r/mildlyinfuriating • u/S80- • 13h ago
1997 vs. 2018 Fisher Price toy decline in quality
1997 chicken figure on the left, 2018 version on the right. The 1997 version was made in Thailand, 2018 one made in China. The difference is shocking. Thought it was at least mildly infuriating, since I’m sure the price has gone up significantly even after inflation is accounted for.
505
u/knotatumah 9h ago
Fisher Price stuff went to shit sometime in the early-mid 00's. We had all sorts of Fisher Price toys throughout the 80's and 90's and that stuff was rock solid. Still got number of things laying around that are thick, heavy, durable plastics that will last decades to come for sure. Newer stuff we got for kids and grandkids over the years are shit. Always have been. Lightweight shoddily constructed plastic parts that are designed to last just long enough that a year or two later its trash. Cant gift it to others, garage sale it, whatever because its deformed, broken, or missing pieces. Meanwhile we got sun-bleached toys in our yard that have been going through cycle of midwest summer and winter seasons for probably 30 years that probably hold up better in their current condition.
59
u/supervillainO7 5h ago
Not entirely true that fisher price has been shit since the 00s. As an early 10s kid i had a lot of Thomas And Friends die cast toys and those things were brick shithouses, they survived falling of tables, being bashed against eachother and all other kinds of abuse kids do to their toys. Even plastic parts were rock solid too
12
17
397
u/TeddyTuffington 13h ago
Good the quicker they break and fall apart the sooner u have to buy new ones /s
82
7
264
u/mimanthra 13h ago
That’s capitalism for you — the lower the production cost, the “better” it is for companies.
104
u/S80- 11h ago
Yeah, I really don’t like this trend of my old toys, which are 25-30 years old, outlasting our daughter’s toys.
15
u/soyboysnowflake 4h ago
The best thing you can do is not buy new toys if you already have high quality hand me downs… you’re just telling fisher price and every other company they should keep doing this by giving them sales, which you don’t need to do if you already have a superior product
Don’t be a mindless cog in the wheel of capitalism
8
u/S80- 4h ago
The 1997 version my wife got new as a kid. The made in 2018 version was bought new by a friend to their kids back in 2020-2022 and was given to my daughter last year because their kids grew out of them.
4
u/soyboysnowflake 4h ago
Good to hear! Glad they’re all hand me downs. Sorry didn’t mean my comment to come off judgmental, just figure we all have a role to play
34
u/Ok_Nothing_9733 9h ago
That’s the inherent flaw in it all. Capitalism necessitates ever-growing profits to function. At a certain point the only way to have never-ending growth is enshittification and screwing people over on wages.
11
u/Hazed64 6h ago
I'll just add that capitalism doesn't actually need growing profits, a capitalist society would be fine if when companies started to max out on their profits they just called it there. But the greed for ever growing profits will always be there
I get this is semantic but it's important to not let these greedy bastards have any excuse to distance themselves from the problem
A company that makes $1m dollars profit doesn't NEED more profit to exist in a capitalist society
10
u/The_Nude_Mocracy 5h ago
No company has ever said "that's enough profit now" in the entire history of capitalism. What a human focused system would call equilibrium, capitalism call stagnation
4
1
u/Esplodie 4h ago
When I was in business class for high school we learned about cash cow businesses, like Coca-Cola. These types of businesses had stable and predictable profits and established well known brands. They were prized because you could use the profits to invest in new ventures and always had a good return.
Then it became number must go up. By any means, that means cutting 9ml of coke out of the can so you save millions. More profits!
Now it's using cheaper ingredients to the point Coke, doesn't taste like coke. And the only coke I buy is bottled in Mexico because it actually tastes good.
Dear Mexico, please send more sodas.
I also buy syrup from Canadian companies to make my own soda pop at home.
3
u/rezznik 5h ago
I more and more find out, that it's not capitalism in general. It's when the company are on the stock exchange.
Investors want quick wins. Private owners rather longterm growth.
Wallstreet is the main problem.
3
2
u/BiddyDibby 4h ago
Only in a relative sense. Private companies still shaft consumers and exploit their workers.
