| ▲ | causality0 4 hours ago |
| One of the most user-hostile companies on earth. My John Deere lawnmower came with a fuel gauge that runs off a CR2032 that's embedded in epoxy. The battery runs out of charge in about six months and the gauge stops working. If you saw the gauge open and replace the battery it doesn't start working again. If you disconnect the gauge the lawnmower won't start. Replacement gauges are $60. |
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| ▲ | userbinator 12 minutes ago | parent | next [-] |
| Chances are you might find a compatible replacement from China on Ali and the other usual sites for a fraction of the price. |
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| ▲ | dyauspitr 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| That’s wild.They had to go out of their way to not wire it to the 12V. |
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| ▲ | dmos62 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Hot take: it takes mental gymnastics to think that planned obsolescence is not fraud. |
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| ▲ | hatthew an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | Sure, if it's truly planned. I think the tricky part tends to be that it's hard to distinguish between "planned obsolescence" and "incidental obsolescence". | |
| ▲ | maxerickson an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | Is there a bright line between cost reduction and planned obsolescence? Obviously a small unreplaceable battery is not a good example for that discussion. |
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| ▲ | elAhmo 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Don’t buy their stuff then. |
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| ▲ | snowe2010 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Don’t comment if you don’t want to actually contribute. How are people supposed to know these things before buying the equipment. What if they’re the only provider in their region? There’s a billion reasons why your comment doesn’t contribute. | | |
| ▲ | laughing_man 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | "Don't buy their stuff" is exactly the right answer. You need to do your research before you buy big ticket items. It may not be true in every sector, but Deere has plenty of competition. | | |
| ▲ | alpaca128 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Do you seriously expect other companies not following suit? People need lawnmowers, so this can quickly turn into the same situation we have with the inkjet printer market. | | | |
| ▲ | enaaem 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | How can you do research without victims complaining? | | | |
| ▲ | nmbrskeptix 17 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] | | [dead] |
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| ▲ | linuxftw 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | John Deere has had a terrible reputation for over a decade now. They've always used proprietary parts for the tractors. Do 5 minutes of research. | |
| ▲ | edm0nd 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | bruh dont sweat it. mainly everyone here is SF tech bros who have never worked a hard day in their life lol | |
| ▲ | charcircuit 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | >How are people supposed to know these things before buying the equipment. By looking at reviews or paying someone to evaluate the product. >What if they’re the only provider in their region Then there is an opportunity for competition. Or you can import a product from another region. | | |
| ▲ | kstrauser an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | As an outsider, that’s literally what I’m doing: paying attention to the reviews. And some people are telling the reviewer to shut up and quit whining, thus encouraging them not to leave the review that I want to be reading. Make up your mind. Do you want people to read and write reviews, or don’t you? | |
| ▲ | prawn 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | All great in theory, but in importing farm machinery, you need to take into account servicing options and warranty claims. Would be painful if you need to truck a harvester or even mower interstate for a warranty claim. And it's not like these things are always available from a source with reviews. Reviews for new models are less likely to cover repair-access issues that will arise in a few years' time. |
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| ▲ | rocmcd 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | You're getting downvoted, but this is really the only answer here. Companies won't stop acting this way as long as their shitty behavior is rewarded, and people keep rewarding their shitty behavior. No amount of legislation is going to prevent them from doing this. This settlement even proves that they can keep doing it with impunity! | |
| ▲ | user3939382 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Under that logic we don’t need any consumer protection laws. | | |
| ▲ | rexpop an hour ago | parent [-] | | Undoubtedly the poster to whom you're replying unironically agrees. |
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