this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
175 points (98.3% liked)
Buy it for Life
5049 readers
4 users here now
A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!
Guidelines:
Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!
Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.
Videos links are not allowed as post titles, but you may use them in a text post.
A limited amount of self-promotion is accepted, IF the item you are selling aligns with this criteria:
- The item must be made with sustainable or recycled materials.
- If electronic in some way, the item must be open-source.
- The item must be user-serviceable (if applicable).
- You cannot be a large corporation.
- The post must be clearly marked with a [Self Promotion] tag in your title.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
My tiny contribution here is to look things aimed at commercial use, not consumer grade. For example, next time you need to buy a can opener, buy it from a restaurant supply shop instead of Amazon or Walmart.
Same with electronics - instead of a smart TV from Amazon get an industrial TV from B&H or similar (they're the kind used in store displays like the menu at burger king etc)
Bonus is they likely won't have "smart" features or AI
Yoooo, that's the best! Fuck smart tv's sideways
Specifically, if you want just a tv monitor display(IE no smart tv but also sometimes no speakers or even no remote) you’re looking for what is often called a “Professional TV” usually listed under a brands commercial signage section.
For example: https://www.lg.com/us/business/digital-signage/professional-tvs you can also often purchase directly from a manufacturer these days.
Aren't those kind of TV's notorious for not being able to handle movement very well? Like, they can do still images no problem, but have afterimage problems if something is moving across the screen for example.
I'd also be concerned about lag, especially with how many of them will be used on mute exclusively
B&H being B&H photo?
Yes, although there may be better retailers out there. I am just very familiar with B&H from my job.
Gotcha, they are a good company in terms of pricing and staff knowledge. They are bad to their employees and the ownership is pretty racist.
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20170814
Wow. I wonder if any similar retailers like Adorama are any better, I'll have to do some digging. Thanks!
Thank God for markertek and dale pro audio then.
I've heard similar advice around purchasing restauraunt quantity plastic wrap, so that's great advice!
And when doing home repairs don't get contractor grade. It's the worst quality possible. I do extensive amounts of cooking and most of my stuff has been from restaurants supply stores, antique shops or handmade by me.
Your first two sentences were promising, but then the following sentences didn't lead me to where I thought you were taking me, haha
So if "contractor-grade" sucks for home repairs, what grade is actually good?
Unfortunately most items don't have standardized labeling. You can frequently find "contractor grade" or 'builder grade" listed but you won't find much beyond that because no one wants to put 'retail grade" on anything. You have to look at the items. Does it look like metal but it's plastic? Trash.
It's a bit like how you'll see things advertised as being made of "aircraft grade" aluminum.
I'm an aircraft repairman, there is no such thing as "aircraft grade" at least in the United States; the aviation industry does not maintain its own standards for metallurgy, it uses SAE standards, and a lot of different alloys get used in aircraft for various applications. Sheet metal skin and structures is usually 2024-T3, you'll see 6061 or 6065 in castings, hell they make pure aluminum rivets for fastening placards. So most things that say "aircraft grade" on them usually mean they're 6061-T6 or similar. which is legal for use in aircraft construction if its properties are called for in the design. It's just some wank they can legally get away with putting on retail packaging.
For me aircraft grade aluminum is right up there with space age technology. The space age was 50 years ago.
Ugh I always hated that phrase. Like, space age technology is ball point pens, Tang, and those MPET blankets you find in first aid kits. Oh and freeze dried ice cream.
It really really does not mean shit at this point.