appliances seemed to be less durable these days

Somewhere in the past, big appliance manufacturers thought of two things! One is to make their products not so durable, so that consumers would have a certain 'life expectancy' for their appliances so that people would continue buying. And two, by making their products not so durable, they've created a new section of their business (which means another source of income) - the repairs and warranty section. I think this is why appliances are not so durable these days.

That's true.The television we bought last ten years is still working well,but the tv we bought last year is already having some problems on its sound.It's very frustrating because it seems that companies are just taking our money.

Welcome to the era of mass production. I really think that the reason things don't last as long is because they are not meant to last that long. A few years ago, a company would produce, just as an example - not sure of the actual values, 10 fans a day now they produce 1 000 for example. The time and care that each machine receives is very small, but the same applies to all the parts of the process, the new motto is how quickly and how cheaply can you produce something rather then how well can you produce something. The fact that with your parents fan at the time probably cost 10 times more then a new one does now, also means that they used better materials. My parents still have a washing machine bought in the early eighties, it has signs of wear and tear but it still works. The same applies to a television that is being replaced because it can't handle the digital conversion. I remember my first computer that lasted several years and if wasn't so slow and incompatible with most programs would still work, cost more then my last 2 computers combined. The best we can hope for is that the product lives through it's warranty, anything after that is a bonus.

I know what you mean here. I am suspicious that many electrical appliances seem to have a self-destruct date programmed in . I have noticed that my computers seem to last 6 years and then something goes wrong and it is cheaper to purchase a new one. That's happened twice with me now. Both times mother boards have burned out. I have got a few years to go with this one, but I will be keeping an eye out for it beginning to act strangely.. _Derek

I guess Albert, you bought a brand of electric fan that is not durable and the tested one from long ago. Our old electric fan lasted for more than 17 years, until last June when it finally broke down. It's still repairable, but the spare part costs more than PhP500 so i just bought a new stand fan instead. Upon buying , i have to choose from many brands. Some are new brands , fancy style and they are cheaper than the old brands . I still chose the Standard brand , because i know it's a durable brand. Nowadays, there are really a lot of new brands and cheap brands of different appliances. It's up to you to discern and ask others as to its durability. But for me , i rely on the tested brands over the years.

As per my thinking the main reason for this is to increase their product sales. The company knew that know or than the user will buy product. So they produce product which last for just 3 to 4 or sometimes less than that..Early it was good quality product which cost less but today it has low quality and high price.

that's exactly why.if they make it too good,you'll never buy new. although,to be fair we did have a tv in the 1970's that was a total piece of crap. i think we saw the repairman more often than my relatives. one of those huge cabneted floor models-weighed a ton.

Lets just imagine a world where everything was manufactured, and built with durability being Number one. Some of the things we would never need to replace are electric razors, fans, and refrigerators, and the automobile. This being the case who would employ those people who work in the factories that are not getting any orders, because their products are indestructible?What would happen to the economy of a country that never needed any replacement appliances or cars? Lets face it - It would quickly go down the tubes!

hello Capt, This is very timely discs here. I done part general cleaning at home (maybe tomorrow it will be major general -hahahaa) and my son saw those LP album of the 50's. Now he asks me how can I play those songs. I told him, I will get my grandfather's attache case stereo once I will visit him. It is still working, my cousin told me when I texted him about the stereo. I remember my grandfather purchased it as late 1960's and still working fine huh. My cousin told me, I just need to look for the needle...

It's called "built in obsolescence" and it is a well known practice that manufacturers make things that last just long enough to not have to replace them for free but no longer. There's a great documentary about it called The Light Bulb Conspiracy about how some very old light bulbs were made to last for decades. Yes, I said DECADES. Then the manufacturers realised that the market would be very small so they started making short-lived light bulbs and conspiring between themselves that nobody would make the long-life ones. The documentary is up on You Tube and starts with the light bulb and then covers a lot of other stuff we are being ripped off about - and the associated waste being so harmful for the environment.

I have noticed the same thing. I had a newer appliance break down, and didn't know if it would be worth it to have it fixed because it might not last long anyway. I ended up getting a new one, but I don't plan on it even lasting as long as the old one did.

Absolutely agree!! We know that they do that intentionally..They will keep the best away and just give us the so-so stuff with so-so performance. They said the so-so performance is for certain so-so price....If you buy the expensive it will last longer than the cheap. What's more important to them is the money~ The old appliances cost less price but we can use it for a long time while the appliances we have now cost double than the old but the performance is worst than the old~

I think there are many reason why appliances of today tend to break a lot. I think one of the reason is that the raw materials used before is now obsolete. As technology grows, new raw materials are being developed and the old ones are being paced out. Another reason I think is that, it is a strategy of the businessmen so that people would buy their products often.

we also had an electric fan lasted more than 20 years.a few months ago we bought a brand new industrial fan but to our disappointment it stop rotating.i agree,most of appliance today dont have quality.

hi I have an old Samsung computer that was given to us free from my son's employers 30 years ago. oh it has had the mother board replaced, power source replaced, new fans, internet card replaced but its perking right along as good as a brand new computer, knock knock on wood, but it really works just fine.I have a three year old monitor which is also samsung and led. just wonderful,If I won a lot of money I might go for a new computer but thats about the only way I would get rid of it. it does me well.

I think you are right. My computer used to give me a lot of trouble even during the first few months. The reliability of today's appliance is nowhere compared to those in the old days. That is the reason we now specifically look for warranty while buying any new appliance.

That's my observation too. And well, oldies also really know how to take care of their stuff. I'm guessing that the reason behind this is that newly made products are made of sub standard materials because that way they can be cheaper and so end users can afford. When it comes to electric fans, manufacturers are already opting for plastic parts for "safety" reasons.

Yes, that's right.I think the materials are not of good quality. The manufacturers perhaps want to get more profit but this is also because of low in demand. If they don't cut down on materials cost, the profit will be less than projected sales. There are still appliances of good quality but of course the price is higher than we can afford to buy. I had a water pump for my well. It lasted over 5 years. We bought a new with the same brand but after about 9 months of use, it shows a sign of deterioration in pumping performance.