Why?
Tariffs!
Most Americans may not realize popular tech hasn’t been hit by China tariffs—yet
many tech companies are worried they may eventually have no choice but to cover increasing costs from tariffs by increasing prices on common products, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, and video game consoles.
A return to the inflation hype of the 70s “buy now and beat the price increase”. Dumbest question I hear from “news” actors, always said to a real estate agent “is now a good time to buy a house?”
Everyone, with anything to sell, will want you to buy “now”.
That being said, recall my story about how the price of a US produced clothes washer jumped $200, when a protectionist tariff was imposed on imported washers, then the price of the US washer fell back, when the tariff expired.
Steve
Speaking of which, I’m in the market for a new washer and have kind of settled on the same one (LG) as our current 10-year-old one. The price at Home Depot is identical to what we paid 10 years ago at Sears.
Apparently not everything goes up in price. I was surprised.
I can’t imagine things change too much with home appliances, but how much more efficient with water and electricity is the new one? Or how many more cycle options, bells and whistles, etc? Same price but more “stuff” so essentially cheaper to a certain extent.
I think some things are built to a price. People will pay $x for something or certain level of something and then something is made for that price point with all the doodads to allow a profit.
I don’t know about the efficiency, but the control panel has exactly the same cycles, bells and whistles - most of which we don’t use on our current one.
I think it can handle 4.5 cu ft rather than 4.0, so there’s some design change.
And to Steve’s ever-present point about quality, who know how long the circuit board or motor will last?
You have an extra layer in there, the overhead costs at Sears vs HD. There is a reason Sears is just about extinct, but there are HDs all over.
My front load, high efficiency, about 4.5cuft Samsung cost under $500, as I remember the grand total, with tax, delivery, and hookup, and removal of the old GE was $507, at Lowe’s, in 2010.
Today, at Lowe’s, a high efficiency 4.5cuft. front load, Samsung is $648, “on sale” from $999, plus delivery, plus hoodups (braided stainless steel hoses required now, vs the old rubber hoses) and removal of the old one.
Prices do go up, but the high overhead stores die.
Steve
I only run two loads per week. I have had one failure in my Samsung, in 14 years. In 2021 the pump motor failed. That is what provoked the trip to Lowe’s to price a new one. yipe Cracked open the old washer, extracted the offending pump motor. Read the part number off the motor. Ordered a replacement off Amazon for $35. Put everything back together, and pumping was restored.
These Samsungs, supposedly, have a tendency for the spider that holds the basket to corrode and break. Maybe so. As the book of instructions says, I always leave the door open, after using the machine, so it can dry out inside.
Steve
I forget now what we paid, for a new LG front load washer & dryer, from Lowes, delivered, set up, old ones carted away, but we’d had headaches with earlier orders from HD, cancelling, etc, so we just don’t go back, Lowes, on the other hand has always done well, so we stick with them, good help, attitude, etc…
New setup was interesting, ties into Wifi LAN here, so we get notifications for whatever is happening, handy… They are, like most things today, computers, show more, do more, keep the manual handy, or dig online for answers…
weco
You don’t keep your credit card receipts, or keep receipts for warranty coverage? When the drain pop-up on the faucet in my main bath broke last spring, I mosied down to the basement, and retrieved the original box it came in. On the box was printed “lifetime warranty”, along with the model number of the faucet. Inside the box was a copy of the receipt. I called Delta, gave the model number and purchase date when prompted, and the replacement parts arrived in a few days, free.
Steve…better keep it, might come in handy
Oh, they are tucked away with all the other manuals n such, my post was rushed, was headed out to pick up dinner, etc…
I used to keep an Inventory spreadsheet on about everything in our home, books, furniture, appliances, hand, power tools, vehicles, costs, value estimates, but gave it up quite a while ago… I think I had too much spare time, or wanted to see what the totals were… Don’t sweat it any more…
Likely keep too much stuff, need to do a deep clean one day, when I retired I dumps a ton of stuff, rilled that recycle bin to overload every week… But saved the good stuff, too… A lot of electronic stuff and WeCo, Apple memorabilia out there, a ;to could go…
https://www.wsj.com/tech/u-s-chip-toolmakers-move-to-cut-china-from-supply-chains-6ad44c98
The U.S. semiconductor industry is uprooting Chinese companies from supply chains, spurred by directives from Washington seeking to suppress China’s involvement in sensitive next-generation technology.
Chip toolmakers are telling suppliers that they need to find alternatives to certain components obtained from China or risk losing their vendor status.
Suppliers have also been told that they can’t have Chinese investors or shareholders, the people said.
Industry executives said such moves were likely to raise costs because it won’t be easy to find non-Chinese alternatives at similar prices.