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Comment by expectsomuch | Hacker News Reader

All of the notes regarding the degraded quality and customer support / experience for products and services is true. But the additional factor is that so many of us are pushed to the brink now, in terms of affordability and costs of goods and services. If you're making good money and you order a sub-par product, it's definitely a frustration, but it's not the end of the world. But now, for so many, there is less margin for that kind of error.

That scammy product, pushed to us by an algorithm we can't control or escape, sold with lies and guarantees that will never be enforced, with deceptive ads generated by AI that becomes increasingly undistinguishable from the real thing, and flooded with positive reviews generated by bots, is money that won't go to essential things like food, rent, and transport, let alone healthcare, all of which is also increasingly unaffordable. The rage is understandable.

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Yes, when the budget is tight and the washing machine you got just two years ago has a major breakage (just outside the warranty period), the cost of fixing it or getting a new one become pretty close. Couple that with the fact that the washer you replaced it with worked fine for 30 years before it broke and I think the anger is very rightly justified.

Completely off topic and no one will see this, but in 2017 I bought a new speedqueen washer and drier. No “new” features just does its job.

God damn one of the best purchases I’ve made for a house. There is a market for “dumb products” that aren’t stupid.

The sad part is that Speed Queen, while absolutely worth it, costs 2-3x the price of the average pile of junk sold in [Home Depot, Lowes, etc]. Buy once, cry once and a legit example of the boots theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory

To add to this, I think that spending more money these days helps a lot less.

Higher prices these days mean more features, but not necessarily higher quality.

Everything is a subscription, can only be controlled by their app, and is mass-produced in a factory in China, brought here and then sold with a story plus a huge markup.

A less connected example:

You want to buy a new couch. Budget: $2k. You get:

    * bad construction, it'll creak
    * badly joined, so the pieces will come loose
    * barely springs under the cusions
    * non-removeable cushions
    * foam that collapses in 2 years

But even spending $6k isn't gonna mitigate all of those issues above. You're probably closer to $10k.

And then if you want a recliner, finding one with removeable cushions is nearly impossible. So far I found 1 brand that does it. ONE.

I paid $2,200 for a couch that's made in Canada from solid wood. Not sure I can agree with you.

https://www.urbanbarn.com/en/product/sibley-sofa-chaise-SIBL...

You lost us after "Canada." I have zero doubt things like furniture and clothing are going to be superior if made in Canada than the U.S. or China. I checked your link and there are no stores in the U.S. (or their zip code search doesn't work).

Natuzzi (an Italian brand) has its "Editions" line that's cheaper because it's made in China. From my experience, the quality is good.

Also, brands like CB2 and Crate & Barrel are American and popular in Canada - especially CB2 because of its good designs and quality at cheaper prices (which are even cheaper in the US).

I never said Canadian-made furniture is inherently superior. My point was simply that the blanket statement that you can't buy a decent couch for around $2k isn't universally true. I bought one in that price range that's solid wood and well-built. It even has removable cushions.

I always wondered how my coworkers in tech (imply to) spent so much money (even without kids) and then I hear things like "you can't buy a car for less than 50k these days" or read these posts. Then you test drive a 20k used car and the only thing that is more than 10% worse about it about it is how quickly your ego goes 0 to 60 :) A good couch costs around 1k and I'm pretty sure based on extensive experience the $200 IKEA couches are quite decent.

I'm not gonna argue the car thing. I like cars, so when I spend money on them there is emotion involved, and all logic goes out the door.

But for the couch, is it unreasonable to want a couch in which I can replace the foam? For not wanting a throw away product?

How often do you need to replace foam? Our 10 years + 2 moves old couch (that cost iirc $700-800 then) is basically good as new. I guess we don't have kids or dogs, the worst thing that happened to it is a gerbil briefly finding a way into the hollows :)

My couch is 2 years old and all the pillows collapsed.

Removable cushions in a couch are pretty rare. As a counter example, both of my couches still have perfect cushions. One bought for C$800 15 years ago and another for C$1500 5 years ago.

You pay 2-4k.. what do you get? Excuses, breakages delays, poor communication etc. That's lazy boy.

I read comments like this, they’re all written in broad language I assume to people already nodding in agreement.

The world today is not perfect: the smartphone and social media have rapidly and I think negatively changed society, empowering fringey issues, elevatiing the angriest personalities and inflaming passions. But materially, apart from housing and healthcare (which is hardly the greatest present concern of most people short of middle age), *we live in an age of wonders*.

To your complaint about bot reviews and product quality, it has never been easier to return unsatisfactory products through Amazon. And thanks to its massive market power, the seller eats a lot of the cost of that return. As for longevity, I just don’t see it. I buy a lot of cheap little Chinese tools and supplies from AliExpress (which does not have Amazon’s generous return policy), and I’ve never been disappointed.

Healthcare is expensive because it doesn’t scale, and Americans use a lot of it and demand that it be the absolute best. 92% of Americans have health insurance, ~55% through work.

I’m sure you’re aware of these facts, but boring realities would diffuse the angry attention you enjoy. Well, enjoy it!

No one ever cared, at least in the U.S. about 'food rent healthcare transport'. In the U.S. we don't combine those ideas together. Unless you're a student or a politician, almost no one talks like that.

You and I know it's connected in a sense.

But is it meaningfully connected? It plays into a story about corporate hegemony, money influencing politicians through lobbying, the power of health care conglomerates and large corporations.

But it doesn't have any teeth to the average person, who's talking about inflation, or they're talking about gas, or they're talking about taxes, or they're talking about health care bills. I never hear a unified narrative. Should I be? Is it helpful? Socialist narratives have a bad reputation, and our current socialist politicians talk a LOT about what happens overseas, or immigration, or matters of race and gender. I am talking about the U.S. socialists, here.

> No one ever cared, at least in the U.S. about 'food rent healthcare transport'. In the U.S. we don't combine those ideas together. Unless you're a student or a politician, almost no one talks like that.

GP said "essential things like food, rent, and transport, let alone healthcare".

I think you're right that we rarely phrase it like 'food rent healthcare transport', but "average people" certainly talk about spending so much on essentials that there's nothing left for fun, or being unable to afford the essentials.

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