Washing machine prices have been going down since at least 1977, which is as far back as I can find data while I’m on mobile. From the US bureau of labor statistics you can see that laundry equipment priced at $500 in 1977 is now priced at $768. And, due to inflation, $500 in 1977 has the same buying power as $2647 today. In other words, washing machines have gone down in price about 70% in the last 50 years.
The real value of washing machine prices has gone down as the value of the dollar has gone down. That’s not the same thing as the ticket price going up.
You’re talking about different things in the economy going up at different rates or stagnating. That’s a $268 increase over a period of time in which the value of the $268 that the price went up has plummeted. So, yes, a washing machine costs less in buying power than it did 50 years ago, but it doesn’t actually cost less numerically, in terms of dollar amount.
There certainly are some products that are more responsive to the economy in the short-term, such as fuel, but there’s a pretty big difference between a price holding steady while the economy changes around it to devalue that price and goods that actually respond to market conditions by decreasing the numerical dollar amount charged for them.
As far as washing machines specifically, I see washing machines from Best Buy and Walmart marked somewhere between $600 and $2000, and I would frankly be quite surprised if the average $700 washing machine is anywhere near as durable as a $500 washing machine from the 70s. Most products today, in general, are made to be cheap and disposable rather than to be well constructed for long-term use.
I have a few things from my grandparents’ house when they passed that have been around since at least the 70s and are in extremely good condition that I feel pretty confident saying a modern equivalent of wouldn’t last nearly as long. Like, I have one of my grandfather’s hammers that’s older than I am with a sturdy wooden handle and a solid head that will probably still be perfectly useful when it’s twice as old as it is now. I’ve got a couple of his lock boxes as well that are in absolutely amazing condition. If I bought a hammer today from Walmart, chances are it’s going to come with a rubberized plastic grip that’s going to start wearing down in the next 10 or 20 years. Appliances made in the 70s were also designed to be repaired rather than replaced, whereas today there are only a handful of places that are even willing to do repairs. I had an AC that needed cleaning some routine maintenance and I literally ended up just buying a new one because there was nowhere that was willing to do that work anymore.
A $500 washing machine from the 70s may well still be in operation today. A $700 washing machine today? Good luck getting it to last 20 years let alone 50.
Washing machine prices have been going down since at least 1977, which is as far back as I can find data while I’m on mobile. From the US bureau of labor statistics you can see that laundry equipment priced at $500 in 1977 is now priced at $768. And, due to inflation, $500 in 1977 has the same buying power as $2647 today. In other words, washing machines have gone down in price about 70% in the last 50 years.
The real value of washing machine prices has gone down as the value of the dollar has gone down. That’s not the same thing as the ticket price going up.
You’re talking about different things in the economy going up at different rates or stagnating. That’s a $268 increase over a period of time in which the value of the $268 that the price went up has plummeted. So, yes, a washing machine costs less in buying power than it did 50 years ago, but it doesn’t actually cost less numerically, in terms of dollar amount.
There certainly are some products that are more responsive to the economy in the short-term, such as fuel, but there’s a pretty big difference between a price holding steady while the economy changes around it to devalue that price and goods that actually respond to market conditions by decreasing the numerical dollar amount charged for them.
As far as washing machines specifically, I see washing machines from Best Buy and Walmart marked somewhere between $600 and $2000, and I would frankly be quite surprised if the average $700 washing machine is anywhere near as durable as a $500 washing machine from the 70s. Most products today, in general, are made to be cheap and disposable rather than to be well constructed for long-term use.
I have a few things from my grandparents’ house when they passed that have been around since at least the 70s and are in extremely good condition that I feel pretty confident saying a modern equivalent of wouldn’t last nearly as long. Like, I have one of my grandfather’s hammers that’s older than I am with a sturdy wooden handle and a solid head that will probably still be perfectly useful when it’s twice as old as it is now. I’ve got a couple of his lock boxes as well that are in absolutely amazing condition. If I bought a hammer today from Walmart, chances are it’s going to come with a rubberized plastic grip that’s going to start wearing down in the next 10 or 20 years. Appliances made in the 70s were also designed to be repaired rather than replaced, whereas today there are only a handful of places that are even willing to do repairs. I had an AC that needed cleaning some routine maintenance and I literally ended up just buying a new one because there was nowhere that was willing to do that work anymore.
A $500 washing machine from the 70s may well still be in operation today. A $700 washing machine today? Good luck getting it to last 20 years let alone 50.