this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
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Buy it for Life

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A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!

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Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!

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Hi there, I came here to the BIFL Lemmy out of suspicion that the reddit posts are just unlabelled marketing, and I was wondering the possibility of sourcing goods that are more to a BIFL standard? In my area, second hand goods tend to be really quite poor in quality (reselling fast fashion) or otherwise not present, and I have not inherited anything that does last. So I would apprecite advice or reccomendations for finding goods at a BIFL standard. I was also wondering if maybe there would be anyone with good advice for finding sustainable, local textile production so that I may be able to tailor what I need without having to buy from the poor selection aforementioned, does anyone know of any of this?

TL:DR I am suspicious that a lot of what is claimed as 'BIFL' has been enshittified, and would like advice on being able to search for sustainable goods for a local area (not specified because I'm hoping for advice with searching, not exactly for specific reccs)

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[–] [email protected] 68 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

My tiny contribution here is to look things aimed at commercial use, not consumer grade. For example, next time you need to buy a can opener, buy it from a restaurant supply shop instead of Amazon or Walmart.

[–] FauxPseudo 5 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

And when doing home repairs don't get contractor grade. It's the worst quality possible. I do extensive amounts of cooking and most of my stuff has been from restaurants supply stores, antique shops or handmade by me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Your first two sentences were promising, but then the following sentences didn't lead me to where I thought you were taking me, haha

So if "contractor-grade" sucks for home repairs, what grade is actually good?

[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 hours ago (4 children)

Same with electronics - instead of a smart TV from Amazon get an industrial TV from B&H or similar (they're the kind used in store displays like the menu at burger king etc)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Specifically, if you want just a tv monitor display(IE no smart tv but also sometimes no speakers or even no remote) you’re looking for what is often called a “Professional TV” usually listed under a brands commercial signage section.

For example: https://www.lg.com/us/business/digital-signage/professional-tvs you can also often purchase directly from a manufacturer these days.

[–] I_Has_A_Hat 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Aren't those kind of TV's notorious for not being able to handle movement very well? Like, they can do still images no problem, but have afterimage problems if something is moving across the screen for example.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

I'd also be concerned about lag, especially with how many of them will be used on mute exclusively

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Bonus is they likely won't have "smart" features or AI

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 hours ago

Yoooo, that's the best! Fuck smart tv's sideways

[–] MothmanDelorian 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, although there may be better retailers out there. I am just very familiar with B&H from my job.

[–] MothmanDelorian 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Gotcha, they are a good company in terms of pricing and staff knowledge. They are bad to their employees and the ownership is pretty racist.

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20170814

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Wow. I wonder if any similar retailers like Adorama are any better, I'll have to do some digging. Thanks!

[–] teamevil 1 points 7 hours ago

Thank God for markertek and dale pro audio then.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 13 hours ago

I've heard similar advice around purchasing restauraunt quantity plastic wrap, so that's great advice!