this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
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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!
Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.
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- The item must be made with sustainable or recycled materials.
- If electronic in some way, the item must be open-source.
- The item must be user-serviceable (if applicable).
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- The post must be clearly marked with a [Self Promotion] tag in your title.
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The official term for this is COPS (cost per service) and it helps you greatly in making smart economic decisions. I calculated this for many household products about a decade ago and came to the conclusion that for many products it's barely worth worrying about the cost while for others there's hidden cost that should really warrant closer inspection. For instance dish soap has such low COPS that it almost doesn't matter which brand you buy. Electric gadgets like fridges, washing machines or printers definitely warrant deliberation though because in the long run energy, refill, maintenance and repair costs will approach if not outstrip the initial purchase cost.
And yeah, spending a big chunk on a good bed or chair hurts initially but you will spend literally thousands of hours in them. Something like a greeting card or fireworks on the other hand are cheaper in the moment but only yield limited utility in comparison.
Thank you for the term - I thought it was something like amortised cost but when I looked that up it describes something completely different.