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I like to buy things that will last a long time. Not only is it an more environmentally-responsible thing to do by reducing waste, but I save money in the long run if I can avoid buying a replacement for as long as possible. To that end, I like to follow buy-it-for-life (BIFL) groups online.
In recent years, however, I've found it increasingly difficult to trust the recommendations of such groups. Nothing has changed in the groups themselves, but many brands who used to be paragons of quality are rapidly getting worse--and thus the groups' recommendations are no longer as valid as they once were. Some of the biggest offenders on this front are home appliances, vehicles, and clothing.
Clothing has been a particular pain for me recently. I like the Adidas court shoes, which have been around for decades and thus have a well-established style. They are often highly recommended for their durability and comfort: some people online report having pairs last for 15 years or more. I have had good experiences with Adidas as well, but the last pair I got only lasted me about a year and a half before a hole wore in the bottom of the shoe. The replacement pair I got just a few months ago is already beginning to lose tread, and the insole is already beginning to wear out. I feel that I can't recommend them with the alacrity I would have previous iterations.
Many people echo the same sentiment with vehicles. In the United States, there was a golden age of economical and long-lasting cars about 15 to 30 years ago. Vehicles of this era were relatively inexpensive to buy and simple to maintain, but they were extremely reliable and would last over 300,000 miles with proper care. That golden age is long gone: new cars are prohibitively expensive, independent repair and maintenance is dying, and while their drivetrains might be mechanically sound for a quarter million miles, their onboard electronics have no hope of lasting that long. Online spaces left and right are filled with admonitions against buying new cars, especially if one is low-income.
As a result of all this, BIFL groups are beginning to pivot and recommend older models of well-known brands. The problem with this approach is that if one buys something old, it's already lived through much of its useful life. If I'm recommended a clothes-washer that lasts 30 years on average, but I buy a used one that is 20 years old, I can only expect to get 10 useful years out of it, not 30. That's not buying it for life: that's squeezing a few dregs of usability out of an old system.
There is another problem looking forward. BIFL groups can only recommend products in confidence if two things are true: the product has lasted a long time before, and the company has not changed how it makes the product. The latter condition was often true many decades ago, but now companies change how they make their products all the time. In order to know if it will last, consumers have to just buy them and wait--but by the time they know if their purchases will stand the test of time, the company will likely have changed how it's making newer versions.
In the end, I feel I can't trust many new products to be BIFL purchases anymore. I doubt I'm alone in this sinking feeling either.
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[Last updated: 2024-08-11]