Beware of ‘mehs’ and services

It’s said that money buys you goods and services.

But when did we agree to call them goods?

If you ask me, “goods” feels a little tryhard and sus, like — TRUST ME, THESE ARE GOOD OK. Some real used car salesman energy there.

So does it ever happen that the goods aren't good? Can the goods sometimes just be mehs? Well, 9 out of 10 grandpas seem to claim “they sure don't make 'em like they used to anymore” and they may actually have a point.

Did you know that in the 1920s a light bulb cartel formed (consisting of General Electric, Philips, and others) to intentionally shorten the lifespan of all light bulbs manufactured? It turns out that the existing bulbs were too reliable, and that wasn't good for business, so the cartel began to penalize manufacturers selling any bulbs outlasting 1,000 hours.

And just like this, the goods slowly became less good. It wasn’t until 50 years later that this shady coordinated tactic was exposed. Meanwhile consumers, unwitting and dependent on the bulbs, had no choice but to play ball with the inferior product. Perhaps some noticed that the bulbs were getting slightly worse, but who could have guessed it was a covert coordinated effort and not just a stroke of bad luck? One can’t help but wonder: what are the proverbial lightbulbs of today that consumers are unknowingly settling for?

This tactic is known as planned obsolescence. It's when manufacturers purposefully design products to fail or go obsolete as part of the product’s predestined lifecycle. For obvious reasons, a recurring customer is valued as better for business than a one-time customer. A more recent example is from 2016, when Apple was accused of degrading the performance of their older phones during the infamous Batterygate. This caused a huge uproar and resulted in Apple paying out a $113 million settlement.

Another way goods become less good is through our perception. Meet planned obsolescene's estranged cousin-brother – perceived obsolescence. This is when the good itself doesn't change, but our definition of “what's good” does. It’s when a new iPhone comes out and in that instant we feel as if the previous year's model has instantly morphed into an expensive paperweight. I’ve definitely been guilty of this one. Forget the sheer engineering miraculousness of this hunk of metal with my greasy fingertips all over it that would make every historical king or high priest drop to their knees to worship it – if it's not the newest version, I want nothing to do with it. Unfortunately this fickle outlook is often the work of marketing campaigns that exalt newness, capitalize on our FOMO insecurities, and have us play silly status games with our neighbors.

Not to sell ourselves short, we end with shrinkflation. This is when the good slowly becomes not less good but less of the good. It's when Toblerone puts more space between each chocolate peak to cut down on how much chocolate they give you. Or when your paper towel rolls mysteriously lose a few sheets over the years to no fanfare. There's an obvious asymmetry here, product packaging is always bold and audacious to proudly claim "20% more!" but silently sheepish when the opposite happens.

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Now, I don’t mean to send you spiraling through an existential rabbit hole every time a friend asks you “what’s good?” But “what’s good” is an important question for the vigilant consumer to consider when purchasing in the marketplace.

As we’ve learned, planned obsolescence, perceived obsolescence, and shrinkflation are just a few ways that the “goodness” of goods can be manipulated.

So what’s one to do?

The ancient Romans said it best – caveat emptor. Buyer beware.

Don’t just accept goods as good at face-value, have them earn or lose that label through your active determination. Do your own background research, stay informed through reading product reviews and trend reports, and exercise critical thinking. If you don’t like what you see, vote with your money – buy something else and avoid supporting the manufacturer.