Christopher Tidy wrote:
Ed Huntress wrote:
"Christopher Tidy" wrote in message
...

Hi folks,

I apologise if the title is a bit of a mouthful. But I've been
thinking about this issue for some time, and would like to seek the
opinion of people here. You frequently hear people complain about
the quality of modern products and say things like "They don't make
them like they used to". But it has occurred to me that maybe older
products look good today because only the good products have stood
the test of time, and the poor products have been thrown away years
ago. What do people think? Were products better in general back in
the fifties, say, or were there a mixture of good and bad? I'd be
interested to hear people's opinions, as I'm not old enough to
remember myself.

Best wishes,

Chris


No problem. Some people here are so old that we can't remember,
either. g

It's a mixed bag. Cars are much better, and fishing reels are, too.
But wooden matches have gone to hell. Toasters today are complete
crap compared to the old ones.

Actually, good toasters are out there. I just bought one where all the
parts are individually replaceable and I'm really pleased with it.
Here's a pictu
http://www.mythic-beasts.com/~cdt22/...t_4ATW-131.jpg

It's a Rowlett Rutland "Regent" 4ATW-131. I got it at more than 50%
off. Not sure if they export to the USA, though.

Nice toaster Chris. I have seen some quite expensive commercial toasters
in a local kitchen shop and I suspect they were this range
http://www.rowlettrutland.co.uk/comm...rs_esprit.html ,
nice but I don't do that much toast to justify the price but if
catering I would expect it would pay for itself. Shame they don't do
kettles although my old Morphy Richards stainless steel kettle is still
going strong, it came with my house 16 years ago and was 2nd hand then,
its only needed a new connector to the element. I suspect the
replacement elements will be obsolete by the time it goes, if it isn't
already.




What I think you'll find is that the quality of goods has risen or
fallen to match the consumers' expectations and desires, with a
strong influence coming from the fact that people don't really *want*
things to last that long anymore.

It's certainly the case that consumers are to blame to some degree.
After all, the market serves up what they want to buy.

It's interesting to try to establish a general trend. What do people
think? In general - that is, if we try to take some kind of average -
do people think that the quality of products is better or worse today?

I get the impression that some of the best products from the past are
unbeaten, and that some of the craftsmanship required to build these
products has been lost. But some people may disagree.

Best wishes,

Chris