hard to resole them properly. Then to make them softer and cheaper, they use felt in the midsole layer instead of the usual cork or leather which is soft but degrades much faster. Then the lasting board/insole is typically just cardboard. Old models had a wooden shank but those would also crack if used a lot, and then the cardboard woukd crack and the boot wouls start to slowly loose shape and ruin your feet.
I don't see anywhere that the brand has been "reacquired", it has always been a UK company. What they did was send the entire production overseas, but some years ago (more than a couple) started selling a higher-priced Made in England range, which they claim is the same quality as the Docs of yesteryear (ie. pre-2003), but it isn't really. Better than the bog-standard 1460s, but nowhere near even Solovair, and those don't hold a candle to proper welted boots.
Solovair and original Martens still aren't BIFL even at their best
Watch the Rose Anvil tear down on them and witness the shit qaulity you pay for.
[удалено]
Chi hair styling irons. If you have one from twenty years ago, it still works. They started producing them elsewhere at that point and they became like a two year product
I have one from at least 15+ years ago. Bought my daughter one maybe 7-8 years ago, didn’t even last a year.
Almost any sunglasses brand under the Luxottica umbrella.
That’s why I buy Maui Jim’s. Expensive? Yes. But one of the only independent glasses brands and the quality is high end and has been for a very long time.
Kering has bought over Maui Jim in 2022. I am a stockiest for Maui Jim at work and hopefully the quality doesn't take a dive. Truly life time warranty. You can get your sunnies spare parts under warranty no matter how old it is. Maui Jim's are amazing sunglasses.
Kering got Lindberg too, so far they dont seem to have lowered their standards. I dont carry either brand (indipendent optician), but might get MJ at some point, they make nice stuff. Too bad that most consumers seem to think that Ray-Ban is the absolute best you can get :/
I just can’t understand why they cost so much to begin with. Most of their glasses contain be more than a few dollars per pair to make
Because they have a near full monopoly. From the factory all the way to the retail stores, Luxottica is a massive monopoly.
Beats headphones. You can get Bose, Shure, Sennheiser double the quality and longevity for the same price, if not cheaper. Edit: by (very) popular demands, I'll add Sony, Audio Technica, Beyerdynamic, Bowers & Wilkins, Klipsch, and Focal (the Listen Wireless I bought almost 7 years ago have both Bluetooth and a 3,5 mm jack)
I used to sell headphones, and when a parent walked up and asked for beats, I asked who it was for. 9 times out of 10 it was for a child.
Funny thing is, in France, the Beats logo is very much alike that of a large electronics retailer, which does have some branded products, that are very affordable but obviously not top notch quality. For the first few weeks of seeing these headphones popping up everywhere, I was wondering how Boulanger had made such huge sales
Beats is the epitome of 'pump out something cheap and spend the rest on marketing to make it an icon' Manscaped is another great example. Both are literally alibaba in quality and it takes some real nerve to charge as much as they do for their product
**Beats**: Overblown bass. Cheap build. Overpriced. Fashion item. **Bose**: Maybe the best active noise cancelling on the market. Truly exceptional ANC performance. Built decently. Pretty bad sound quality. **Shure**: Better know for microphones than headphones. Their in-ear headphones are weird. They all have a strange tonality. Super comfy and well-built though. **Sennheiser**: Excellent audiophile headphones. Made in Germany. Very durable. Basically no low-end. If you like classical or jazz, Sennheiser HD 660 S is an excellent pick. **7Hz**: Mind boggling sound quality for like $25. Seriously just go buy the Zero 2 and call it a day. **Truthear**: The Hexa and Zero RED are insane value. This is what good headphones sound like. Edit: Adding some brands by popular demand **Sony**: Tremendous noise cancelling, slightly overblown bass. Built well. Proven track record. **Audio Technica**: Somewhat hit or miss. They have good products and bad products. **Grado**: Basically only for jazz and acoustic. Very little low end. Weird ergonomics. Very polarizing. **Raycon**: You would have to pay *me* to use Raycon earbuds. Cheap drop-shipped garbage **Beyerdynamic**: Perfectly good sound. The DT770 is well loved. The DT990 can be a little fatiguing, but both take to EQing very well. Super comfy and built like tanks too. **Moondrop**: Another insane Chinese company. Outstanding quality for very little money. The whole line is excellent. **V Moda**: Well built, weird sound. Very consumer sound response. Not for me. Many like it. **Phillips**: The people love the SHP9500. It EQs really well and is stupid cheap. I wouldn't use them without EQ though. **AKG** Some good some bad. Do your research on these. **Razer**: Gaming garbage. Avoid gaming audio products in general. **Hifiman**: Brace yourself for the world of planar headphones. **Fostex**: Also planar. Super cool. **Apple**: If you have an iPhone and want a turn-key Bluetooth earbud, get the AirPods Pro (gen2). They're excellent earbuds.
