Comment by pwinnski | Hacker News Reader

Comment by pwinnski | Hacker News Reader

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Like many things, this seems to reflect a difference in philosophy. Personal story:

I grew up poor, living on the cheapest possible option for everything, and no option at all for many things. Then I wasn't poor anymore. So I would spend time researching the absolute best toaster oven, say, reasoning that paying more would mean not having to worry about a toaster oven again in my life.

Later still, I got married to someone who grew up in Hong Kong, a city famously filled with tiny living spaces and street markets filled with goods from right across the border in China. Her philosophy, shaped by her upbringing, is that things are generally disposable. She will happily buy a $20 toaster oven from Walmart[0], and do so again whenever she decides it needs to be replaced. At $20 every three years, it would take several decades before she spent more than I did, and in the meantime maybe she has decided she wants different colors, or uses a toaster oven much less and doesn't even need one anymore.

While I look and see waste and a deleterious effect on the environment, she see flexibility and cost savings.

Back to the furniture: part of me wants to see if Ethan Allen is still making high-quality long-lasting furniture here in the USA, and buying a new couch there whatever it costs. Another part is on board with my wife's approach, which is pick the style of couch she wants, buy it cheaply, and just know it's going to need to be replaced in five years, but that's okay, because she'll want a different style then.

0. Literally, $19.96! https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-4-Slice-Toaster-Oven-Bl...

Tangential but I do the same with tools -- when I need something new I buy from Harbor Freight, and if I use it enough that I need to replace it I give myself permission to splurge on a nice version.

Most of the time I don't use it enough to replace.

Then again, my Mother (in her eighties) still has the same toaster she bought in the 1970's. Environmentally, we are a lot better off when durable goods really are durable.

It depends. Newer toasters can give you much better control over how toasted your bread is, or can toast pieces of bread much thicker than old ones (or bagels).

Having durable goods that really are durable does not prevent you from deciding you want to upgrade. You simply pass on the still working item to someone else.

It used to be pretty common for young couples starting out to be gifted an older washer and dryer (for example) from a relative and the relative would upgrade to something with more modern features without feeling wasteful.

There is an advantage on the high-end which is a) safer, b) higher functionality, and c) better customer service. The philosophy many follow is buy the cheap one of something, and once it breaks (from extensive usage), replace it with the high-end version.

This is a problem (like most environmental issues) that can be only solved by limiting people's freedom of choice through regulation / taxation so that buying low-quality junk becomes uneconomical or impossible.

The rich can afford to buy quality. The poor can eventually buy these quality products used when the rich decide they want a new one. It's insane how much quality furniture and electronics one can find used for a fraction of original price, little to no wear and exactly same value provided.

For some things, this works well; for others, not so much.

A lot of old furniture is in a style that people these days might find completely gaudy, for instance.

And old electronics, even if they're mint-condition, can be completely useless. What would I do with a portable Minidisc player, for instance? Or a Betamax VCR?

> 0. Literally, $19.96! https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-4-Slice-Toaster-Oven-Bl...

It's a really good toaster, surprisingly. Still going strong for me, even after 4 years.

There is an electric kettle in the same brand series, also very good. I still use it several times a day.

>While I look and see waste and a deleterious effect on the environment, she see flexibility and cost savings.

It IS bad for the environment if she's tossing the toaster oven in the trash bin every time she wants one with a different color.

However, if she's giving the old one away to someone who will use it, this is a very different matter.

Can confirm that Ethan Allen is still selling decent, US made, furniture - though at high prices. We got a couch for an awkward sized space from Ethan Allen and were very happy with the shopping experience, installation, and the quality of the furniture.

The other advantage of this approach is - if that $20 toaster actually lasts long, and if you don't want a new style, you're ahead by a huge margin!

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