The nature of e-commerce, which is projected to reach almost US$6,5bn by 2029, means that consumers oftentimes can determine the quality of their purchase only after they receive the order. And the results aren't always great.
So Reddit user Flaky_Show6239 decided to stir up some nostalgia and asked everyone on the platform to list the products and services they believe were better in the past than they are now.
From fast food to clothing, home appliances, and beyond, continue scrolling to check out the entries that have been mentioned the most.
#1
Politicians. It used to be if you sexually assaulted someone or were a felon your political life was pretty much done.
188points
#2
Almost anything that demands a subscription where it could previously have been bought outright.
128points
#3
Refrigerators. Washing machines. Hell, any major appliances. Planned obsolescence is built in, so you’re spending the same amount of money, but getting a shittier, more unreliable product that will only last you 2 or 3 years. Because. Because corporate greed, and because corporate dickheads don’t give a f**k about you or the f*****g planet.
114points
#4
Search engines: sure, they were wonky and unreliable in the wild west internet era (e.g. HotBot, Lycos, Webcrawler), but Google came along and revolutionized everything. Peak search engine reliability was probably in the mid-2010s, and it's been in a steep decline since then. Nowadays when I search for anything on Google, it omits random key words of mine, gives me irrelevant AI-generated answers, shows me Pinterest images, and pulls up irrelevant PDF files from things I distinctly did not search for.
YouTube search is complete garbage too. After searching for a video, it'll show me three results followed by "people also watched" and "finish watching", then a bunch of irrelevant Shorts and Jimmy Kimmel videos for whatever the f**k reason.
YouTube search is complete garbage too. After searching for a video, it'll show me three results followed by "people also watched" and "finish watching", then a bunch of irrelevant Shorts and Jimmy Kimmel videos for whatever the f**k reason.
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98points
#5
Pyrex. The old stuff was borosilicate glass, highly resistant to heat stress and therefore great in the kitchen. The new stuff is tempered soda lime glass, which is stronger if you drop it, but can just shatter unexpectedly under certain heat-related circumstances, such as putting a cold Pyrex dish in the oven or a hot one under tap water, which were things you could usually do with old Pyrex with no problems.
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97points
#6
Jeans. I can feel how thin the denim is and how much faster they’ve rubbed away in the thighs, yet they’ve nearly doubled in price for some designers.
89points
#7
Staplers. We lost our ~20 year old solid metal stapler and all the new replacements were cheap plastic.
I finally went on eBay and bought one identical to the one we lost because I couldn't deal with the plastic one.
If it can't be used as a weapon, it isn't sturdy enough ;)
I finally went on eBay and bought one identical to the one we lost because I couldn't deal with the plastic one.
If it can't be used as a weapon, it isn't sturdy enough ;)
89points
#8
HP Printers - The old grey bricks that you saw 20 years ago in every office that connect via the old parallel printer port were amazing workhorses. Anything from the last 15 years is the epitome of cheap garbage.
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82points
#9
Freaking strawberries they domesticated them to be bigger and stuff but now theyre wayy less sweet. Like they used to be bright red and very sweet. I would do anything for an og strawberry rn
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80points
#10
When those Magic Eraser foam block scrubbers came out, they were amazing. Just wet one and it scrubbed years of carbon build up from my stove top. I'd get months of heavy use out of each one. Maybe a year or two after they were introduced, the quality nosedived. They tear apart and deteriorate after the first use.
76points
#11
Furniture! Used to be solid and worth having for years.
75points
#12
Ads on Youtube...there's more ads to a video than content 🤦🏻♀️
73points
#13
Lifetime warranties were actually for a Lifetime and durability was actually a selling point on most products.
72points
#14
I have a KitchenAid stand mixer that I was gifted in 1999. The thing is an absolute tank and is still going strong 25 years later! I've used newer ones and they just don't last compared to the old models
66points
#15
Hand tools.
I just got a giant tool box full of 70s steel tools made before the mills shut down. They are in perfect shape and will last another 50 years.
I just got a giant tool box full of 70s steel tools made before the mills shut down. They are in perfect shape and will last another 50 years.
66points
#16
Tomatoes. When I was a kid in the Seventies they were sweet, flavorful and delicious. You could just cut one open, sprinkle a little salt on it and chomp into it with content.
Tomatoes these days are hard, flavorless garbage.
Tomatoes these days are hard, flavorless garbage.
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64points
#17
Music
Lifetime software purchases being converted to subscriptions
Lifetime software purchases being converted to subscriptions
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61points
#18
Washing machines. You’ve done well if yours lasts more than 5 years now.
58points
#19
Literally everything on Amazon is made by one of these Chinese 5 capital letter companies that switch names whenever their reviews get too bad. Nothing they make lasts very long if it even does what they day it does.
56points
#20
TV seasons. You used to get 20-24 episode seasons every single year. Now we get 6-10 episode seasons that feel like long movies, sometimes every few years. It's stupid. I want a show I can binge for a long time and so many shows get cancelled before they get past their first short season
56points