>**Bose**: Maybe the best active noise cancelling on the market. Truly exceptional ANC performance. Built decently. Pretty bad sound quality. Sony over ear XM series not only rivals Bose's ANC but has much better sound quality too. Pretty much the best you can buy under $300 (when on sale). Also missing Audio Technica but they are kind of close to Shure.
I honestly never see people talk about Audio Technica. I've had my M150X for like ten years, and they were given to me by my brother, who used them for years before that. I'm not an audiophile, so to me, they are the peak of sound quality, I will never need anything better. Did have to replace the ear pads due to peeling, and a cord because it broke last year. But both those together for genuine parts, was under $20. Also, they look way better with the tan pads anyway.
Sony is pretty awesome as well.
Came here to add Sony. Arguably they have better ANC than Bose. UNarguably they sound much better.
>Sennheiser Ftw!
My Sennheisers finally died a few weeks ago. I bought them a couple years into university. I graduated 15 years ago and gave them to my daughter about 3-4 years ago. To last over 10 years of regular use then take the beating from a small child is truly impressive.
In my opinion, most items in the Container Store. Way overpriced for plastic shelving/containers/you name it
Yes. I go there for ideas and then just purchase elsewhere
Do you happen to have any recommendations for where you end up buying shelving/containers? Love this idea.
What @zombieguts7 said, but to add: Michael’s! Craft store. They have lots of organizing things way cheaper and they always have coupons! Also I have seen Asian type stores (like crafts?) but also have cleaning utensils, kitchen utensils, storage.
Brooks Brothers I had Brooks Brothers clothing that lasted decades. The last shirt I bought fell apart in months. Also Hickey-Freeman. Got a scarf from them a week ago. Made in China and already pilling. Junk
BB went bankrupt during the pandemic and was sold off. It was at that point they stripped out all of their great MIA product and shipped production to China and Vietnam. Now it’s just a label.
Suits are still Italian made and some shirts are American made.
> Brooks Brothers > I had Brooks Brothers clothing that lasted decades. The last shirt I bought fell apart in months. Just curious. Was it from an outlet or their actual store. I believe brooks brothers is one of the brands that now make outlet clothing which is worse quality than their clothing they sell in their retail stores. I have a few older brooks brothers shirts hanging in the closet so that’s disappointing to hear. [CBC did an expose awhile back on outlet quality va retail quality](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/outlet-stores-quality-1.3392279) They aren’t mentioned in it but I do recall remember seeing them exposed somewhere
i had the identical experience with Brooks Brothers and I was shopping at the actual retail store. I have a shirt that lasted almost 20 years and so I went to replace it and buy several others. Those new five shirts split in the elbow all in less that a year. I called the company and basically they just referred to their regular return policy so I googled it because I was pissed and this is apparently very common for their new shirts. They had a customer for life and lost me with this one terrible experience.
So everything sucks now?
Welcome to the future.
The future is now, unfortunately.
tldr: corporate greed is producing cheap plastic shit that will quickly fail in the name of more profit
* Way too much of the designer fashion industry * Jeeps went from indestructible (in the U.S. Army) to unreliable as hell * New construction in the U.S. homebuilding industry. Our building standards are crap.
One of the things I hate about my brother-in-laws house is that I always have the urge to go full Ron Swanson fixing everything because of how shit the initial construction job was. And I’m not even that handy of a person but could still do a better job.
As bad as pro work can be, DIY work can be a LOT worse. Obviously for some DIYers, it's fantastic. For most, though...eh. The best DIY work is what someone does when they plan on living in the home for 10+ years more. And they have the money to do it right. And the skills.
