"Buttonhole McGee"

Moen's Law of Bicycles

"Good customers make for good products". This is my explanation for
why an ignorant customer base causes merchandise quality to decline,
on account of unhealthy market dynamics, e.g., in retail computer
hardware and software. In the mid-1970s, bicycles suddenly became very
popular in the USA. The masses suddenly entered the market, few
knowing anything about bicycles. Many could distinguish poorly if at
all between good equipment and bad; good customer service and bad.
Consequently, poorly made bicycles (which cost less to make) undercut
well made ones (and poor customer service out-earned the good
variety), because their superior value ceased to be perceived. Over
time, overall quality of available bicycles declined considerably,
almost entirely because of this dynamic with customers, recovering
only after the fad ended, years later.

Quality thrives only when people can tell the difference. When they
haven't a clue about products and how they work, schlock merchandise
prevails. One can see this process at work in retail computing gear
and softwa People who know least about computing always insist most
on achieving bottom dollar. In a way, this is understandable: You want
to exercise control over the process, and, if you're dirt-ignorant
about computing, the only place to exercise control is over price.
Gradually, this effect tends to drive good merchandise out of the
market entirely, leaving a generous selection of cheap crud.

I think that's a bit overgeneralized. When people do become familiar,
like with bycicles, they demand better quality. True, the mass market is
for low grade products but even they are better due to technology than
say, the low end bikes just short years ago. Most hobbyists don't want
to pay top dollar for a tool but the top dollar tool is available for those
who want it. The law I believelin effect is the law of supply and demand.