As my husband was putting away the dishes last night, he fondly held out the salad spinner he brought into the marriage and said something quite uncommon about a pretty common household object...
"I've had this salad spinner for 15 years."
No big deal, right? But it made me think. How many objects can we say that about? Haven't we accepted the notion that all consumer products are planned in advance for obsolescence? Isn't that part of the unwritten contract most of us enter into with manufacturers?
In contrast to our Zyliss salad spinner, I now have 6 printers in my barn that within a year of purchase just stopped working for no good reason. They linger in ecological purgatory as I wait for some kind of salvation...something better than the landfill. So the question I pose in this blog is simple, "what are the products that were made to last and have?"
Comment and share your own story with me.
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ReplyDeleteI have 3 pretty new printers (color) in my basement. However, I do have a fantastic HP Laserjet 4ML that I bought for $800 15+ years ago. I remember how painful it was to fork over the $800... but it has paid for itself a bizzillion times! I hate to even mention... don't want to jinx it!
ReplyDeleteWell, if you didn't want to be jinxed, you should have purchased the extended 20 yr "jinx" warranty. Seriously, thank you for posting the first comment on the blog and shout out for the HP Laserjet 4ML. Anyone else had a similar experience? Please share.
ReplyDeleteI have four vintage plain white Pyrex dinner plates which I purchased at Goodwill in New Paltz, NY in 1984. That's 26 years ago! They are still in perfect shape--no chips or cracks, and I have moved more than 20 times since I bought them! They sure don't make dishes like that anymore...
ReplyDeletePyrex -- great example. Take a picture, if you want and email it to me. We'll blog about Pyrex. FYI -- Bloggers needed.
ReplyDeleteThank for the post!
I think the design wizards at Zyliss found the profit error in selling such durable salad spinners. I've had two in the past three years and both are no longer functioning.
ReplyDeleteAwww..now don't go bursting my bubble so soon... Go out there and find me some success!
ReplyDeleteI still have the original punch bowl from my wedding shower in aahhemmm 1971... ouch. And of course my original corning ware casserole baking dish... it is the best and I use it all the time!
ReplyDeleteSee... we already have a trend. Susan mentioned Pyrex. Thank you, Pierra. If you have an idea for a blog posting, let me know and I'll add you as a blogger.
ReplyDeleteM