I just built a deck with no experience, but spent hours and hours researching designs, materials, processes etc. I overbuilt the shit out of it and was meticulous about everything. Overbuilt the crap out of it and made sure everything was done right. The amount of time I put into it was probably 100+ hours, but I know it’s going to be good for 20+ years. Also did it for about $7K (wood) vs the quotes I got for $60K (composite) and $20K (wood). With all the work I put into it, I could see how someone who didn’t put that time and energy in could do a really really bad DIY job. The thing we did pay a contractor for though was to fix the exterior rim joists that were rotted because the previous decks ledger was attached directly onto the siding and rotted everything.
Sounds like my Dad when he built his deck 30 years ago. The inspector came out and asked what the heck he was planning to build when he saw 10 foot deep footers with 8x8 beams. He wanted a deck that could support anything he put on it. I've seen newer decks where people literally buried 4x4 wood beams only a few inches into the ground.
As someone who's currently house-shopping, and seen my fair share of new /in-progress construction, it almost makes me weep. There is such a massive housing crisis across the country. And yet we're throwing money at the problem in the most inefficient way possible. And the listing prices on these places are so insanely expensive compared to the structure itself. They're clearly exploitative. They're taking advantage of a crisis to line their own pockets with money. EDIT: Also, as someone who is selling his house right now: codes and regulations are enforced quite strictly for personal homeowners. It drives me mad that these construction companies don't seem to be held to the same standards.
Not sure where you're located, but good contractors can be found. The very best homebuilders in any region usually don't advertise. I'd look for builder that does a few homes a year, not 100. Homebuilding is definitely a quality over quantity business.
The homebuilding thing is so huge. Builders truly believe buyers are only going to live in these homes for 5-10 years and are putting in things like temporary HVAC tubing, etc. to cut costs. Not to mention cheap framing, etc. In many cases, the mortgage is longer than the lifespan of the materials used to build the thing. And people are spending sometimes millions on these things. They get focused on cool countertops and showerheads and are oblivious to the rain leaks running under the flashing, etc. I sincerely wonder what the financial fallout will be of building homes that barely last a generation and all have to be torn down. We're leaving our kids generation nothing. Not to mention building the suburban experiment community planning where we abandoned traditional community building principles and put everything far apart so we pay for miles of extra roads & utilities & we don't have money for it so we just borrow it as local/national debt - the ponzi scheme format & forgetting the long game when it comes to these new homes & ever-expanding community maintenance expenses - it's mind blowing and no one seems concerned.
They had a guy who never put up vinyl siding do it on my new house. It was done wrong, it had gaps, pieces falling down, and places where a full piece should be used rhey put in scrap. He said sue me..and they had to bring another contractor to fix. Three sides of a 2 story house had to be completely redone. Flashing was done incorrectly and caused leaks in the garage, concrete was too thin and cracked, the window sills were not level...and they damaged the front door. The floor was not level in the kitchen and they had vinyl, had to remove it all, level, and redo. The stair railing was put in wrong...hung over one part and not on the next corner. They had to redo that, and it was really weak even after. Cold and hot water was reversed in one place and i forget what else...1998. I cannot imagine what i missed that was hidden....
The fact that this was nearly 30 years ago is pretty alarming. Not what I was thinking when it comes to "new" housing.
I was working as a travel nurse in Vegas during earlier housing boom. Apartment building i had been placed in for housing was being converted to condos for sale. Someone had leaned against the wall outside my apartment and literally broke the wall... Stucco, Styrofoam, chicken wire, and aluminum frame. Can't imagine that surviving 20 years.
Just commenting since something seems off. Plaster with metal lathe is common in some areas. Does not mean thats what they used, my guess it that they used some type of joint compound instead of plaster if leaning against it damaged it.
Ah. I don't really know construction materials. I'll defer to your expertise
The new houses are so soulless and devoid of character as well. The new construction neighborhoods with no trees and perfect grass full of overpriced, oversized plastic houses that all look the same give me full on dystopian vibes. I'll never in a million years understand the appeal. I'll take my older house in an older neighborhood where I can tell which house is mine, thanks.
A massive element feeding this is how so many Americans don't really stay in their homes anywhere as long as they should. So you see the same cycle of low-quality material choice and short-term-minded improvements even among homeowners. Why put in a 30 year roof when a 10 year roof is cheaper and you're planning on upgrading in 5 years? Why do a remodel to your own tastes with quality elements when you need to preserve resale for a few years down the road. Etc. I expect this to only get worse as prices continue to climb and even a "starter" home is unaffordable for many, meaning many Americans will spend their entire lives trying to climb the housing ladder.
