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And part of this is because it's very difficult for consumers to measure this, especially as even the best brands experience enshitification. Sears' Craftsman tools famously had a lifetime warranty, but capitalism eventually did its thing and outsourced their manufacture and removed the lifetime warranty, hoping to leverage years of good will for a short term gain.

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They also started putting plastic gears in their gas powered stuff. No bearings, just bushings in the shaft. Crap like that.

All these companies some of us remember are all now owned by the same company. This is how capitalism goes. Eventually, a company makes a mistake, and a competitor will absorb them.

This is dramatically simplified, but the big joke is that capitalism breeds competition and that is good for the consumer.

The illusion of choice via mergers and acquisitions.

That reminds me of what happened with Kitchenaid, where now only the pro line and better has metal gears, which is why folks seek out the old models at garage sales.

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