The Middle Class of Products

What has become of the middle class of products? You know, the dependable ones that weren't luxury brands or disposable discounts? I have been lamenting with my friends lately how the stuff for sale looks like junk and how that appears to be even more frighteningly true as we approach the Christmas shopping season.There seems to be a chasm developing with high end luxury goods on one cliff and cheaply-made value products on the other.  The idea of getting what you pay for is more about what you expect you are paying for. Is it the name on the label or the utility and durability of the product? As a consumer, what matter most to you is what you'll fork over your hard earned dollars for, and if that is quality you might be disappointed.

A middle class American works hard for a day's pay. And as an employee they are likely being asked to do more work with less benefits or resources. Margins are being cut everyhere in the supply chain, and nowhere more than in manufacturing and industrial design. Mass produced items that just hint at artisan craftsmanship pass as luxury goods these days because people yearn for even the appearance of qualty. No place is this more true than in consumer electronics. A pretty face can carry a cheap imitator into a consumer's home easily these days. And like a wolf in sheep's clothing, it can mask as a shiny new cell phone, digital camera or GPS device that could change your life.

But before long the wolf reveals, through the headset jack jiggling or the speaker crackling or dropped signals or the paint chips off the shiny finish. And then you wonder, is the aggravation to buy cheaper products worth the savings? This is where my friends and I ended our rant tonight - agreeing that sometimes it is worth it to pay for the luxury brand just for the peace of mind that quality brings when you know you can depend on it. Pride of craftsmanship, especially pushing against the prevailing tide of economic downsizing, is getting harder and harder to find. Just like the middle class.

Comments

[Walt Mossberg]

This is a really smart observation, Leslie, and is as good an explanation as I've seen as to why people buy either cheap netbooks -- or costly Apple and Lenovo products. They either are driven by the need to spend as little as possible or the desire for peace of mind and avoidance of hassle. The latter, and not just brilliant marketing, is why Apple is navigating the downturn far better than any other computer/consumer electronics company. Its Apple stores with genius bars, high customer satisfaction, and build quality are part of what makes people willing to pay the higher prices.And they are why simple spec sheet comparisons are the wrong way to buy electronics. But you're so right that the middle is shrinking to almost nothing. The PC industry's latest "middle" category -- so-called thin-and-light notebooks -- too often have rubbery keyboards or lousy touchpads, or a flimsy feel. Lots of cell phones in the middle are hard to navigate.