Is it just me or is everything made like crap?

[peppy]

In the last 8 months I have destroyed a BluRay player a GPS unit and yesterday a Stihl gas trimmer.

Why do I expect crap to work like it is supposed to?





I am sick and tired of companies selling crap.

[pwd72s]

It's a use it and toss it world these days.

[bivenator]

Samsung products are on my spit list. I bought 2 tvs, refrigerator, microwave and washer and dryer. So far in 8 month of use, the microwave and washer have failed. WTF! Battling the Lowes and Samsung customer service caused me to wait a month for the microwave to be repaired. Now, I have been jumping thru the hoops for a week trying to get both companies to accept responsibility for the washer. "We will call you tomorrow, we are waiting to hear from X regarding your repair." BS over and over.

[slakjaw]

Yep. It's a use and throw it away world now.

[peppy]

This was only 18 months old, and was crap after the 1st month.

[sc_rufctr]

Yes... Most things are made as cheap as possible.

When I was a kid if a business built a quality product they would be successful.
Now the opposite is true. No one wants to pay for quality any more. Well maybe some people do but they're a minority.

I bought a Victa lawn mower with a Briggs and Stratton 4 stroke engine about 7 years ago.
It has always started and I've never had a problem with it. Yes it was expensive compared to most of the others in the shop but it's been a great lawn mower.

[peppy]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Yes... Most things are made as cheap as possible.

When I was a kid if a business built a quality product they would be successful.
Now the opposite is true. No one wants to pay for quality any more. Well maybe some people do but they're a minority.

I bought a Victa lawn mower with a Briggs and Stratton 4 stroke engine about 7 years ago.
It has always started and I've never had a problem with it. Yes it was expensive compared to most of the others in the shop but it's been a great lawn mower.

This is why I bought a Stihl.

[masraum]

Hmm, maybe you're really rough on stuff?

But yes, because everyone wants everything to be cheap these days, and because manufacturers are only able to sell product if it's $$ competitive, they all have to make their stuff to a price point. It's us, the consumers that are driving the crap quality.

Even when folks buy more expensive stuff, they are still usually driving the low quality low cost crap because 99 times out of 100, the higher priced stuff is the low priced crap with a ton of features added.

For example, 3 products for sale, cheap $100 Bluray player, $300 bluray player that has lots of bells and whistles, or $300 really well made, but basic bluray player. I suspect the volume sold would be 10000, 3000, 300.

We vote with our wallets.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by peppy

This is why I bought a Stihl.

I've heard and read that when you buy products (even with a good name/rep) from the big box stores, that you're not getting the product that has the good rep.

I've heard that if you buy a John Deere device from Home Depot, you're getting a mower/tractor made much more cheaply than if you go to one of the independent dealers and pay for for what looks like the same thing.

Read this.
The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart | Fast Company

[Rusty Heap]

So are things made like crap, or you can't fix what you broke? 99% chance you can get what-ever part you broke on your stihl. You didn't say if it broke during normal use, or abuse. So fix it instead of tossing it.........

........it's also the lazy american society that is the consumer, not the repairer.

[peppy]

This came from a Stihl dealer.

I had replace the string head twice. The head would get so hot that the string would melt and stick together (yes I used Stihl string).

Trimmer was not abused, it cost too much.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by peppy

This came from a Stihl dealer.

I had replace the string head twice. The head would get so hot that the string would melt and stick together (yes I used Stihl string).

Trimmer was not abused, it cost too much.

That's bizarre.

[scottmandue]

Is it just me or is everything made in China?

[RedBaron]

People want to be as "green" as possible, yet they buy crap that won't last and will be thrown into a landfill. It's a real shame things are made carelessly with no quality.

[Hugh R]

Had a flat screen go dead, took it back to "Best Buy" and they wanted more to fix it than to buy a new one.

[imcarthur]

Manufacturers wanting profit + consumers wanting cheap = crap.

Ian

[patssle]

My parents replaced their original GE 25 year old fridge this year with a brand new GE. Piece of crap ice maker has already been replaced, we can't use crushed ice because it jams.

That 25 year old fridge worked perfectly. It even survived a hurricane running for an entire week under-voltage.

[Tim Hancock]

Plastic parts where metal was once used, miniature complex electronics, self tapping fasteners, constant changes in design to reflect latest trends in asthetics, quicker design to production times, less long term real world testing, too much automation etc etc.

[Mark Henry]

That trimmer looks pretty busted up, exactly how did that happen?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Good money to be made in making people buy the same thing multiple times.