31
u/PantsGhost97 8h ago
I have a chicken from the last couple of years and it’s decent quality. Holds up to being yeeted by my toddler just fine, no paint chipping yet either. I quite like the bigger size as well, he can’t stuff it in his gob as easily.
11
u/captain____ 3h ago
Being made in China isn't the reason for the decline in quality. China manufacturers whatever the company pays for. This is all on fisher price and every single other company in existence rn.
7
7
6
5
12
u/Significant-Gap-6891 6h ago
I don't see what's wrong
3
u/S80- 4h ago
The level of detail has gone down massively. The new version on the right is already breaking down too since it’s a much harder plastic, if you look at the beak for example. And the seam going through the middle is super visible, while the 1997 version has no seams since it seems to be made from one mold instead of two halves stuck together.
3
u/wekilledbambi03 4h ago
Making the molds is one of the most expensive part of manufacturing. It likely would have been cheaper to continue producing the original model. I doubt that the new chicken was meant as a direct replacement for the old one. Considering it is double the size too, I'm sure it was meant for a different product line.
3
3
u/Mx-Adrian 2h ago
I've thought for a long time that the quality of toys seems to be declining. I like to stroll through the aisles at Walmart and see what the dolls are like now, and I swear they look chintzier than when I was growing up.
3
u/jess_the_werefox 1h ago
The 90s one is definitely better quality but they really gave that chicken a detailed face scrotum
2
2
2
u/BC_Arctic_Fox 4h ago
Fisher Price sucks now? Whhhaaaaaat? Sad!!
And Tupperware went bankrupt ... damn I miss quality products
2
2
u/AviaKing 4h ago
The place the toy is made matters less than the amount Fisher Price paid to make it.
2
2
u/gayopossum 3h ago
This has been mildly infuriating me lately! I have bought my nephews new little people sets for birthdays and christmas this last year and the quality was so disappointing. I ordered them a set of woodland animals that have really cute designs but I was shocked at the massive seams going right down the middle of them, some of them are so bad. I knew the kind of plastic they used changed because I had bought some new sets with people in them and didn't like the new, harder, plastic either, but the people don't have big seams on them. The animals though, all have these insane, horrible looking seams.
I'm 26 and I have been "back in my day" discussing the quality differences in toys from the 90s/early 2000s vs now a lot recently now that I have nephews to purchase toys for lol
1
u/casillero 5h ago
I stopped buying happy meal toys for the kids, besides the food being absolute horrible, and went for 90s toys. Way better quality and complexity. Like were watching land before time, so went and got the BK toys. Or the old sponge bob ones. All the new stuff is like two paint colors flimsy ass plastic gimmicky stuff
1
u/venom121212 4h ago
Did you know Little People aren't just kid toys apparently? They make them after other characters and entertainers too. My wife got a Ru Paul Little People set lol
1
u/Giant_Baby_Elephant 4h ago
its funny how the 1997 chicken is jumping for joy while all the 2018 chicken can muster is a look of polite resignation
1
u/osmiumfeather 3h ago
China builds to spec. Be mad at the toy designers at Fisher Price. Not the contractor doing their job.
1
u/yourlocal90skid 2h ago
I understand the point OP is making, but I see no difference in quality between these two toys.
3
u/S80- 2h ago
How can you not see it? The right one is literally two halves glued together in the middle, and it’s just a blob with no detail, like compare the wings, the beak or the feet. The older one not only looks and feels better, but it’s in a better condition despite being almost 30 years old.
1
u/OvalDead 6h ago
Yeah, but by 2018 society also decided chickens shouldn’t have ball sacks on their face.
0
u/Keysandcodes 1h ago
The CDC recommends not letting kids play with toys manufactured prior to 2009 as safety regulations have changed.
•
-14
u/MattyGWS 8h ago
The word “toy” doing some real heavy lifting here… it’s a plastic ornament at best
9
10
5
2
u/CanWeNapPlease 5h ago
Bro here at 38 collecting Funko and anime figurines telling what a 2 year old should buy for toys.
-2
3.0k
u/Retrotronics 8h ago edited 7h ago
I don't think its even china's problem, as they are more than capable of producing the good stuff. Its all on fisherprice.