Promotional allowance:

Funds given by a manufacturer to a middleman or retailer for promoting its product. For example, a household products company gives a grocery chain a promotional allowance for placing their new detergent in a special display at the end of the aisle. Also called push money.

Planned obsolence

I ran across this example recently. I had a 20 year old vacuum which died. Went to the store for a new one since there were no parts available to fix the old one. Asked how long I could expect the new one to last and was told "about 3-5 years". When I asked how this could be because I just had one from the same manufacturer that lasted for 20 years, the gentleman said "planned obsolescence" which means that the manufacturer planned on the vacuum to die after a few years so that I would have to buy another. Good for their checkbook, bad for mine.

Placing sweeping tail fins on an automobile was an example of planned obsolescence.

DaveTheC wrote:Printers are evil Cartridges are bad, but manufacturers are worse. I have two old HP laser printers that are no longer supported by HP on new operation systems e.g. Win7. Fine, don't support them. But at least release the driver code as open source to allow the open source community to build their own drivers. I bet that they would be higher quality than the commercial drivers. Tossing a 30 pound printer because the mfg wants you to buy a new one is arrogant and wasteful. And I thought the new micro-USB connector on new cell phones were standardized to allow any charge cord to charge any phone. Why can't I plug the cord for my phone into a friend's? Some standard... Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 02:13:43 PM (21) copperman wrote:to sillama Your brothers truck was made from superior American steel, using fresh ore to produce steel. Japan has no iron ore deposits, all Japanese steel is made from recycled steel. Steel looses a lot of its original properties when recycled. It doesn't mean it's all bad, but certainly makes difference if its used for a car or a piece of re-bar. Friday, July 30, 2010 at 09:52:13 AM (20) indeepknit wrote:concerning lightbulbs Don't use CFL lightbulbs with a dimmer switch unless the CFL bulb is specifically designed for dimming. I've literally seen them explode. I refuse to use them due to this phenomenon combined with mercury content. Wednesday, June 02, 2010 at 10:34:30 PM (19) FisicalTexan wrote:Shoddy Products I remember when Water Pik Brand shower heads were of great quality, they would last years. Now that they are made in China you are doing good if they last a few months. Say what you want but back in the day when said and like products were made in the U.S.A. these products

lasted because Americans were proud of their workmanship. I know the Chinese work cheap (not their fault as their government sets their wages) but they either don't take pride in their work or they have to meet such strict quotas, they don't have time to produce a quality product. In short, I blame the our own American Corporations for the problem (because it's all about profits). I would rather pay a little more and get a good quality American made product that will last rather than getting this junk we are finding on our store shelves now. Trying to find products that are still made in America is getting to be almost impossible and that really saddens me. Wednesday, June 02, 2010 at 04:18:41 PM (18) bungo1 wrote:Is it ignorance or a lie Either way, it's not acceptable: "With a few exceptions, most video game systems have been designed to prevent backwards compatibility." I call BS on that. There are a total of 3 major systems. The Wii plays most GameCube discs. The PlayStation3 plays most PS2 discs (or did until it became clear that most people didn't want old games)....before that, the PS2 played most original PlayStation discs. The Xbox360 played most Xbox discs. Backward compatibility was built into these machines from the get go. Bitching about how things worked in the 90s is like complaining that heat is bad because in the 1700s staying warm meant you were polluting the air. It's not true. For that matter, software is not designed to fail early...most big things still work fine as time passes, even on new OS's. I am running 14 year old Microsoft office software on my computer now. We can make the world a better place by keeping credibility and telling the truth. Not by coming at an article like this half-assed. If all your stuff is this poorly researched, why would I take any of it seriously? Monday, May 31, 2010 at 07:18:23 PM (17) nonienona2002 wrote:Car maintenance If you want to buy a new vehicle for $20,000 to 30,000, forget maintenance like transmission flushes, oil changes, radiator flushes. They are recommended so you get the max mileage out of your car. As a lube & repair shop owner we have seen what many of you do to your vehicles. Not a pretty site. I especially feel bad for people who don't change oil, never check any fluids and then don't have the money to pay for the repairs. We won't even talk about how many of you treat the insides! My husband takes care of the mechanical side and I do the interiors. As someone else mentioned cars are not built to break down. They are very complicated and the biggest problem with them today are the electronics that run everything. That is why they seem to be breaking down more. Going longer between oil changes? OK as long as you check the fluid levels, how many of you do that or even know how to? Do you crawl under your vehicle regularly to inspect it for problems. No? Your lube shop does (If they don't, find another one). Our customers come to us before they go on trips because they don't want to get stuck somewhere and be at the mercy of a scam repair shop. Maintenance pays just like the upkeep you do on your home. Take care of the small stuff and your vehicle will last a long time. We once had a customer drive back from Alaska(2000 miles) because he needed an oil change and didn't trust anyone but us to do it--I don't recommend that but that is loyalty! Find a good shop, take care of your vehicle and follow their advice. Remember $20,000-$30,000 is big bucks!! Fill your own inkjet cartridges like I do, make compost, join freecycle but don't skimp on your vehicle. Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 12:30:33 PM

