I don't know why people buy junk products. Maybe the price temptation is just too much? Something as essential as a good soldering iron is not something to skimp on.
Mr. David AVD, first, thanks for your suggestions in my other posts. Your comments were helpful.
I am sure we each have our own reasons, here is mine:
(1) Just like when I hired a college new grad, I know the girl in the next cubical is 5 years more experience than this guy, can do more than this guy, and likely will make less mistake then this guy who think he will “save the world”. But I have a job that this guy can do and I know he
sure can use a “first-job”. People have to start somewhere.
(2)
I like to help people put food on the table. If but for people buying “junk,” I probably would not have even grown up.
Before middle school, I worked at one of those “junk” making place. If but for piece-work, I would not have food and that is
no exaggeration. (“Piece work” is so alien these days some may not know what it is: You get from a factory a bunch of unfinished pieces and you do them. You get paid by the piece.) Piece work allowed me to grow up, get a college degree, get a graduate degree, and a productive life. Absent those opportunities, I suppose I could get to know food stamp well, or went into the Pharmaceutical industry at an early age selling $10 bags of "medication" to others.
(3) That is what fits into my budgets comfortably. So it is something I would consider.
(4) Is your car a Sherman tank? You know your car is unsafe in some ways then. Is your car a Lamborghini or a Ferrari? You know your car is not as well designed then. Comparing to a Sherman, every car on the road today is a death trap.
If every car made is a Rolls Royce, a Bentley or a Maybach, most of us will be walking. There won’t even be buses.
I have some understanding of how purchasing decisions are made. Some years ago, I was responsible for procurement for a software development organization with hundreds of developers. Every purchase came through my desk and requires my signature. With a few hundred developers, I read a lot of “justifications.” Then there are the government regulations.
I would also ask you to consider this: If you are spending your own money, would you make the same choice. (absent regulatory constrains)