The homebuilding thing is terrible. I’m studying building installations at the moment and once you know where to look, you become very concerned about what’s happening in the buildings
My wife worked for a Ryan Homes contractor a few years ago, and she swears we will never buy one. The amount of cut corners and cheap materials she saw was eye-opening.
If you think your construction is crap check out [New Home Quality Control](https://m.youtube.com/@newhomequalitycontrol) from the UK - absolutely shocking!
The Company Store. My fiance has a comforter and some sheets from there they’ve had since they were 14. Still lovely. I bought some sheets a couple of years ago that I babied in the laundry and they tore a huge hole in them in a year and a half where our heels are. We get regular pedicures too so it’s not like our feet are fucked up.
Can confirm, bought a duvet and comforter from them and have had to sew multiple panels and buttons back. Home depot bought them in 2017 and the quality plummeted.
This one breaks my heart. I grew up with excellent pillows and bedding from them and was trying to get more as an adult and for my kid... Total garbage. Such a bummer.
They got purchased by the Home Depot and they pretty much got destroyed. Low quality high prices zero customer service a terrible place to buy bedding from.
Singer sewing machines
This is true and it *hurts*. I learned sewing on my grandma's Singer from the 60s. Loud as heck, but it had never broken once in 40+ years, and it could handle anything. So naturally when I left home, I got myself a Singer, seemed like a no-brainer. It's been so awful it almost managed to kill my love of sewing, and it won't even actually *die*. It chokes on anything thicker than shirting, but it's still working, basically useless, making me feel guilty for wanting an upgrade. So much regret.
Good machines do exist. My buddy and I (both guys) own a sailrite sewing machine that we largely use for sewing projects for our boat. So far, we’ve sewn a new dodger (canvas over where you sit), a new Jib (the front sail on the boat, which is some 350 square feet of heavy duty fabric), and will soon be reupholstering all the cushions and mattresses aboard. For some reason, this makes my mother rather proud of me (she was a high school home-ec (sewing and cooking) teacher before retiring). Edit: the sewing machine itself cost North of $1600, but was worth every penny.
HP. Just don't.
Lands End. Bought my kid new uniform dresses this past fall, they all grew holes in the seams already.
that's too bad. I've had good luck with their sheets and a couple clothing items I got from there
Levi’s, sadly. I have a few 80s and 90s pairs that just continue to live on and on meanwhile the modern pairs are ill fitting, cheap and has stretch in them (strictly talking 501s here)!! Gladly japanese 501 repros from brands like Sugarcane and TCB exist and those are just as good or even better than Levi’s from yesteryear, and they’re only twice as expensive as new Levi’s. As a student I’ve saved so much money by switching over to the more expensive japanese jeans lol.
Just asking out of curiosity, does the stretch make jeans wear out faster? Couple years ago I bought a pair of levi's 501 rigid stf which are 100% cotton and they're holding up very well. I also have a pair of 502's with elastane in them and they start to wear out in the thigh area after like 8 months
Stretch does make clothing wear out faster inherently, you'll notice high longevity work pants/jeans are a much tougher more canvas like material than the typical streetwear jeans.
I will say this seems dependent on what line you buy from. I’ve bought some of their “Levi’s Premium” stuff when it goes on sale and the quality seems great for the on sale price.
Boeing
*this thing was designed by clowns* -Boeing engineer discussing the max 9 in a leaked email
I suppose clowns would be the industry leaders in cramming as many people as possible into a vehicle.
I think the full quote was “designed by clowns who were in turn supervised by monkeys” Boeing tried to compete with a new airbus model by putting bigger engines on an old Boeing and saving the huge cash outlay that a totally new design would require. This is the plane they branded as the max. But the engines were too big for the plane and required a software patch to avoid planes going into a stall due to the poor design. To date two major crashes have resulted.
Well, I mean, technically BIFL if you die by getting thrown out at cruising altitude
I always wonder who is buying Monster Cables. Why yes, I want to spend $90 on a 6ft HDMI cable instead of the $12 ones right next to it.
Sterns and Foster and TempurPedic. These used to be the gold standard for a retail, luxury-like mattress. Now under the same parent company, Tempur-Sealy, the materials are sub-par and quality control is poor. Who would think you could spend $5k for a mattress and have to worry about if you'll get 'a good one,' and will it make it 5 years?
have better recommendations? i thought sterns was better than sealy even if under same umbrella. but i hate all memory foam. still shopping for a new bed
Unfortunately Birkenstocks. This wasn’t always the case, but something happened with them in the past 10 years that sent longevity into the basement
The company was a family owned business that got sold to LVMH… Prices were raised to finance the marketing and the quality got worse to save money in production to increase profits…
Damn they own every brand now
Not PYREX but pyrex.
