In 1983 my parents invested in what I still consider to have been the highest-quality microwave I’ve ever used. Strong words, I know, but although I later worked in a field (technology journalism) in which access to fancy microwaves was easily attained, no unit has ever impressed me to the same extent. It had zero exciting features and only one special skill – survival.
It was the Ray Mears of kitchen appliances: calm, unfussy, indestructible. By the time I first used it, the Toshiba was already well beyond the life expectancy of home appliances. It was used almost daily, gamely applying electromagnetic energy to the melted-cheese snacks of my teenage years. It outlasted the DVD, the iPod and seven prime ministers. Around the turn of the millennium, the beeper stopped beeping and began making a soft, iPod-esque click, as if it was keeping up with trends. The branding wore off after a couple of decades, leaving a sleek, uninterrupted design.
Then disaster struck: in 2019 a friend of the family, who is not an engineer, told my mother that “radiation” could leak from an old microwave. (It sort of can, but not in a dangerous way because it’s not ionising radiation.) And so the Toshiba was sent to the tip – dead, like Lord Byron, at 36. The replacement model seems fine, although I’ve never warmed to it.
I thought my sadness at the microwave’s unnecessary demise was because it was part of the furniture of home, but there is another explanation: I, like millions of other people, am a Bifler. A Bifler is someone who values products on their longevity (BIFL stands for “buy it for life”), and there is a large online community dedicated to sharing images and accounts of products that have lasted a long time. These products tell us something about global economics – many of them, like the microwave, are a product of Japan’s postwar investment in manufacturing and technology – but they also tell us something about how we spend our own money.
We live in an economy that aggressively promotes cheapness. But cheapness is often a con. A better way to spend, if you can, is to consider cost over time. Accountants use two principles to do this: amortisation (how much an intangible asset, such as a ten-year permit, costs for each year the company uses it) and depreciation (how much a tangible asset, such as a new computer, changes in value each year).
Let’s apply these principles to my coffee machine, which was bought 12 years ago for £600. This looks pricey, perhaps even extravagant. It certainly seemed so at the time. But the average machine lasts five years; a £250 machine that lasted that long would be amortising at the same cost. It would also have depreciated more, as high-quality products tend to hold their value better. It’s also worth noting that once you buy something, inflation stops applying to it (unless you sell it on). When you have to replace something, prices will have risen, possibly faster than your wages. You can’t shop in the same economy twice, as Heraclitus nearly said.
The environmental consequences of cheapness are also pretty horrifying. The planet cannot support people upgrading their phone every year, or buying clothes they’ll only wear once.
Unfortunately, Bifling is more complicated than just spending a bit more on something. In some cases a Bifl candidate is clear – stainless steel pans, lifetime-guaranteed tools – but there is a lot of overpriced junk out there. When something has had technology glued to it for no apparent reason (do you want an iPad-sized screen on your fridge? Does your tumble dryer need a wi-fi connection?) it is a good sign that it’s overpriced – and it will be impossible to fix yourself. Don’t buy in to the myth that a designer brand automatically equals better quality. Look for technology products that are supported for a long time: if a company still supports computers made ten years ago, this is because a lot of customers still use them, and the company would risk a backlash if it stopped. For other goods, try researching reliability. It’s more work now, but you’re saving yourself from more shopping in the years to come.
[See also: Improve your finances with a New Year cash diet]
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This article appears in the 02 Oct 2024 issue of the New Statesman, The fury of history