Done saving Earth

[Nimos]

As a person I don't really care to buy things I really don't need and also if something can be fixed then I'll do that rather than to buy something new.

So I have a refrigerator with a built-in freezer where the lid lock broke and so far I have just used a homemade solution which kind of works. But I decided to see what a new lid would cost and this is when I got pissed off

A new refrigerator of the type I need costs around 350$ and the lid alone if bought as a spare part costs 130$!! for a low-quality piece of freaking plastic!!

Why is it that we as normal people are constantly told to save on this and that to save the planet and then you have companies exploiting things like this, what is the freaking point of doing any of this when we live in a world where it makes more sense to just throw out things that are otherwise perfectly fine because a small plastic lock breaks?

It makes absolutely no sense if people are not encouraged to repair things rather than just throwing them out constantly whenever these crap products break?

Obviously, I am not going to buy either the lid or a new refrigerator, especially never a Whirlpool!! things like this just **** me off, why should anyone care if the big companies don't and just continue exploiting the fact that they can get away with doing this?

If that little lid costs 130$ the front door to the fridge itself must cost 1000$ and the whole thing combined is close to 3000$ if bought as spare parts.

It is extremely difficult to take these things seriously with the way things are being done in my opinion.

 

[JustGeorge]

As a person I don't really care to buy things I really don't need and also if something can be fixed then I'll do that rather than to buy something new.

So I have a refrigerator with a built-in freezer where the lid lock broke and so far I have just used a homemade solution which kind of works. But I decided to see what a new lid would cost and this is when I got pissed off

A new refrigerator of the type I need costs around 350$ and the lid alone if bought as a spare part costs 130$!! for a low-quality piece of freaking plastic!!

Why is it that we as normal people are constantly told to save on this and that to save the planet and then you have companies exploiting things like this, what is the freaking point of doing any of this when we live in a world where it makes more sense to just throw out things that are otherwise perfectly fine because a small plastic lock breaks?

It makes absolutely no sense if people are not encouraged to repair things rather than just throwing them out constantly whenever these crap products break?

Obviously, I am not going to buy either the lid or a new refrigerator, especially never a Whirlpool!! things like this just **** me off, why should anyone care if the big companies don't and just continue exploiting the fact that they can get away with doing this?

If that little lid costs 130$ the front door to the fridge itself must cost 1000$ and the whole thing combined is close to 3000$ if bought as spare parts.

It is extremely difficult to take these things seriously with the way things are being done in my opinion.

We've run into this a few times in the last few years; the cost to repair exceeds the cost to buy a new one.

 

[Nimos]

We've run into this a few times in the last few years; the cost to repair exceeds the cost to buy a new one.

It is absurd, it's some plastic and probably some isolating foam inside that you normally use for packaging and a couple of screws, how on Earth can that cost 130$ and that is not taking the delivery cost into account.

Stuff like that, just makes me so annoyed, because it is so obvious that they know that either you buy it at an extreme overprice or you buy a new refrigerator.

 

[Jimmy]

I’ve found you get what you pay for

 

[Quintessence]

Consumer protection laws are weak in the United States - it's a result of deregulated capitalism, which is inherently exploitative to the extent it can get away with it. There has been some momentum to introduce "right to repair" laws but this is mostly happening at the state level when it is a national issue.

Fixing Your Electronics Just Got Easier in California and Minnesota - Consumer Reports

New right-to-repair laws in California and Minnesota will help promote more convenient repairs for electronics and home appliances. Here’s what you should know.

www.consumerreports.org

 

[The Hammer]

It's essentially a type of planned obsolescence. That way it's "cheaper" to buy new, and not repair, so as to artificially increase "demand". Leading to more manufacturing, and profits for the company.

 

[Nimos]

I’ve found you get what you pay for

In some cases, but look at this:

Whirlpool Fridge Evaporator Door - 466mm x 60mm x 40mm

Are you telling me that £89.99 / 114$ is a fair price for this?

This is the type of refrigerator I need:

Cost: 328$
Whirlpool W55VM 1120 W 2 WS combi-fridge Freestanding 122 L E White

 

[Nimos]

Consumer protection laws are weak in the United States - it's a result of deregulated capitalism, which is inherently exploitative to the extent it can get away with it. There has been some momentum to introduce "right to repair" laws but this is mostly happening at the state level when it is a national issue.