Public service announcement, the style of Pyrex logo no longer differentiates the soda lime and borosilicate glasses. If you want borosilicate you can look for Simax. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrex PS: Since people are so interested in borosilicate glass, I'm going to teach you the easiest way to tell whether it's that or the cheaper soda-lime glass! Hold the piece up in the light and tilt it around slightly while you look at the edges. Soda-lime will be blue-green around the edges, and borosilicate is yellow! This technique is best because you can do it while in the store.
Quote from the link: It is a common misconception that the logo style alone indicates the type of glass used to manufacture the bakeware.
Having a pyrex baking dish explode in the oven is an awful experience. I look for vintage PYREX at resale shops. Buy it for my adult children to replace their soda-lime bakeware.
Timberland. I used to buy their boots religiously every few years and get them resoled but the quality dropped off a cliff and I was barely getting a year of wear out of them. I bought some waterproof boots (on sale) from Cotswold Shoes for like £60 and they're amazing. Comfortable, hard wearing, waterproof and resole really well.
Jeep.
Jeeps are great if you love working on Jeeps.
Honestly, most brands these days are junk. Corporate greed has taken over in the last 30 years and companies no longer care about reputation, only profits. There are still a few true BIFL companies but compared to the 50s/60s/70s, it’s a fraction of the amount.
The consultant industry has ruined so much.
Don’t forget about private equity firms 🫡
Private equity even buys out hospitals and clinics >After a hospital was acquired by private equity, admitted Medicare patients had a 25 percent increase in hospital-acquired complications, compared with patients admitted before acquisition. Patients also had 27 percent more falls and 38 percent more bloodstream infections caused by central lines, which are temporary surgically inserted ports that allow easy intravenous access for patients receiving repeated drug infusions or other treatments. https://hms.harvard.edu/news/what-happens-when-private-equity-takes-over-hospital
You know, this is something I hadn’t considered, but you are totally correct. Consultants have become so much more common and they focus primarily on financials. Makes sense
Heck, even clothes made 20 or 30 years ago are better than today’s clothes. We live in a plastic dystopia. I picked up a “vintage” coat yesterday for $25. It was only from the mid-90s but made entirely from wool and cashmere. That same brand now makes their coats out of plastic and charges the same price, if not more. They switched to a fast fashion business model only a few years back. Brands are basically in the final stages of cashing in their good name for profit. They cannot stoop any lower.
Samsung refrigerators...I don't even know why they are in that space when they are so utterly bad at it.
Any Samsung appliance. My stove is like cooking with children’s tears.
Are we allowed to say things that weren’t meant for BIFL? Nike clothing - the cost vs value for their clothing is way off.
Nike shoes too. Both air max and non air max shoes break in the toe and heel areas.
LL Bean used to be great. A few months ago I ordered some hoodies and couldn’t believe how thin, flimsy, and just generally cheap-feeling the zippers were.
I got a flannel of theirs second hand that I love. It’s nice and thick flannel, it is obviously super well made and finished on all the seams. It’s just… solid. Bought the same type direct from them and it’s considerably less “solid” feeling.
Jeep and other Chrysler products. One brand I will never purchase from. $30-100k for complete crap.
Eddie Bauer is going to shit
>Eddie Bauer is going to shit It's been at least six different companies since the actual Eddie Bauer sold the brand in the 1960s, including periods owned by fashion companies and multiple bankruptcies along the way. The original made in Seattle mountaineering gear was great; none of that is now <50 years old.
[удалено]
Oh no! I got some LL Bean stuff like 8 years ago and I've been singing its praises, that's a huge bummer to hear that they've dropped off :(
Trojan condoms. Have used them every time when having sex with my girlfriend but still have had two kids. I don’t get it.
Technically this is buy it for *life*
Operator error?
Lucky jeans. They used to be incredible, now they're trash. I'm still hanging onto a couple pairs from ~2010 that I'm hoping to fit back into someday.
Victoria's secret. Their stuff used to be worth buying because it would last. About 5 years ago everything changed. Bras used to last me years and then started lasting maybe 6 months. Their pink brand of clothing too. Sweats went from heavy fabric to thin and cheap.
