You're not wrong: Every product is a little bit worse these days

I need to buy a new toaster.

After nearly 17 years, the handy chrome Cuisinart toaster we received as a wedding present—and have used almost daily ever since—has stopped working. The lever won’t stay depressed and so the bread won’t toast.

I know I should just order a new one, which I could get for just $40 from Williams-Sonoma. But I’m also pretty sure that a new toaster won’t last me another 15+ years. 

“The toaster costs just $40, so of course it won’t last for life,” you might be thinking. And you’re probably right. A bit of googling suggests that when we got the toaster in 2009, whoever gave it to us probably spent around $50. Adjusted for inflation, that’s roughly $77 in today’s dollars. So the new toaster is cheaper than the old toaster. And that gives me pause. 

I don’t think it’s unusual for a consumer to decide to replace a product they’ve used and loved with the exact same make and model. But increasingly—regardless of the price—the new products simply aren’t the same quality as the old ones. And frankly, it sucks. 

Sure, I could arguably afford to buy a new $40 toaster every year for the rest of my life—and of course that’s what businesses want consumers to do in order to juice their profits and increase their shareholder returns. It doesn’t help their bottom line if I only have to buy a toaster once in my lifetime. 

But the sheer amount of waste of purchasing a toaster a year is staggering—both monetarily and the amount of junk that would wind up in the dump. Also, we’re living in the future. I don’t understand why a 2026 toaster can’t be better—or at least the same quality—as the 2009 toaster?

And yet, doesn’t it seem like nearly every single consumer product known to man is worse than it used to be? Earlier this week, Alicia shared a viral TikTok video with me from a man railing against the redesign of International Delight coffee creamer bottles.

“We are all used to things getting shittier and shittier,” the bearded man in his bathrobe rants. “Shrinkflation. AI everything. No one says hi anymore. Products are getting worse. Movies are getting worse. Everything is getting worse little by little.”

Perhaps it seems a little extreme to “crash out” over a plastic creamer container, but also, the rant is so totally relatable that it’s not surprising it went viral. Who among us hasn’t felt beyond frustrated when a product we once loved changes for the worse.

And we’re not imagining it either—though oftentimes corporations would like us to believe it’s all in our heads. This week, Heather Timmons, who reports on consumer rights for The Guardian, published an article with the juicy subhead: “Is it possible to avoid the continuing decline in quality of consumer products brought on by corporate greed?”

Her article starts with an anecdote about Keyana Sapp, who went shopping for backpacks and was frustrated by their shoddy construction. In his research, he discovered that beloved brands like North Face, JanSport, and Kipling are now owned by a single conglomerate, VF Corporation, which acquired a bunch of apparel companies in the mid 2000s and has proceeded to pretty much run them all into the ground. (It also owns Vans and SmartWool.)

The roll-up of these brands isn’t something that’s unique to clothing and accessory retailers. It’s a story that’s played out across nearly every industry. As Sapp told The Guardian, private equity firms and big companies have been routinely buying up “trusted brands and riding that reputation out until it was a husk of what it was.”

I was curious which multinational company owns International Delight. It’s part of Danone North America, which also owns a bunch of yogurt brands, Evian water, Silk beverages, and Aptamil baby formula. International Delight became part of Danone when the conglomerate purchased another conglomerate, WhiteWave Foods, in 2017. My half-hearted googling didn’t uncover who owned International Delight before WhiteWave. Trying to track the many mergers and acquisitions across the food industry since the 1980s is absolutely head-spinning. 

And the truth is that it doesn’t really matter which Fortune 500 company owns which once-beloved legacy brand because the outcome always seems to be pretty much the same: The products we all once loved get shittier and shittier. And there doesn’t seem to be any recourse for consumers, beyond making TikToks in our bathrobes where we’re ranting about coffee creamer bottles. (Or the low-fi alternative: complaining in Facebook groups dedicated to the brand.)

Arguably, Sapp has had a more productive response. He started a website called Worse on Purpose, where he does deep dives into brands in order to help consumers understand why the products they once loved now suck. It includes The Brand Ledger, which tracks brands (345 and growing) and provides details on which conglomerate owns what, and whether the products are still worth buying. On the avoid list: Ray-Ban, Craftsman tools, and Dr. Martens. (I cosign that one. Docs are not made well anymore!)

Cuisinart, who makes my beloved toaster, has an entry in The Brand Ledger. It was purchased by the Conair Corporation in 1989, and the private equity firm American Securities bought a majority stake in Conair in 2021. The Brand Ledger has Cuisinart on its “watchlist”—ostensibly, American Securities hasn’t been an owner of Conair long enough to make it shitty yet.  

Guess I have to spend $40 to find out.