Fixing Your Electronics Just Got Easier in California and Minnesota - Consumer Reports

New right-to-repair laws in California and Minnesota will help promote more convenient repairs for electronics and home appliances. Here’s what you should know.

www.consumerreports.org

If they can force the prices to make sense? because as it is now. Surely you can repair and replace some things, but if the price is such that it makes no sense then people won't do it.

 

[Nimos]

It's essentially a type of planned obsolescence. That way it's "cheaper" to buy new, and not repair, so as to artificially increase "demand". Leading to more manufacturing, and profits for the company.

Yeah, it is well-calculated. Because that little ****ty plastic lock which they know is going to break at some point because it as all hard plastic at some point becomes brittle and breaks, they could just as well have made it out of metal so it could last or easily be changed or even make it so the plastic lock could be changed with a couple of screws.

 

[sayak83]

As a person I don't really care to buy things I really don't need and also if something can be fixed then I'll do that rather than to buy something new.

So I have a refrigerator with a built-in freezer where the lid lock broke and so far I have just used a homemade solution which kind of works. But I decided to see what a new lid would cost and this is when I got pissed off

A new refrigerator of the type I need costs around 350$ and the lid alone if bought as a spare part costs 130$!! for a low-quality piece of freaking plastic!!

Why is it that we as normal people are constantly told to save on this and that to save the planet and then you have companies exploiting things like this, what is the freaking point of doing any of this when we live in a world where it makes more sense to just throw out things that are otherwise perfectly fine because a small plastic lock breaks?

It makes absolutely no sense if people are not encouraged to repair things rather than just throwing them out constantly whenever these crap products break?

Obviously, I am not going to buy either the lid or a new refrigerator, especially never a Whirlpool!! things like this just **** me off, why should anyone care if the big companies don't and just continue exploiting the fact that they can get away with doing this?

If that little lid costs 130$ the front door to the fridge itself must cost 1000$ and the whole thing combined is close to 3000$ if bought as spare parts.

It is extremely difficult to take these things seriously with the way things are being done in my opinion.

In India there are discounts if you replace the old model with a new one. The company takes the old and then uses the economically viable bits.
The problem I think is that most of these consumer electronics is made in China or Asia or Central America (hence cheap) while these spares are made in USA (and hence costlier). Unless you have a cheap homegrown parts manufacturing, having supply lines for extra spares overseas is too capital intensive. Cost of deindustrialization.

 

[Quagmire]

Our inconvenience is the least of it.
The Great Pacific Garbage patch. A new continent made out of plastic.

1.6 million square kilometers. The same size as Iran or Mongolia

 

[sayak83]

Our inconvenience is the least of it.
The Great Pacific Garbage patch. A new continent made out of plastic.
View attachment 99257

View attachment 99258View attachment 99259


1.6 million square kilometers. The same size as Iran or Mongolia

I am in full sympathy with the sentiment, but these pictures are grossly misleading. The pacific garbage patch is basically invisible. There may be one or two large floating debris, but 95% of it is made of a murky soup of microplastics. The ocean simply looks muddy there.
Visualising the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

 

[Nimos]

In India there are discounts if you replace the old model with a new one. The company takes the old and then uses the economically viable bits.
The problem I think is that most of these consumer electronics is made in China or Asia or Central America (hence cheap) while these spares are made in USA (and hence costlier). Unless you have a cheap homegrown parts manufacturing, having supply lines for extra spares overseas is too capital intensive. Cost of deindustrialization.

You might be right I have no clue.

It can also be that they know they can get away with it, if you set the price for spare parts high enough people won't buy them and therefore you as a company only need to make a minimum of them.
And again we know companies are interested in selling products, so they won't make something that lasts too long, that bad for business.

I just think it is absurd because I know that a lot of people are not like me, so they would throw it out and get a new one and I wouldn't blame them for it, because the alternatives are really not good. But the amount of "scrap" being produced as a result of a tiny broken plastic lock is insane. And if it's the same in washing machines, dishwashers, coffee machines, toasters, printers etc. no wonder the world is covered in garbage.

It's just insanity in my opinion the way we do things, it's like trying to put out a house fire while throwing gasoline on it at the same time.

