Change is inevitable, but we don't have to be happy about it

[Toothpick]

For me it depends on the product. Car manuals, or just manuals in general - 99.9% of the time when I run in to a problem that requires me to think “ok, where’s the manual” I simply Google it, find a YouTube video, or a web article. I would have no problem downloading a copy of any manual instead of getting a psychical copy when I buy something. My new car came with a paper copy, I sat in the car thumbing through it going over some new features I wasn’t sure about. But I would do the same with a digital copy as well, makes me no difference.

Apple stopped shipping power adapters with their phones. To “go green” blah blah. Sure it saves them money, they no longer have to pop in a $1 power adapter with millions of phones they sell. But did they lower the cost of the phone by $1? Heck no.

And thus my point - I think in most cases when a manufacture deletes something they used to send it’s such an insignificant cost to consumer it wouldn’t make sense to reduce the cost of the item. What do you think a car manual costs Ford to send with every new vehicle? Sure it costs them millions to print and package, but to the individual consumer it might reduce 25 bucks off the price of the car. Meh.

I can’t think of anything that I pay extra for to keep the features/benefits I enjoy. In most cases you simply don’t have that option.

 

[Bobovata]

Change is usually a mixed bag, in my experience.

A recent example in my life is the quality of standard galvanised conduit clamps, which has dived over the last couple of decades, and in external locations (e.g. power poles) they now need replacing much more often.

OTOH, large stainless hose clamps are a direct replacement for this application, with a much longer lifespan, and they are cheaper and easier to get than ever. Basically the industry standard now here (monsoon tropics country).

 

[Andris83]

Appliances.

I would certainly pay more for a stove, fridge, washer and dryer that are

1. built to last,
2. built to be repaired, and
3. have a ready supply of repair parts for years to come.

Anyone make those nowadays? Anyone? ... anyone??

not appliance, but electronics. there is a company called Fairphone that offers exactly this (repairable smart phones), yet compared to the big players they are nowhere. People just complain that things fall apart prematurely, but are not ready to pay more for robustness.

oh and regarding car manuals: literally half of the text is warnings that are only there for legal reasons. I could do without the stupid warnings.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I am not sure about the US but here in the UK the problem with handbooks is that often they include many different languages. By the time I exclude non English text and small print, maybe only 5% of the handbook is useful to me which wastes significant paper and energy. Most electronic products have software updates which can render the supplied handbook redundant so I always download the latest version anyway. For this reason I am happy to not receive handbooks and rarely retain the ones I do receive.

 

[Manye]

I get that costs must inevitably increase. I’m happy to pay for what I think is my due. Cost consistency at the expense of product quality, size etc breeds resentment on my part.

 

[Quaznoid]

The pursuit of luxury drives the entire market upwards. When a significant number of consumers are willing to pay, say, $300 for a razor, $300 becomes a reasonable price for a razor, and $200 now looks like a bargain. If $300 is fair and $200 a bargain, the bottom end of the market can increase prices and still sell. The push is up, up, up as a result and everyone pays more.
The solution is to eschew luxury and refuse to buy expensive products. Then market pressure is down, down, down as sellers bid to find a price a customer will agree to. All consumers benefit from the downward pressure and inexpensive products remain inexpensive.

 

[Capt. Pat]

I think that the reasons for change have been oversimplified in the OP. Of course, some changes are driven by a need to increase profit, other causes include product improvements, regulatory changes impacting the availability of materials or processes, process improvement activities, etc. And that doesnt' even account for changes to support up-selling a new, or better product (e.g., the $300 razor) that folks stand in line to buy when a much cheaper perfectly adequate alternative exists.

I'm not outraged things like MWF forgoing tallow, paper manuals not provided with new cars, or dowsized candy bars. Change is inevitable, one can wax poetic about the "good old days" or look forward to the next adventure, I choose the latter.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Costs do increase but also relative costs change. In approximate figures in the 1950s the average UK family spent 40% of household income on food, and 10% on housing. Now it is under 10% for food and 30% for housing. In recent years food product sizes have shrunk, apparently for our benefit to tackle rising obesity levels. At the same time sugar and salt levels have increased, and obesity has gotten even worse. As a schoolchild in the 1970s there were very few overweight or obese people but now they are everywhere. Apparently it is too expensive to eat healthily and so fat parents have even fatter children while blaming anyone but themselves because personal responsibility is a concept which no longer exists for many. The irony is that in many cases the UK diet during the war time rationing years was a good deal healthier than today.

 

[Graydog]

Personally I will not go to a self checkout line, if that's all the store offers I don't shop there.

 

[Space_Cadet]

Would you pay the extra expense to keep some of the features disappearing, or do you think cost is king?

It depends. If it is an important part of some product and its a real headache to use it without it, I guess it makes sense to pay the extra.

 

[JimmyJoeMeeker]

Capitalism: The absolute worst economic system there is, except for all the others.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Personally I will not go to a self checkout line, if that's all the store offers I don't shop there.

Those self-checkouts baffle me. I presume it is an honour system and the store leaves it up to you to decide whether to pay for all the goods, pay for only some, or not pay at all. It’s some sort of hippy thing, I guess. I’m surprised it is financially viable for these companies, though.

Personally, I tend to pay, unless somebody in the store irritated me.

 

[Quaznoid]

Those self-checkouts baffle me. I presume it is an honour system and the store leaves it up to you to decide whether to pay for all the goods, pay for only some, or not pay at all. It’s some sort of hippy thing, I guess. I’m surprised it is financially viable for these companies, though.

Personally, I tend to pay, unless somebody in the store irritated me.

So, if you’ve been irritated, you don’t pay?

 

[Mr. Shavington]

So, if you’ve been irritated, you don’t pay?

Right. Well, it depends. I wouldn’t walk out with something expensive like a TV, even if I was very angry indeed.

 

[Quaznoid]

Stealing is stealing. It’s illegal. More importantly, it’s immoral and unethical.

 

[Quaznoid]

Right. Well, it depends. I wouldn’t walk out with something expensive like a TV, even if I was very angry indeed.

So if I get irritated with you, I’m entitled to steal something from you, not your tv, but something smaller, maybe a razor or your cell phone? That would be ok?

 

[luvmysuper]

So if I get irritated with you, I’m entitled to steal something from you, not your tv, but something smaller, maybe a razor or your cell phone? That would be ok?

His comment was intended as dry humor.
That's why the judicious use of emoji's are recommended!

 

[KenM]

Those self-checkouts baffle me. I presume it is an honour system and the store leaves it up to you to decide whether to pay for all the goods, pay for only some, or not pay at all. It’s some sort of hippy thing, I guess. I’m surprised it is financially viable for these companies, though.

Personally, I tend to pay, unless somebody in the store irritated me.

I avoid self-checkouts, but when I do go to one I inevitably have at least one thing in my cart that doesn't scan. Then you have to wait for that one poor dumb kid tending 8 check stands to come and help. I wonder if tending the self checks is an initiation or a punishment?

 

[Quaznoid]

His comment was intended as dry humor.
That's why the judicious use of emoji's are recommended!

Not so sure about that

 

[luvmysuper]

Not so sure about that

I am.
He "liked" my post about it being humor!