Re: never forget though @Asylum Sam
"Sure, you can steal the market by selling a one-off...but then you starve yourself out of the market because once you sell it, you never hear from the customer again."
There's a couple things going on here... firstly, if you make something that lasts 20 years instead of 2 years, it's 10 times as good, but if you sell it at 10 times the price, consumers will always go for buying the cheaper one that lasts 2 years. One reason is inflation - buying at the 'same price' in 2 years is cheaper in real money than paying it all upfront. The second reason is that humans are wired for short-termism, it takes a conscious choice going against the 'wiring' to go for the more expensive option even if you know for sure it will be cheaper in the long-term. Thirdly, and probably most importantly, is an issue of trust. A consumer does not know NOW that your goods will last 10 times as long as the competition's, and will be unlikely to take your word for it. Even if some consumers DO start taking your word for it and buy your stuff, no doubt your competitors making inferior stuff will flood the airwaves/intertubes with FUD ads and showing how their stuff is as good as yours.
And then there is also the "Sam Vimes theory of economic injustice" to cope with, which is that many consumers will not have the immediate cash in hand to pay 10X or even 5X more for a product that lasts 10 times longer or more, so they are 'forced' to buy the cheaper inferior version, because they need one now and the inferior version is the only one they can afford
Biting the hand that feeds IT
