this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
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Based on the excerpt from this Discworld book, what other items do you use regularly that would fit in this theory? (Boots and shoes are fair game!)

Text transcript for people who want it:

[The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.]

Bonus: suggest ways you can repair/restore your item/other people's items.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

@sunshine It's very true. There are ways to break the cycle but being poor often means also not having the time to fix or pick up stuff. I have been living of a low income for years now. I think like 80% percent of the stuff I own has been free or second hand.
Clothes dryer, washing machine, dishwasher, oven, microwave, furniture, clothes etc. etc. Sometimes it's tedious and frustrating.
But I also didn't have to work full time or two jobs just to buy all that crap new.
It means I get to spend money on good shoes for me and the kids. Good mattresses. New clothes for the kids because social pressure dictates it. Food.
The rest I build, repair, trade etc. etc. If this capitalist society collapses I'm fucked, off course.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

One of the interesting things about the second -hand market is that really good quality items survive two or three owners even, so someone who is knowledgable about quality items or who takes the time to research before getting things can actually be getting significantly better stuff than someone who is buying new.

That being said, being poor makes it hard to have the time or have the opportunity to learn about what is good vs what is bad quality. And people can get really ripped off by vendors who are selling bad quality but making it seems like good quality.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

@Otakat Yes. Sometimes it's very specific. I burned money on items that where damaged beyond repair but looked ok on first glance, or just from a different production run that had terrible quality control.
At the moment, mostly due to inflation, people with better income have discovered the second hand market. Which leads to increased prices at thrift stores and online marketplaces. Sometimes the prices in thrift stores are higher for cheap made in china stuff then getting it new in "dollar shop" like places. It's bizarre.

@sunshine

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Planned obsolescence is another problem to add to this. I've had coffee makers (thermal fuse won't reset), TVs (logic board and LED backlight), garbage disposals (internal seals), garage door openers (capacitor), and fridges (ice maker) all fail 1-2 months after the warrenty in the past 5 years.

Want to get a serviceable unit with readily available parts? Well you can pay 10x the cost.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He didn't predict how bad it would get. Corporations have been at war against the concept of ownership for the poor and middle class. Everything is a subscription now so you can't even own anything and housing is too expensive to buy, you can only rent.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

worse when a company puts out a durable product at a decent price, watches it become popular, then issues an “update” with crap durability and higher price

  • REI Adventures pants
  • Teva Mush flip-flops
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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Oh wow did not expect to find a citation to a book I finished reading yesterday.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (4 children)

In 2021 I rented a car and did Uber for about a year. At $316 a week, that car was costing me 1200 a month!

Eventually I lost the car as I couldnt afford to pay.

Now I’ve got a job, been building my credit, gonna buy a car instead. That car will be about $300/mo. And all because I’ve got the credit and cash to buy instead of rent.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

the same concept is true for many other items - ultimately, it comes down to "you get what you pay for".

I had to get shoes last week, the ones I had previously had lasted 9 years and the rubber soles were beginning to crumble. they're now relegated to yard shoes & won't last another year. new shoes are 100% leather, with rubber soles, cost $90 & were on sale (normal price was $140). they'll last at least another 9 years without any issues.

most of the things I buy, I always look for sales but I never buy the cheap/cheaply made products. cheap stuff might last a year & it's just not worth it. expensive stuff is usually cheaper in the long term.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In the UK you have to pay car tax which basically is a tax on vehicles which obstensively covers road maintenance.

If you pay monthly then you have to pay 12 units for one year.

However if you can afford to pay one lot all in one go then you only have to pay the equivalent of 10 units. Essentially you get two months for free.

Now presumably this is because it is easier to account for your budget if you get it all in one job lot right at the beginning of the year. So it is worth them giving you a economic incentive to do that. But loads of people cannot afford that so they end up paying more money.

Most people keep a car for what five ir six years? In that time the effectively pay an entire extra years worth of road tax if they pay monthly rather than yearly.

Boo.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't live in the UK, would you be willing to give an example of what the yearly lump sum is vs the monthly fee? I'm genuinely curious!

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's a true point, but am I the only one who finds the writing style genuinely cringe? It's all I can think everytime I see this quoted.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fair opinion, it can be a little rough to follow along if you're not in the mood for comedy. Rating things as cringe is so dead tho.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Well pick your adjective then. Cheesy, campy, etc

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Here's my example: Nice Hoka shoes are typically 100$+, but Sketcher's Work Sneakers are ~40$. The Hokas would last a lot longer and be more ergonomic, but that price is way out of my reach. The Sketchers get disintegrated by a year of use.

What I do is add arch supports and gel shoe inserts (9$ iirc) into the Sketchers, and replace those when they wear. It adds about two years of life to the shoes! :)

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I always thought that laundry was the best example of this.

Poor people go to the laundrette, which is expensive over time and time-consuming.

Less poor people buy cheap washing machines which are expensive to run and break sooner.

Rich people buy highly efficient washing machines which are cheaper to run and last for years.

And on top of that poor people buy cheaper clothes, which wear out sooner (as with the boots example) and dry their clothes indoors on hangers which, again, takes longer and also creates damp, unpleasant living conditions!

EDIT: Typos.

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