I came to the conclusion that the answer is yes when I was buying my first stroller for my baby son. There were two models side by side that looked very similar in construction but one was $10 more expensive. The only difference I could see was that the patter and colors of the cheaper made it really ugly. We could afford to pay the extra $10 so we bought the nicer one. But for other people the inferior design may have to do because they are looking for the cheapest. This way the manufacturer gets more money from those willing/able to pay a bit more and thus maximize profits for basically the same product.
#1 by esc929 on 11/20/2011 - 2:32 AM
There is also the theory of “planned obsolescence”. When a company builds a product with the plan that it will wear out or become obsolete within a predetermined period of time. This forces the consumer to purchase a replacement product. This happens in all segments of the marketplace, but most noticeably in the video game industry.
#2 by bergice on 11/20/2011 - 2:44 AM
sure there is a good reason-it makes them more money-the best price is not always the best value-bought a name brand mixer one that i have used all my life from walmarts-in an effort to lower cost of product they had made some changes to it that ended up really degrading proformance and i was amazed-really doesnt function properly-i have to say that while they might have good reason for doing so it doesnt always mean it is good for you-old hippie
#3 by hisss on 11/20/2011 - 2:45 AM
off course, sometimes factory make more money producing the cheaper /low quality products (=ofen result in inferior quality). you may not realize there are so many price sensitive consumer out there. I also know that usually the store would mark up the cheaper product much higher (more profit) than the better quality/more expensive item, since quite often the price gap is very wide and store wouldnt want to loose too much opportunity making more money.