this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
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Buy it for Life

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229 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:

  1. The item must be made with sustainable or recycled materials.
  2. If electronic in some way, the item must be open-source.
  3. The item must be user-serviceable (if applicable).
  4. You cannot be a large corporation.
  5. The post must be clearly marked with a [Self Promotion] tag in your title.

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Is BIFL Still Possible Today? (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 8 hours ago by rosahaj@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/buyitforlife@slrpnk.net
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Hi there, I came here to the BIFL Lemmy out of suspicion that the reddit posts are just unlabelled marketing, and I was wondering the possibility of sourcing goods that are more to a BIFL standard? In my area, second hand goods tend to be really quite poor in quality (reselling fast fashion) or otherwise not present, and I have not inherited anything that does last. So I would apprecite advice or reccomendations for finding goods at a BIFL standard. I was also wondering if maybe there would be anyone with good advice for finding sustainable, local textile production so that I may be able to tailor what I need without having to buy from the poor selection aforementioned, does anyone know of any of this?

TL:DR I am suspicious that a lot of what is claimed as 'BIFL' has been enshittified, and would like advice on being able to search for sustainable goods for a local area (not specified because I'm hoping for advice with searching, not exactly for specific reccs)

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[–] ptc075@lemmy.zip 42 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

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.

[–] orvorn@slrpnk.net 16 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

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)

[–] raptore39@lemm.ee 8 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Bonus is they likely won't have "smart" features or AI

[–] Boomkop3@reddthat.com 9 points 2 hours ago

Yoooo, that's the best! Fuck smart tv's sideways

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

B&H being B&H photo?

[–] orvorn@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, although there may be better retailers out there. I am just very familiar with B&H from my job.

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

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

[–] orvorn@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 hour ago

Wow. I wonder if any similar retailers like Adorama are any better, I'll have to do some digging. Thanks!

[–] rosahaj@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 5 hours ago

I've heard similar advice around purchasing restauraunt quantity plastic wrap, so that's great advice!