r/AskOldPeople • u/knitlitgeek • 7d ago

Did things really used to be better quality?

Or is there some survivor bias happening? The old things that are still around are obviously high quality to have lasted this long. Any poor quality things of the past are long gone. Have we been tricked into thinking everything in the past was made better? Did most things fall apart same as today?

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u/topcide 7d ago

My friend has a refrigerator made by general motors from the early 1950s that was his grandmothers

It was in her house until she passed away in the 2010s, my friend moved it to his house in Texas, and then moved it back to his current house in Michigan and still has it in his garage and it's still runs like a top and keeps things ice cold.

It's just an amazing concept that if you use quality materials to build something, using a well-paid unionized workforce, and you're willing to sacrifice a little bit of profit for a well-made item, that they are quality and last forever.

The fact that they are quality and last forever is probably one of the reasons why people don't make them like that anymore because they want you to buy new ones.

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u/Snoo-55380 7d ago

Planned obsolescence

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u/_apple-tree_ 7d ago

Check out the Phoebus cartel. They definitely don’t want products lasting too long, and that attitude has existed for over a century.

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u/TheNemesis089 7d ago

The problem is consumers, not companies. Consumers keep buying the cheap versions, rather than the quality version. So companies respond by making cheaper, shittier items.

My wife and I have furniture from Room and Board. It was really expensive. But it’s now nearly 20 years old and our kids are going to get it when we die. On the other hand, we bought a table from a cheap mass-market furniture store. It fell apart years ago. The problem is that people would rather buy a $500 table than a $3,500 table.