My first exposure to this - tired of $40 particleboard bookshelves and tables, I went looking for solid wood furniture, reasoning it was fine to spend a little more for something that would last. I found it- and discovered humble, small tables were a months pay.

I don't want cheap crap, but I suddenly appreciated why we've moved away from tables that can support a car.

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p1necone 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This is true of basically everything people complain about having gotten worse over time.

Whiteware and kitchen appliances are the same - you can absolutely buy a fridge, or a stand mixer or whatever that will work well and last forever. It's just the value proposition compared to cheap crap that will still likely last for a few years but at a 1/5th of the price is not great unless you're going to use it really heavily.

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gtowey 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Last time I had to buy a refrigerator it seemed like the choice was between one that cost around $1k and one that cost $10k. I really couldn't find a mid quality option. There wasn't a price point at around 2x the cheap ones for better quality. Those price points exist, it's just that they're usually the same cheap fridges crammed full of pointless features that actually make the whole thing less reliable because it's more stuff to break.

What I wanted was a refrigerator with a reliable compressor. That's where it really seemed like the only options are cheap and astronomical.

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M95D an hour ago | parent [-]

Compressor is replaceable. Also, how do you judge reliability of a compressor before buying it?

Instead, try to find a refrigerator with access to the cooling pipes. Last fridge I threw away had a leak that couldn't be patched because the pipes were all embedded in the plastic walls of the fridge.

	▲	Qwertious an hour ago \| parent [-]
		>how do you judge reliability of a compressor before buying it? Reviews, specs, teardowns, brand name.

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permo-w an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

even second hand?