Are we being sabotaged?

I suspect it's what they call "planned obsolence." You may not have noticed that appliances don't last as long as they used to. It's not that they can't build them to last, it's that they don't want to. We wouldn't have to buy new ones if they did. This house had a furnace that was about 50 years old and still working, but I got nervous about it and had a new one put in. We get some really cold days here and I didn't want to chance pipes freezing in case the furnace quit working. Anyway, the new one is guaranteed for 12 years. From 50 years to 12 years doesn't seem like progress to me.

They build shoddy goods and make extensive marketing strategies to sell these electronics items at exorbitant prices.They want us to upgrade rather replace the defective part.Repair has become an outdated term.We are royally taken for a ride when we buy electronics goods.This is the marketing strategy of all companies,gone are the days of stability and reliability of products.

I guess we are not sabotaged. We usually have to change our phones and computers if they are not working well already. Some frequently buy gadgets. They don't wait til their phones or computers are already in bad shape. We are lucky if we can use our gadgets for more than two years. I'm just praying that I could still use my phone and our computer at home for some more years. I just bought them this January. We need to be careful in using them so that they will last long. Thanks for sharing and happy mylotting.

I think that happens alot with all types of electronic or applicance products. The cell phone for sure, I now don't deal with cell phones. I only have a landline and I'm very happy with that. It happens also with the car when the warranty on certain parts suddenly fall apart when the warranty has expired. It happens to many of us but I'm not sure if its just more about bad manufacturing. Where maybe they make the product to last just for a matter of time. So then we have go out and buy the product again.

I think that is one of we call marketing strategy. But that practice is not common in my country. But I wish that can be present in my country. As my cell phone usually broken after 1.5 years, a 2 years plan with cheap handheld will suit my need and do not feel that they fool me. Just need to be careful reading terms and conditions.

O course....if all the cell phones worked and lasted for 20 years like the old rotary phone, then they would go out of business now wouldn't they? uh, no....seems that ma bell kept prices low and provided phone service for years...hhhmmm. I won the battle, at least, with my cell provider. I experienced problems, just like clock work on my second cell at around the same length of time as the old one that I replaced. It seems that they do have a way to know everything about that cell and I really believe that there is a switch that goes off in the thing that indicates it is time to experience problems. That means that you get frustrated enough that you must buy a new one. I ignored the problems on mine and they disappeared just like they appeared. That is exactly why I think they are pre-programmed to have issues. I kept that second cell phone with that provider and I had the battery to the thing held on with a rubber band because it had swelled to the point that the clip wouldn't keep it attached to the phone! I got my money worth outta that phone and went to a new carrier. I haven't had this smart phone for much more than a year. I'm guessing that in about six months, I'll see some issues.