right to repair, planned obsolescence, declining quality

version

Well-known member
I'm convinced clothes are getting smaller, that or quality is now so poor sizing's noticeably inconsistent. I bought some trousers and t-shirts recently which are the exact same brand, style, size and cut as some I already own yet the new ones are a poorer fit, beyond what you'd expect of stuff just needing to be worn in.

I thought I'd just gotten bigger at first but then the previous stuff wouldn't fit either if that were the case.
 

version

Well-known member
Seems like a complete minefield to get anything of decent quality these days, particularly online. The place is swamped with counterfeits and a lot of 'legit' stuff is shit anyway.
 

Leo

Well-known member
different brands have different sizing too. I wear 31 inch waist, but can only fit into 32 inch for one particular brand.

I don't even know where you'd go nowadays to get anything aside from a car repaired. appliances or anything around the house, forget it. TV on the fritz? Just get a new flat screen.
 

version

Well-known member
I don't even know where you'd go nowadays to get anything aside from a car repaired. appliances or anything around the house, forget it. TV on the fritz? Just get a new flat screen.

Some stuff seems explicitly designed with this in mind, that or requiring maintenance directly from the manufacturer.
 

version

Well-known member
Another issue's the unreliability of reviews and recommendations.

I get pamphlets through the door now and then advertising various tradespeople with some sort of seal of approval but there's no way of knowing they haven't just paid to get their business in there and it's even worse online with all the paid reviewers, bots and trolls.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Some stuff seems explicitly designed with this in mind, that or requiring maintenance directly from the manufacturer.
Apple is particularly notorious for this, isn't it?

I mean, I've heard. Never owned anything made by them, personally.
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
It feels like so many businesses aim for the top and save the best for up there where they can charge ridiculous prices. I can't tell if it's just the internet opening my eyes to it or if there really are so many more people who can afford that shit now. Look at cult brands like Supreme and anything else that gets hit status on IG or tiktok. 500€ sweatshirts that maybe cost a tenner to make n shit. Along the same lines are fruit farms sending their best shit to Dubai and places like that. They get stacked miles high all fancy in grand supermarkets, doesn't even matter if half of them rot when you're charging 2 dollars a fucking plum. The rest of us are basically given stuff that'll just do (irregular/awkward fitting clothes, mealy granny smiths for eg) Or mega mass production clobber that looks decent for crazy low prices and tries to imitate the expensive shit. Primark. This just in: Capitalism has hit rock bottom. No way to say how long this stage lasts or what's next. Not looking good.

Feels like we're at a societal fork in the road where the rich/luxury world is becoming more and more prioritized by mainstream commerce (byproduct of gentrification) and the rest are being left behind.

Said it before but I reckon it'll all be gated communities for the uppers and the rest left to fend for themselves mad max style on the wastelands. Can't wait
 

woops

is not like other people
Said it before but I reckon it'll all be gated communities for the uppers and the rest left to fend for themselves mad max style on the wastelands. Can't wait
this is now isn't it?

the right to repair thing was in the news a while ago regarding tractor companies who use software to make their tractors impossible to repair except by the tractor companies, and people protesting and subverting that just like mad max.

for the record personally i find my clothes fit and food tastes alright
 

pattycakes_

Can turn naughty
this is now isn't it?

Not quite. When the daily street wars are pay per viewed every time they open a supply hatch to release some of the food those in the inside didn't care for, then we'll know we've arrived. Pro tip, chainsaw will be the weapon of choice for close combat.

for the record personally i find my clothes fit and food tastes alright

That means you're one of them, get him boys!
 

WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
Worked at the Paul Smith logistics hub for a brief period in Nottingham. Seeded bootcut jeans as a go to. You’d try stuff on every so often but he had a real fixation on linen shirts which is a complete cunt of a material to iron. Not ocd just iron your clothes innit. Trousers were standardised to within 2mm of acceptable difference with waist and leg, pretty thorough

Fast forward 30 years and you have uk, eu, u.s, certain brand sizes varying, so I can get a large shirt which fits and an xl which would squeeze - zero standardisation, multiple variables, tons of fakes - and online platforms are a mishmash of all such factors

Mrs Wash is a dab hand at minor alterations on hems, split seams, so the jeans I have now are all nearly a decade old and any formal wear is even older
 

linebaugh

Well-known member
foods gotten really bad. the list of restaurants I trust not to burn me every 3rd time is shrinking. and you have to selectively order too as there are certain foods and dishes I dont really trust any restaurant to not take shortcuts with
 

woops

is not like other people
foods gotten really bad. the list of restaurants I trust not to burn me every 3rd time is shrinking. and you have to selectively order too as there are certain foods and dishes I dont really trust any restaurant to not take shortcuts with
yah sympathise i got ripped off 3 times in 24 hours during the week.
 

wild greens

Well-known member
Went to another site where the canteens are on egg rations this week. Getting ridiculous tbh, all i want is the protein
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Think he means the eggs are rationed ie limited. That happened when I was last in UK. Happy to report no such problems in Serbia or in the EU... in fact part of me is starting to think that leaving the EU may not have been such a great idea.
 

version

Well-known member
I bought a bunch of tub dehumidifiers off Amazon a while back. They're full of crystals which allegedly absorb moisture and the water collects in the bottom. They seemed to work pretty well so I ordered another box, but when it arrived they'd either changed the design or I'd gotten some knock offs because the bit of absorbent fabric that sat over the top on the previous batch had been replaced with paper and now they barely absorb anything.

There are a few people on the site complaining of the same thing, but nobody seems to have gotten a response from the manufacturer or know whether it's cost cutting, just a stupid design change or someone's pushing fakes.

Perils of the online marketplace.
 
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