Yet we are constantly reminded to remember to turn off the lights, which barely use any electricity, yet we are "encouraged" to throw out anything that breaks.

 

[Nimos]

I am in full sympathy with the sentiment, but these pictures are grossly misleading. The pacific garbage patch is basically invisible. There may be one or two large floating debris, but 95% of it is made of a murky soup of microplastics. The ocean simply looks muddy there.
Visualising the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Yeah if it was just big parts like this, it should be fairly easy to clean

 

[Revoltingest]

It's essentially a type of planned obsolescence. That way it's "cheaper" to buy new, and not repair, so as to artificially increase "demand". Leading to more manufacturing, and profits for the company.

Planned obsolescence isn't as good an explanation as
trying to keep costs low in pursuit of keeping sales high.
Generally, one can get higher quality products that last
longer by paying more for better ones, eg, Bosch
dishwashers vs GE. So I discovered when buying &
servicing appliances on many rental properties.

 

[The Hammer]

Planned obsolescence isn't as good an explanation as
trying to keep costs low in pursuit of keeping sales high.
Generally, one can get higher quality products that last
longer by paying more for better ones, eg, Bosch
dishwashers vs GE. So I discovered when buying &
servicing appliances on many rental properties.

And that still comes with it's own socioeconomic problems. Not everyone can "afford" to buy the better made one, and are stuck with constantly buying degrading cheap crud.

Boots theory - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[plodding inarticulateness]

In some cases, but look at this:

Whirlpool Fridge Evaporator Door - 466mm x 60mm x 40mm

Are you telling me that £89.99 / 114$ is a fair price for this?

This is the type of refrigerator I need:

Cost: 328$
Whirlpool W55VM 1120 W 2 WS combi-fridge Freestanding 122 L E White

I don't think you are factoring in what it would cost a company to maintain an inventory of every spare part for every model produced throughout the years and then store them until such time as someone might need it.

If no one bought a new refridgerator after their very first, and everyone diligently repaired and replaced their one and only refrigerator, then there would be economies of scale that would make replacement parts less expensive. This is not the case though. Technologies change, features change, appliance that work still may look worn and beat up. The market forces for buying new and upgraded appliances are greater than those of forever maintaining a specific appliance.

I would say this issue is not the fault of manufacturers, but of consumers.

 

[Nimos]

I don't think you are factoring in what it would cost a company to maintain an inventory of every spare part for every model produced throughout the years and then store them until such time as someone might need it.

If no one bought a new refridgerator after their very first, and everyone diligently repaired and replaced their one and only refrigerator, then there would be economies of scale that would make replacement parts less expensive. This is not the case though. Technologies change, features change, appliance that work still may look worn and beat up. The market forces for buying new and upgraded appliances are greater than those of forever maintaining a specific appliance.

I would say this issue is not the fault of manufacturers, but of consumers.

It depends on what we are talking about.

There are things in a refrigerator that are not easily replaceable by a normal person, even if you have the spare part.

And there is a very limited amount of things you can break in a refrigerator, you can damage the shelves, the one holding the eggs etc. And then if you have an internal freezer like me then the lock.

In some cases they already have the spare parts, because a lot of the companies have a service team that goes around repairing stuff, obviously, mine is not an expensive refrigerator so you wouldn't do it here unless it had some service included when you originally bought it.

So there is a huge difference here I think. Im not arguing that every single piece should be replaceable by a normal person, but something like shelves, the lock etc. should be. And therefore should also be sold at a realistic price.

 

[Quintessence]

I am in full sympathy with the sentiment, but these pictures are grossly misleading. The pacific garbage patch is basically invisible. There may be one or two large floating debris, but 95% of it is made of a murky soup of microplastics. The ocean simply looks muddy there.
Visualising the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

While true, that actually makes the situation worse, not better. Large plastics can be (relatively) easily removed. Microplastics cannot and are now a source of background pollution that will escalate death and illness risks for all organisms on this planet.

 

[Nimos]

While true, that actually makes the situation worse, not better. Large plastics can be (relatively) easily removed. Microplastics cannot and are now a source of background pollution that will escalate death and illness risks for all organisms on this planet.

The "worst" thing is that fish etc eat them and then they end up on our dinner plates with whatever chemicals are in them.