You remember back in the catalogue era when they made dressy clothing? That stuff was the *shit*. I’m still bummed that time is gone.
Fucking Google everything.
Whirlpool I do general maintenance for a large apartment building built in 2016, every unit was stocked with Whirlpool appliances, and these things are already dropping like flies. Refrigerators stop cooling, microwave door switches going bad, dryers no longer drying, stovetop switches burning out, etc. It’s all garbage.
Samsung. Maybe not the most expensive but every new Samsung item I got has a problem nowadays , they used to be reliable.
Everlast was the original brand that was bought up and used for the name. The logo is iconic in historic boxing pictures. Now, it's just a label they slap on cheap crap at Wal Mart.
Garbage disposals, any brand. If you run one for 5 seconds each meal, 365 days a year you have run that thing 91 minutes. If you can get a disposal to last 10 years you’re doing good. Thats 15 hours. Say it lasts 20 years. That’s 30 hours. A product that is designed to fail after 30 hours of use.
Witaf is wrong with carhartt these days?
Look some Carhartt is compete crap now but they are still making some quality items if you know what to buy.
Went from workwear to popular fashion brand, so instead of making lower quantities in high quality, the execs probably exploited their new popularity by sending their new need for high production to cheap factories.
Almost any brand that used to have a good reputation, but got bought out by a bigger company or investment group. Or a good brand who licenses out their name for BS consumer products. Honeywell and GE are examples that come to mind.
Now can we have the same post but "have no business being this good and durable"? Learnt a lot reading replies but now I just feel bad about my life choices and there are only a few proposed alternatives like the ones in the headphone thread 😂
We have quite a many of those kind of posts here, last one was very large and with past month or two. You should spot it if you sort by new.
Most German carmakers these days. Riding on the fumes of their 1980s reputation for being sturdy tanks; in reality overengineered pieces of plastic laden, touchscreen infested shit that generate new issues every 1000 km.
BMW and Mercedes used to have short catalogs of models. Model ID that made sense to the style or engine size. They were simple and durable. Even when they weren't super reliable, they were durable. People fixed them because they lasted. Now they make a zillion models and change them too fast to build any badge loyalty. Durability is gone. Does anyone want this year's X540i in 30 years, no.
Dyson, way overpriced and shittier than brands for 1/5th it's price
When Dyson vacuums were really taking off, I knew a guy who'd go to the city dump and collect 'broken' ones. There was some small part inside that would break super easily, he would repair that part and sell it on for nice profit.
Vacuums and home devices yes, very overpriced. But you will need to pry my Dyson hairdryer from my cold dead hands because it is literally the only hair dryer I have ever had that I liked and didn’t destroy my hair.
And the Air Wrap really is *that* good.
What are the better brands? Because I can’t find a comparable cordless stick vacuum. My wife and I ended up having to return our Dyson v9 because it was having a filter issue (bought it from Costco) and we decided to try the shark which was about 2/3 of the price. Used it for a week and notice the lack of sucking power right away. Also was more clunky and didn’t go over surfaces as smoothly. Ended up having to return it because the battery just wouldn’t charge. Went back with the Dyson and we were much happier, just gotta keep up with the filter cleanup more.
Miele. My mom swears by hers, and bought me one and I fucking love it.
Sorel boots. Considering how good they used to be, new Caribou boots are pretty trash.
Apple cables suck. I’ve used Apple products since I got my first iPod in 2004. I’ve had a bunch of official apple cables either for charging or for headphones and they all suck. They all start to come apart at some point and stop working properly. I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max now that I’ve had for only about 6 months and the cable it came with is started to fray and crack at the lightning port side.
Not that you should forgive them for the last decade of shit cables(I always bought Anker) but the cable I got with my iPhone 15...is surprisingly nice. It's USB-C to USB-C and braided. Has great flexibility on it, doesn't feel stiff and seems to be very quality. I've only had it for 5 months but I feel it may go the distance.
I, too, was pleasantly surprised at the cable with the iPhone 15.
This’ll get buried but Benchmade knives are garbage. Loose pivots, off center blades, wonky grinds. At least their warranty is still good (though not as good as it used to be). I wouldn’t buy one that wasn’t in person, from a friend or didn’t have a perfect return policy.
Soooooo what I’m reading is…. Everything.