> If enough DIYers want this, wouldn’t they vote with their dollars and not buy unrepairable products?
That's not how the market works.
People mostly buy products on perceived value: price vs performance. Traits that only come into play when something goes wrong -- repairability, warranty, customer service, etc. -- are minor factors in the average consumer purchasing decision because people don't expect things to go wrong. If a given piece of, say, electronics only breaks in a reasonable timeframe 5% of the time, most people aren't going to factor in how easy to fix it is when they decide whether to buy it.
The reality is that most people only factor in a few more obvious variables in their purchasing decision. It's hard to get consumer momentum for less prominent aspects of a product to get manufacturers to change their behavior.
It's the same reason we have basic labor regulations or building/health codes, rather than relying on the market for everything. Consumers are good at applying pressure on companies for some things, sure, but not everything.
That's not how the market works.
People mostly buy products on perceived value: price vs performance. Traits that only come into play when something goes wrong -- repairability, warranty, customer service, etc. -- are minor factors in the average consumer purchasing decision because people don't expect things to go wrong. If a given piece of, say, electronics only breaks in a reasonable timeframe 5% of the time, most people aren't going to factor in how easy to fix it is when they decide whether to buy it.
The reality is that most people only factor in a few more obvious variables in their purchasing decision. It's hard to get consumer momentum for less prominent aspects of a product to get manufacturers to change their behavior.
It's the same reason we have basic labor regulations or building/health codes, rather than relying on the market for everything. Consumers are good at applying pressure on companies for some things, sure, but not everything.