My mom’s 50 year old magnifier from the CCCP era. The star is a state quality mark of the USSR which works as a certification of quality.professor__doom t1_j120egz wrote
Reply to comment by CharlesDeBerry in My mom’s 50 year old magnifier from the CCCP era. The star is a state quality mark of the USSR which works as a certification of quality. by daanikp
It's not like consumer goods manufacturers are making insane margins. Single digit operating profit is pretty normal in that industry.
The question is just "do consumers want to pay more for quality," and the answer is virtually always "not really."
The bulletproof appliances at your grandparents' house cost a FORTUNE back then compared to what people earned: https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/appliance-shopping-1959-vs-2012/
The cost of a washer/dryer set in 1959 represented 181.8 hours of work at the average hourly wage.
A washer/dryer set in 2012 represented 31 hours of work at the average hourly wage.
The newer model might only last 5-10 years instead of a lifetime. But businesses realized that that's fine for most consumers. Maybe even preferable - "I'll move before then; I don't want to pay extra so the next owner doesn't have to buy a washer and dryer."
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