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Advise: Mitigating `Product Lifecycle`; things designed to break
jago25_98
Posts: 623 Forumite
I really want to educate consumers here to the reality that consumer goods are designed to break. Some so more than others.
It's not illegal, it probably not even wrong, but companies design products to last only so long. I have worked in a warrenty repair centre and spoken to product designers for top companies who have confirmed my suspicions. In fact, within industry it is an accepted part of producing a product. It has been named many things and one of these names is `Product Lifecycle`.
Now, I could go on with specific examples of things I have bought and later found that they were either designed to break or are just a bad design from a top company. But I would rather just crack on and give some advise. Whether or not the thing was intentionally badly made it is still a good idea to consider the quality of an item before you buy it.
CONSIDER THE QUALITY OF AN ITEM BEFORE YOU BUY IT
If the item is cheap enough then perhaps it doesn't matter if it breaks.
However, this isn't the the most green of attitudes.
If you can:
1) Examine your purchase intimately. If you are in a shop skim over the item:
Identify moving parts. Are these parts plastic? Is that plastic thin or thick?
Identify contact parts. If it is a TV look at the parts that will experience the most contact with human hands. Are these parts weak? Is the surface that silver effect that rubs off? Is the surface easy to scratch (iPods)? Is the surface so gleamingly white that it will look dirty straight away (trainers/apple laptops)?
Consider repairs. Is the battery sealed inside? Is the build modular? Are the replacement parts readily available?
2) Find independent reviews. Most are not independent - such as amazon reviews usually from the publisher, author or hired gun!
Instead, google for your product and words like `issue`, `fault`, `cracked` and so forth. You may find people so livid with the quality of the item that they felt compelled to post on the internet about it. - even better, use something more like search engine and less like an advert
Finally, good luck; you are going against the grain of throw away society here. However, you will no longer be a schmuck.
But it's not all bad news. Some of my triumphs:
- IBM Thinkpad. Although old the docking station was £7 on ebay, and this fixed the weak USB ports. As an additional fix I will be soldering a USB extention cable on the mainboard. The spares for these things are the best out there.
- Wetsuit. My Billabong wetsuit had little tabs holding the end of the stiching together... these rub off in water...?! I simply glued the thread down with stretchy glue
- Car. By buying a known to be broken car and having it repaired I hope `better the devil you know`. With a good car, the only way is down.
Like I said good luck and don't be a schmuck!
Contribute your experiences and tips here! I want to get this into the newsletter!
It's not illegal, it probably not even wrong, but companies design products to last only so long. I have worked in a warrenty repair centre and spoken to product designers for top companies who have confirmed my suspicions. In fact, within industry it is an accepted part of producing a product. It has been named many things and one of these names is `Product Lifecycle`.
Now, I could go on with specific examples of things I have bought and later found that they were either designed to break or are just a bad design from a top company. But I would rather just crack on and give some advise. Whether or not the thing was intentionally badly made it is still a good idea to consider the quality of an item before you buy it.
CONSIDER THE QUALITY OF AN ITEM BEFORE YOU BUY IT
If the item is cheap enough then perhaps it doesn't matter if it breaks.
However, this isn't the the most green of attitudes.
If you can:
1) Examine your purchase intimately. If you are in a shop skim over the item:
Identify moving parts. Are these parts plastic? Is that plastic thin or thick?
Identify contact parts. If it is a TV look at the parts that will experience the most contact with human hands. Are these parts weak? Is the surface that silver effect that rubs off? Is the surface easy to scratch (iPods)? Is the surface so gleamingly white that it will look dirty straight away (trainers/apple laptops)?
Consider repairs. Is the battery sealed inside? Is the build modular? Are the replacement parts readily available?
2) Find independent reviews. Most are not independent - such as amazon reviews usually from the publisher, author or hired gun!
Instead, google for your product and words like `issue`, `fault`, `cracked` and so forth. You may find people so livid with the quality of the item that they felt compelled to post on the internet about it. - even better, use something more like search engine and less like an advert
Finally, good luck; you are going against the grain of throw away society here. However, you will no longer be a schmuck.
But it's not all bad news. Some of my triumphs:
- IBM Thinkpad. Although old the docking station was £7 on ebay, and this fixed the weak USB ports. As an additional fix I will be soldering a USB extention cable on the mainboard. The spares for these things are the best out there.
- Wetsuit. My Billabong wetsuit had little tabs holding the end of the stiching together... these rub off in water...?! I simply glued the thread down with stretchy glue
- Car. By buying a known to be broken car and having it repaired I hope `better the devil you know`. With a good car, the only way is down.
Like I said good luck and don't be a schmuck!
Contribute your experiences and tips here! I want to get this into the newsletter!
Order of events: Banks lose our money -> get bailed out -> were inflating GBP to cover it -> now taxing us -> next will grab your funds direct -> things get really desperate to balance the books. What should have happened?: banks go bust and we lost our money much quicker
0
Comments
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Surely somethings will be due a refund by being "not fit for purpose":beer: Well aint funny how its the little things in life that mean the most? Not where you live, the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
Theres no dollar sign on piece of mind
This Ive come to know...
So if you agree have a drink with me, raise your glasses for a toast :beer:0 -
That's a good point Lynn. I'd like to see how people get on with that.
In my previous job I once went to see the boss and found him signing a pile of 5 or 6 folders labeled `court summons`. This is for a very major consumer electronics company, you are more likely to have your fingers on one of these right now
Order of events: Banks lose our money -> get bailed out -> were inflating GBP to cover it -> now taxing us -> next will grab your funds direct -> things get really desperate to balance the books. What should have happened?: banks go bust and we lost our money much quicker0
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