Ha! Great article.
I had much the same thoughts on “exit strategy” culture.
That was great. And depressing.
I felt the same. Hell, I’ve used some of the products. And I know how well this idea is doing as I hear NEW versions of this being advertised all the time.
Examples:
Skura sponges: https://www.skurastyle.com/home
Quip toothbrushes: https://www.getquip.com/
Madison Reed hair color: https://www.madison-reed.com/
Harrys Razors: Harry's | Quality Men's Grooming & Shave Supplies at Honest Prices |
Etc, etc.
All products you can go down the street and buy, all products that focus on different things for the consumer but highlight internet ordering, quick delivery to your door, or easy repeat purchasing.
There’s nothing fancy here. It’s a product we already have availability to dressed up in a newfangled way. Hell, all of us should have jumped into the market for something like this at some point.
If anything, the carbon footprint of constant delivery is even bigger.
Buying things that last just seems to be out of style these days.
Also:
DRM needs to be banned if used for the purposes of supply lock in.
I tried to buy one of those old school Merkul (?) razors that aren’t disposable, with the disposable double-sided blades. Man alive, that thing fillets my face. I had to go back to whatever version of the 6 blade (or whatever) Gillette disposable razor is out there.
Don’t buy GE fridges
I read how to hack this. It shouldn’t be okay but the solution isn’t actually that difficult with just a little YouTube magic.
you have to buy their $25+ cartridge in order to even permit it to dispense “unfiltered” water and then hack it by cutting it out and taping it to the inside of the fridge or each new generic one you get?
Yep, and then you get your cheap filters for as long as you keep that fridge. It’s stupid, and shouldn’t have to do it, but GE has some pretty good features for the price.
And you are sticking it to them because they’re counting on that cartridge on going revenue and instead you give them a whole lot of nothing.
Merkur.
And you might have chosen the very sharpest brand of blade when another might perhaps have been better for your particular face. Try a variety pack of blades and find the best for you. The definitely aren’t all the same.
Diego
I use a Merkur with Personna blades, and I can easily go six weeks or more without having to swap them out without issue. Three years on, and I’m still on my first $12 box of blades.
The thing with Dollar Shave Club was that you could and can still buy Dorco razors cheaper elsewhere or from Dorco.
I’m going to pick on one of those above that I mentioned:
Quip toothbrushes
$45 for the base toothbrush plus $5 per quarter for refill+battery. So, $60 a year for a vibrating toothbrush give or take.
And yet, 2 x 2-packs of Oral-B vibrating toothbrushes at $5.67 per 2 is $11.34 a year plus shipping, or free shipping if you’re a Prime member.
Am I to believe that the magic that the Quip does is just that good? With 2 million sold, some people surely do. Me? Probably not.
But the gross profit there, not too shabby. Something tells me we’re all in the wrong jobs.
‘Be well groomed and get stuck by lightning’… yeah, sounds about right.
That doesn’t mean one shouldn’t try, but Shiva almighty it’s not like business for good and corporate social responsibility are in opposition to the bottom line.
Its not so much a new thing, but its certainly getting more prominent. My wife has long hair. I used to go through a vacuum cleaner a year as the long hair would . Then I researched and purchased a commercial-grade vacuum cleaner (by Royal). It was much better constructed, and was designed to be repaired (and had available spare parts). This was probably 15yrs ago, and the vacuum is still going great. Then maybe 3 years ago I got a roomba. Just like the commercial vacuum, it was designed to be maintained and repaired. My washer/dryer are similar "commercial-grade items…they do not have all the fancy sensors, they just work.
In a similar way I used to travel alot for work. I had previously purchased luggage from wherever, and they would last a year or two and then break. I then researched and found RedOxx luggage. They are not for everyone, but they have a lifetime warranty and are very well built. This was 10yrs ago, and those bags have been all around the world with me.
I’ve also dealt with printers that force you to refill at specific points and force you to use their refills. I simply do not buy those models, unless there is a hack. So not so different than the auto-refill trend.
I as a consumer have rejected this long-term disposable trend as wasteful and try to research most of my products as “durable goods” as possible. I find myself far more satisfied with these products.
People are able to make their toothbrushes last 3 months?! Mine only last 2 weeks before the bristles are flat and I’m sanding my teeth instead of brushing them.
My Sonicare is 2-3 months. I get my refills from Costco which is also where I usually pick up the brush.