-Lindsey

Enshittification in the news:

• Tech writer Cory Doctrow coined the term “enshittifcation” a few years ago in his analysis that internet platforms (Twitter, Google search, etc.) are getting worse and worse. The term caught fire and has been applied to so many other things in our lives. Is there no end to it??? (There’s a whole Reddit community that’s sprung up around this topic; take a look if you’re miserable and looking for company.)
• Vox’s Izzie Ramirez did a deep dive into this topic after trying to replace her beloved 10-year-old bra with the same style from the same brand. Spoiler: The new one didn’t even last 10 months. (Note: I’ve never had a bra last a decade, but still!)
• “Today, you can buy garbage at every price point,” Isabel Cristo argues in an op-ed in The New York Times, where she shares a crazy anecdote about shoddily made luxury goods from Miu Miu. Katharine K. Zarrella shares a similarly depressing story about her experience buying Marc Jacobs Kiki boots.
• It might feel like no one is looking out for U.S. consumers these days, but there are ways to stand up for yourself. The Guardian’s Heather Timmons wrote a helpful article on how consumers can fight back and file complaints about fraud or unsafe products with federal and state agencies.
• Did you know Consumer Reports—that magazine your parents used to read before they bought a new car or fridge—has an advocacy arm? They’ve done a lot of amazing work over the years, including pushing Fisher-Price to recall its Rock ’n Play Sleeper after it was tied to dozens of infant deaths. If you’re curious about the quality of a product, Consumer Reports’ reviews are a good place to start.
• Another way consumers are getting screwed these days: The move away from physical media, like DVDs, CDs, and video game discs, have turned us all into renters, not owners. Alicia explored the topic in a recent edition of Money Moves. 
• You know what else sucks? Shopping and customer service.

What else we’re reading (and watching and listening to) this week

• What’s your favorite emoji? We definitely employ the crying one (😭) a lot in The Purse Slack. My personal favorite is the grimace (😬), though I also like the eye-roll (🙄). Alicia loves to drop the zany face (🤪) with some regularity. Whatever your emoji of choice, I love this Times article giving teenage girls the credit they deserve for being at the forefront of emoji trends. And now I know I need to start incorporating the petal-dropping rose (🥀) into my repertoire. -Lindsey
• Isn’t it ironic: Bloomberg found that dead people somehow sent in comments of public support for the Trump administration’s plan to allow private equity into your 401(k) plan. -Alicia
• I tore through Cherry Baby (really loved it), and I’m continuing my comfort-reading campaign with Wally Lamb’s latest novel, The River is Waiting. It is so sad, but also, I’ve been reading Lamb’s book since I picked up his debut novel, She’s Come Undone, when I was in high school (at the peak of Oprah’s book club!), and there’s something about his writing that I just love. It’s like putting on a cozy sweater. -Lindsey
• Shoutout to AOC for her recent videos documenting her egg-freezing journey. It can’t be an easy thing to do when so many people are ready to criticize any move you make! -Alicia 
• I recently upgraded to the paid tier of two newsletters I’ve been enjoying: Park Slope Pulse (local recommendations) and What Are We Having (recipes geared toward families), and I’m sitting on five gift subscriptions to each if anyone would like them! You can just reply to this email! First come, first served! -Lindsey
• I’ve had the new Phoebe Bridgers album on repeat this morning. I was lucky enough to attend her “secret” Madison Square Garden show earlier this year where she played a few of the new songs, and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since. -Alicia

On our radar

• ’Tis the season for voting for SXSW panels! I’m hoping to join Realtor.com in Austin again, this time for a conversation on adult children moving back in with their parents. (I think we should reframe this topic! It’s not (always) an issue of failing to launch!!) Would you vote for our panel? Thank you!
• Next up for Yahoo, we’re looking to speak with a few teachers about their own back-to-school spending. If you’re a teacher who would like to be anonymously featured in the next Receipts, reach out to Alicia at alicia@thepurse.co! 

Comment of the week

“I just want to encourage people to find a place or person you like and negotiate! We had two kids in private preschool last year and the director gave us a hefty discount but only after we ASKED. She ended up only charging us the ‘half day’ price for both kids, which was $1,990/month. But they still were able to attend 8-4 p.m. M-F. If we didn’t ask we would have been paying over $3,000. It never hurts to ask. The worst they can say is no 🤷🏻‍♀️”

- Chrissy on “How much 10 families spend on child care across the U.S.”

Tiktok of the week

What else we published on The Purse this week

A helpful guide to using Poshmark! Perfectly timed for back-to-school shopping.

The Purse Guide to Secondhand Shopping

Tips and tricks for using Poshmark to find the best secondhand clothing and accessories.

The PurseAlicia Adamczyk

What should Lindsey know about adopting a dog?

Should I Get a Dog

I never thought of myself as a pet person. But maybe it’s time to change?

The PurseLindsey Stanberry

How does your child care spending compare?

How much 10 families spend on child care across the U.S.

The cost of child care has increased at double the rate of general inflation since 2024.

The PurseAlicia Adamczyk

Don’t miss our first Home Ec from a family in Connecticut.

How a Family of 4 in Connecticut Live on $215k Joint Income

They spend $1,660 for their mortgage, $2,000 for daycare, $600 a month dining out.

The PurseLindsey Stanberry

Best money we spent this week

• I spent a little too much money this week on various outings with friends, so I’ll be trying to reel it in next week. It’s hard to pick a “best,” but I had a great time seeing Oh Mary again…and then staying out too late after with Chris, which I paid for the next day. But it was worth it! -Alicia
• I finally made it to the farmers’ market for the first time this summer, and I let myself indulge in a big haul: tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, lettuce, thyme, and zucchini. I had $40 in my wallet, and that’s exactly what I spent. -Lindsey