Is there an ear bud conspiracy?

[Iwassoclose]

In the past few months, I have replaced 3 ear buds and its going to be 4 soon as my current one is only working on one side. All the problems stem from the same problem with the jack where the ear bud is connected to a device. It starts when one earbud stops working with the other soon following. This has happened with expensive and the cheap earbuds I have had in the past. The solution for this would be pretty easy, put in a bigger more insulated jack and the few inches of wire on top of that but I haven't seen this anywhere.

Does anyone else think there is a global conspiracy on keeping a defective yet on demand item on the market so we spend more money on said product every few weeks/months?

[Ashmoria]

maybe you should check the customer reviews on amazon.

[Iwassoclose]

maybe you should check the customer reviews on amazon.

What purpose would that serve, confirm my theory of a global cabal creating defective products to gouge the people?

[Iwassoclose]

Oh, and I am open to suggestions on earbuds. Price limit of $50.

[Alyakia]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

[Iwassoclose]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

A common method of deliberately limiting a product's useful life is to use inferior materials in critical areas, or deliberately suboptimal component layouts which cause excessive wear. Using soft metal in screws and cheap plastic instead of metal in stress-bearing components will increase the speed at which a product will become inoperable through normal usage and render it prone to breakage from even minor forms of abnormal usage.

I knew it was a thing

[Frank Zipper]

The quality of consumer goods declines when people have less to spend perhaps. Thinner wires to reduce the costs.

[The Serbian Empire]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

Sounds like we have the Sony Timer back again with ear buds.

[Ashmoria]

maybe you should check the customer reviews on amazon.

What purpose would that serve, confirm my theory of a global cabal creating defective products to gouge the people?

it would steer you toward a brand of earbud that isn't party of the conspiracy.

[Vendrick]

of course

[Herrebrugh]

I've had mine for at least a year now. They still function as they should.

[Saiwania]

I recommend the Jlabs J4, these have yet to fail me and it has almost been a year. I don't guarantee that it is perfect because it is far from it. But so far as durability in that price point, it is a good value. It was worth $90 when it first came out but now sells for around $35.

The biggest con is that the right and left wires have a propensity to twist in the middle at the portion where the wires converge into one which plugs into a jack, but that is a minor annoyance if in the long run both sides still work. The wire itself is flat and thick Kevlar, with the ends that matter built with hard plastic and a bit of aluminum.

[Uxupox]

In the past few months, I have replaced 3 ear buds and its going to be 4 soon as my current one is only working on one side. All the problems stem from the same problem with the jack where the ear bud is connected to a device. It starts when one earbud stops working with the other soon following. This has happened with expensive and the cheap earbuds I have had in the past. The solution for this would be pretty easy, put in a bigger more insulated jack and the few inches of wire on top of that but I haven't seen this anywhere.

Does anyone else think there is a global conspiracy on keeping a defective yet on demand item on the market so we spend more money on said product every few weeks/months?

I've been with my current ear buds for over 3 years now. Check reviews before you buy.

[Tolko Temnota]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

A common method of deliberately limiting a product's useful life is to use inferior materials in critical areas, or deliberately suboptimal component layouts which cause excessive wear. Using soft metal in screws and cheap plastic instead of metal in stress-bearing components will increase the speed at which a product will become inoperable through normal usage and render it prone to breakage from even minor forms of abnormal usage.

I knew it was a thing

Yeah this isn't just earbuds. Cell phones, textbooks, certain video games, laptops...planned obsolescence has been a thing for a while now. Companies always want more profit.

[Mike from Progressive]

I've had mine for a couple of years. Instead of blaming the product, maybe the operator? *cough cough hint hint*

[Tolko Temnota]

I've had mine for a couple of years. Instead of blaming the product, maybe the operator? *cough cough hint hint*

Not all earbuds are created equal.

[Mike from Progressive]

I've had mine for a couple of years. Instead of blaming the product, maybe the operator? *cough cough hint hint*

Not all earbuds are created equal.

Exactly, which is why we should have separate but equal policies in place. For example on the shelf the white earbuds are on the front while the black ones are in the back. We leave the yellow ones where they are because they work well. The red colored earbuds are given their own little promotional stand in the corner of the store separate from the other ones. That's their stand! And it's the least we can do. Finally, we burn all beats ones. They're the Jersey shore of earbuds and a disease.

[Tolko Temnota]

Not all earbuds are created equal.

Exactly, which is why we should have separate but equal policies in place. For example on the shelf the white earbuds are on the front while the black ones are in the back. We leave the yellow ones where they are because they work well. The red colored earbuds are given their own little promotional stand in the corner of the store separate from the other ones. That's their stand! And it's the least we can do. Finally, we burn all beats ones. They're the Jersey shore of earbuds and a disease.

Don't take muh Beats!

[The Two Jerseys]

What's the exact problem? Are the wires separating from the jack

[Gauthier]

I knew it was a thing

Yeah this isn't just earbuds. Cell phones, textbooks, certain video games, laptops...planned obsolescence has been a thing for a while now. Companies always want more profit.

Shit like that only happens when a market is cornered.

Planned obsolescence tends to work best when a producer has at least an oligopoly. Before introducing a planned obsolescence, the producer has to know that the consumer is at least somewhat likely to buy a replacement from them. In these cases of planned obsolescence, there is an information asymmetry between the producer – who knows how long the product was designed to last – and the consumer, who does not. When a market becomes more competitive, product lifespans tend to increase. For example, when Japanese vehicles with longer lifespans entered the American market in the 1960s and 1970s, American carmakers were forced to respond by building more durable products. The interesting fact is that in the 1980s, Japanese car makers realized the size of the American buying force and began making and sustaining durable, reliable cars that left American automakers behind when consumers realized the new quality of the Japanese automobiles.

[Tolko Temnota]

Yeah this isn't just earbuds. Cell phones, textbooks, certain video games, laptops...planned obsolescence has been a thing for a while now. Companies always want more profit.

Shit like that only happens when a market is cornered.

Planned obsolescence tends to work best when a producer has at least an oligopoly. Before introducing a planned obsolescence, the producer has to know that the consumer is at least somewhat likely to buy a replacement from them. In these cases of planned obsolescence, there is an information asymmetry between the producer – who knows how long the product was designed to last – and the consumer, who does not. When a market becomes more competitive, product lifespans tend to increase. For example, when Japanese vehicles with longer lifespans entered the American market in the 1960s and 1970s, American carmakers were forced to respond by building more durable products. The interesting fact is that in the 1980s, Japanese car makers realized the size of the American buying force and began making and sustaining durable, reliable cars that left American automakers behind when consumers realized the new quality of the Japanese automobiles.

Well, yeah. It would obviously eventually only be harmful to the company making the faulty products if they have sufficient competition, unless they can somehow keep convincing people to buy their crap.

[Obexer]

Does anyone else think there is a global conspiracy on keeping a defective yet on demand item on the market so we spend more money on said product every few weeks/months?

This is oddly convincing. One always gets quieter than the other and I think I've either got an uneven amount of earwax or I'm going insane.

[Daburuetchi]

Clearly a Mossad/CIA scheme

[Gauthier]

Clearly a Mossad/CIA scheme

I'll believe that when Palestinians start dying from earbuds.

[Katganistan]

I can't wear them anyhow. Maybe I am sensitive to silicone, but earplugs, earbuds made from the stuff make my ear canals swell, hurt, and eject the buds. Therefore I've never used a set until they broke.