Product de-evolution - why is it?

[Foamy]

Why is it that there are so many classified ads on sites like TB and CL that say something like this....

<wait for it>
This is NOT the newer version. This is the OLD one. The one that is way better and they don't make anymore. It's way better than those new ones!

At this rate, in a few years, we'll have something like this.....

This isn't the newer bass guitar, this is the older, original instrument. It's just a stick and a rock, but it is built waaay better than the crap they build today!

***********************

OK, just getting this off my chest. Unless it's really funny, please don't provide "real examples". I know that some exist.... Hmmmmm, maybe this isn't as interesting as it was when I was thinking it. :-)

[spudmaster34]

I think it is because so many people are unhappy with the current music scene. They would rather have an old instrument like someone they liked, than the newer version that guy from Fall Out Boy uses. Just my thoughts.

[Rugaar]

As costs increase manufacturers may downgrade certain parts in order to keep the final product at their target price.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Why is it that there are so many classified ads on sites like TB and CL that say something like this....

<wait for it>
This is NOT the newer version. This is the OLD one. The one that is way better and they don't make anymore. It's way better than those new ones!

At this rate, in a few years, we'll have something like this.....

This isn't the newer bass guitar, this is the older, original instrument. It's just a stick and a rock, but it is built waaay better than the crap they build today!

***********************

OK, just getting this off my chest. Unless it's really funny, please don't provide "real examples". I know that some exist.... Hmmmmm, maybe this isn't as interesting as it was when I was thinking it. :-)

Perhaps because their price is close to that of the new ones and they want you to be assured that they are selling something worth the asking price. Personally, I always find ads like that suspect. The gear should sell itself. Background info is great, but if you go overboard on the OMG!!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!!, it's a good bet your "great deal" ain't so great. I won't name names, but I've seen it here in the past (I haven't checked recently).

Mike

[grovest]

Why is it? Maybe for some, it is to make the product more appealing by conjuring a feeling of nostalgia and "vintage". This would be necessary because most buyers of most products would prefer the latest incarnations, all things being equal.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by grovest

This would be necessary because most buyers of most products would prefer the latest incarnations, all things being equal.

I think that really depends on the product being sold and the individual involved. I'll use me as an example. I like SWR Engineering products. Emphasis on the "Engineering". I have no real-world experience that would lead me to believe that post 1996/7 SWR prioducts are inferior, but I don't even glance at them when perusing the Sale forums.

That stated, that is my preference and no amount of THIS IS PRE-FENDER GOOD STUFF is going to convince me to buy something I wasn't otherwise interested in. In fact, i might pass that ad becasue I hate being "sold" to like a used car salesman.

Mike

[saxofunk]

Customer perspective is a cruel thing, especially to companies that try to develop new products with new features.

People frequently think old products with fewer moving parts, fewer features, and other mystical properties were really better than new products that have decades of R&D behind them. As long as people think that way manufacturers will market "re-issue" products or market new items in a way that hints at old-time goodness.

This isn't true in all fields... I certainly hope a Volvo S40 is safer and better handling than the 142 I once owned (power steering should help), but there's not particularly any reason that a new USA made effect pedal should be all that different from a Soviet-era Russian made product by the same company.

[jwsamuel]

Who is going to list a product they are trying to sell with the description:

"This is the old version and it is nowhere near as good as the model currently being offered. But buy mine anyway so I can raise the money to buy the new version."

Jim

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

Who is going to list a product they are trying to sell with the description:

"This is the old version and it is nowhere near as good as the model currently being offered. But buy mine anyway so I can raise the money to buy the new version."

Jim

Point taken and extremely true. But, with the amount of hype some people use in their ads, I can only assume that they think their potential buyers are morons (that could possibly include you and I, depending on the product).

I kind of operate with the assumption that, with as much information and knowledge as is available on this website, my potential buyer knows how to separate hype from reality. There isn't really a need to "sell" it. Simply state the pertinent facts (USA or Russian made, pre or post buyout, etc) and let the buyer decide. No matter how much "better" the old or new version might be, there will always be someone that wants the other.

Really, anyone can print what they want. somebody here will buy it. My point is that kind of selling is usually a turnoff for me.

Mike

[Johnny Crab]

Originally Posted by Rugaar

As costs increase manufacturers may downgrade certain parts in order to keep the final product at their target price.

BINGO number 1 !!

Real life example(experienced yesterday):
Owned a bass Rockman in the 80's(rackmounted). Always was happy with it and it was quiet plus useful for some sounds.

Got a "new" bass Rockman(Bass Ace) for son to use in high school marching band for a personal monitor(he's wireless). Plugged it in last night. WHAT A PILE OF JUNK. The HISS decibel level in headphones is probably enough to cause hearing damage. I'll try to exchange or return it as this one they sent is a plastic piece of junk. This thing makes daughter's noisy(hissy) Behringer keyboard amp sound studio quality.