UNBELIEVABLE: Buy it for life lasting items | History Defined

"Durable, Quality, Practical": this is the tagline that the 'Buy It For Life' subreddit greets its members with. As the person who founded this online community, user Petrarch1603, detailed in their mission statement, the group initially started off as a spin-off of the 'Shut Up And Take My Money' sub.

"I noticed that sometimes there are high-quality useful products there that I'm interested in buying," they explained. "Unfortunately, I also noticed a lot of gimmicks [and] cheaply made products there too. Nevertheless, this is a great reddit and I would like this reddit to be a companion to SUTMM."

However, since BIFL was founded in 2011, it has become more than twice the size of its predecessor. The forum "is intended to fill a niche for only high-quality and durable products," the user added. And a brief scroll through this proves the members certainly deliver.

Previously, one of the moderators who takes care of the sub was kind enough to share what commonly shared products they see on the forum. "The most popular items I see based on what's posted are: Stanley Thermos, Darn Tough Socks, Kitchen Aid mixers, Red Wing boots, and pots and pans, particularly cast iron," they told Bored Panda.

We were also curious to learn what factors allow these items to persevere for as long as they do. "I'm not an expert by any means but I think there are a few factors," they said.

"Most products are built to be as cheap as possible .... and poorly assembled (maybe partly due to planned obsolescence but mostly just due to the fact that people in general like spending less). The products that you see lasting longer are often made of higher-quality material and care when built. But they're also priced accordingly."

Unfortunately, a lot of today’s products are built with planned obsolescence in mind. This phenomenon refers to various strategies that make a product seem undesirable, useless, and unwanted. According to Andrea Soke, co-founder of Durability Matters, there are four types of planned obsolescence that companies use to make a profit: contrived durability (when parts break down intentionally), software updates, perceived obsolescence (when a customer is convinced they need an updated product), and prevention of repair.

"Companies can use all of the above or a combination of all four. The ultimate goal is to make you buy products again and again," Soke wrote. And thankfully, she also provided a few examples of how to watch out for the products that are going to fall victim. "Before you buy a product, think about two things: do you need it? And, is it going to last? Just because you are purchasing an expensive product, it does not mean that you are getting one that is going to last."

"Look for future-proof products that are not going to be affected by software updates, and check if the product is one in a long line of slightly updated ones," Soke added. "There are some great companies and durable products out there; you just need to do a little research to find the honest ones." And BIFL is the perfect outlet for that.

Companies are in business to make money, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But as it turns out, people have an appetite for long-life guarantees. A 2016 study published by The European Economic and Social Committee analyzed whether displaying a product's lifespan would influence a consumer's decision to purchase. In other words, would we choose the same item if we know about its lifetime?

The experiment surveyed nearly 3,000 participants from five European countries by designing a fake shopping website (like Amazon or ASOS), where people were directed to a questionnaire about various socio-economic and psycho-social indicators.

"The results showed that if shoppers had information on product lifespan, they would choose to buy longer-lasting items: on average, a product’s sales increased by 56% if its lifetime was longer than competing products'," the researchers wrote. "Of the products tested, purchases of suitcases (+128%) and printers (+70%) were influenced the most by displaying the lifetime."

Not to mention that buying longer-lasting and more durable products may cost more but will save you a lot of money in the long run. And it’s definitely better for the environment. For example, one study from the University of Arizona found that people who consume less are likely happier than those who engage in other pro-environmental consumer behaviors, like buying "green" and environmentally friendly products.

The study looked at two pro-environmental behaviors: reduced consumption and "green buying". "If you are able to buy environmentally friendly products, you can still live your materialist values," researcher Sabrina Helm said. "You're acquiring new things, and that fits into our mainstream consumption pattern in our consumer culture, whereas reduced consumption is more novel and probably more important from a sustainability perspective."

On the flip side, "Reduced consumption has effects on increased well-being and decreased psychological distress, but we don't see that with green consumption." According to Helm, having less and buying less can actually make us more satisfied.

"If you have a lot of stuff, you have a lot on your mind," she said. "Maybe you have a lot of debt because you bought all that stuff, and now you have to manage all that stuff. It requires maintenance and being organized. It's not like you buy it and you're done with it. There's a lot of burdens of ownership, and if you relieve yourself of that burden of ownership, most people report feeling a lot better and freer," Helm concluded.