SvennoJ said:
TheShape31 said:
SvennoJ said:
TheShape31 said:
In terms of good and bad, buying a new console is supporting the worst of sweatshops in Foxconn. I haven't purchased new hardware in 6 years, and will not be for the indefinite future. Plus used stuff is cheaper.
For everyone else, there's no real good or bad when it comes to price or software selection at launch. That all comes down to preference, budget, and patience. Do what makes you happy. |
That's pretty hypocritical if you mean you rather buy the sweatshop consoles used. You're still supporting sweatshops, and by buying used you're denying the workers their already low pay and in a way support even lower wages.
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Incorrect. Purchasing new increases demand for sweatshops and beyond poor working conditions. People will work underage, and shifts lasting days because there is no real regulation taking place. It's happened before and it will continue to happen.
The workers don't make money off of what is being sold, so no money gets taken out of their pockets. If companies stopped using sweatshops, then better avenues would open up for work in other places. Demand goes down, alternatives appear.
Explain to me how purchasing an old console from someone second-hand creates demand. Take your time.
There is nothing hypocritical coming from me, only respect and compassion.
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It doesn't create demand, which is a signal to companies that prices for new products are still to high. Thus they will search for cheaper alternatives as they have always done to make the gap between new and used prices or repairs smaller.
I'm all for alternatives to sweatshop. I don't mind paying a bit more for stuff made under fair conditions. However in our capitalist world that option isn't even there for mass produced goods. Buying used is not going to change anything. And actually yes, buying used does create demand in a sense. As the person you buy it from is more willing to buy new knowing he can sell it later.
I do wonder though, how much does the price go up when build in a non sweatshop environment.
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Buying used creates demand for others to create demand? I'm not buying it (pun intended). If a person already owns an old PS3, but wants to upgrade, that decision has nothing to do with whether or not someone will buy the old hardware from them. Those that are going to upgrade are going to upgrade regardless. And the leftover old console simply gets passed along in the process, second-hand.
As far as prices going up in a non-sweatshop environment... companies like Apple will spin a bunch of bullshit saying that the prices will go up by "x" hundred dollars. But the fact of the matter is that if the people at the top of the company made the decision to only make a million a year, as opposed to hundreds of millions a year, then there would be no price hike for consumers. That sickening amount of excess wealth would get passed onto you and I, and more importantly the workers that put those electronics together. It's all about greed. A sweatshop-free world is completely possible, and the world would be a better place for it.
