We are long known for being a consumer-based economy and nation. In some ways that is good, and in ways it it is bad. We have seen the extremes with both sides, good and bad.
However, notice how many things that are good for the retail markets, with all our new technology and gadgetry, but which are not necessarily good for the consumer?
You can look at both big and small items and it is surprising how many are designed solely from the retail perspective. Product longevity is not a goal but sales of new ones is.
Ever since the days with cars and its massive market, people have been looking with a jaundice eye at the pitfalls of consumerism. We get the shaft and then have to drive it.
Cheap cars gave us things like the Ford Pinto, with its inherent failures. No one should need to remind you that in the case of the Pinto, it wasn’t all upside for consumers. The fears came to light in videos of cars exploding or catching fire. Was this price worth the risk is the question that always dogged consumers? But they voted yes despite that.
Now today we have a whole new batch of things that while enticing are not too good for consumers. Yeah, people noticed how cars were rusting out sooner and things did not last like they used to. No, it was not just in their imaginations. Lifespan of big ticket items was a real thing.
Why pay all that money when something really doesn’t last for years? And it seemed that the expiration date of products was being built right into them — from cars to appliances, to clothes and even tools.
If we are really just a consumer economy, then all that should be great for markets but is all very irritating to consumers and their wallets. An insult to their intelligence.
The big shocker came to a lot of people as they realized the expensive items they were buying often did not have the shelf life to compliment the steep purchase price. We heard all the complaints: “it used to be things lasted for years, but now you cant get more than 5 – 7 years out of a refrigerator.”
Computers were another natural black hole of expense. Technology was improving so fast that it made your Windows 3 obsolete by the time you learned all its features — depending on updates. But it was always framed as for the better. “Don’t you want a better, bigger, faster computer for your stuff?” And people played the game.
They continued to buy the latest in gadgets they wanted or needed. Computer prices might have come down, but you were forced to buy them more frequently just to keep up with the technology. New electric vehicles are poised to take the same path.
Records in music were the bomb in vinyl copies since the 60’s, or until they weren’t. Then came cassettes, 8 tracks, and CD’s, to now MP3’s. Licensing agreements! Or maybe you need a license to do what you are right now. Maybe you should have one. You almost had to buy into new platforms just to enjoy your daily entertainment.
They told us vinyl was so old and outdated, it was destined for the dumpster. But suddenly it rebounded and vinyl is the big thing again. So are sales of those vinyl records and the technology to listen to them. Its the rage again; even if people don’t remember the original craze, they are buying them once again.
Great for retail opportunity, you might say. But the first time around lots of record stores closed when the new formats rolled out, or barely survived by adjusting their store inventory.
Markets are messy they say, and there are winners and losers. You just have to find a way to personally stay on top of it, or give it up all together. Hence the complaints and frustrations. People like gadgets but they don’t like being played for suckers.
So consumer economy, say hello to sucker nation. That is sucker and sellout nation.
Today it comes down to the fact, despite the chilling economy, that refrigerators just are not going to last more than 7 years, And if you go five years on one, you are now on borrowed time. Never mind how much we wish or hope that beautiful appliance will last through the decade, odds are even if you bought it today you’ll be right back shopping for the same appliance again before 2030. And prices won’t be at all comforting regardless of its lifespan. More like the spin-cycle economy. And we are in the drain.
Right Ring | Bullright | 2024
Right Ring 