jagstang wrote:

the real issue here The real issue here is not what company does what or needing a new consumer advocate. The real issue here is money. Yep, everyone loves money. I'm sure you all believe in the virtues of the "free-market system", But its a load of bunk. This system that you all put your faith in is what leads to poorly built products in the first place. Competition between companies will ALWAYS lead to a shoddier product. They have to keep costs down to compete, so they skimp on materials and workmanship to keep their cost down to competitors' levels. Not only that, but monopolies and cartels are the natural progression of the system. Say, I open a hardware store in a small town where there are already 2 others. I use my smarts to bring down my costs to the consumer and thus do very well. One of the other 2 stores shuts down because there is not enough business in this small town and they could not compete. So, I work a little more magic to increase my profits even more and I decide that I want to buy out the other hardware store. If they say yes, then I have the only hardware store in the region and thus, a regional monopoly. If they say no, I work a different direction and convince them to partner with me for both of our benefit. Viola, a cartel is born. Ever notice why you can only get electric, cable, phone, and internet from a very small number of providers all offering the exact same thing? Its not rocket science

http://dtemaharashtra.gov/scholarship.in

Predatory Competitionby Ron Kurtus (1 June 2007)

A predatory competition is one where a stronger person, company or even country will attack a weaker one in order to gain the spoils of victory. The victim may try to flee and sometimes will go on the defense. On some occasions, the predator may over-estimate the ease of victory, and the victim may counterattack, turning the competition into a head-on-head battle.

Questions you may have include:

How can a predator gain the spoils of victory? How does the victim respond? When does the predatory competition turn into head-on-

head?

Gaining the spoils of victory

The purpose of a predatory attack is to gain the spoils of victory. Examples can be seen where a bully will pick on a weaker person or where a large company will run others out of business.

Individuals

The schoolyard bully will beat up a smaller child, not so much to take his lunch money, but rather to simply feel tough and feared.

Birds will be competing for a share of some sunflower seeds at the bird feeder when a larger bird such as a crow with swoop down and chase them all away. The crow will then help himself to the spoils of victory.

Companies

Large companies will force smaller companies out of business, if they see them as potential competition. For example, John D. Rockefeller used his Standard Oil Company to force smaller oil companies out of business through bullying tactics.

Response to attack

When a predator attacks, it is often unprovoked or at least unexpected. The victim of the attack can try to flee or perhaps defend himself.

Run away

One response is to try to run away. When the fox attacks a rabbit, the rabbit will run for its life. A group of terrorists may attack an unsuspecting village, causing the people in the village to flee and leave their belongings behind.

Defend self

In many cases, the victim of the predatory attack will try to defend himself. A company may resist a hostile take-over in the competition for ownership of the company. A boy who is attacked by a bully may cover his face to protect against blows instead of being deemed a coward by running away.

Counter-attack

Sometimes the predator will be surprised when the competition not only defends itself but turns around and counter-attacks. This will turn the one-sided predatory competition into a head-on-head competition, where the predatory may even suffer a loss.

War

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, they made a predatory attack on the United States—a competitor that was larger and potentially stronger than them. Their ability to bring other countries to their knees in predatory competitions made them overconfident. The United States counterattacked and ultimately defeated Japan in the World War II battle of the Pacific.

Bully loses

Another example is when the schoolyard bully attacks a boy, who then goes home and gets his older brother to help him. The brother then beats up the bully and tells him never to pick on his kid brother again.

Summary

In a predatory competition, a stronger person, company or even country will attack a weaker one to gain the spoils of victory. The victim may try to flee and sometimes will go on the defense. On some occasions, the predator may over-estimate the ease of victory and may even be defeated.

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1. Why would a company bother to destroy smaller competitors?

They seldom bother because it is too much trouble

They want a monopoly in the marketplace

To help make the smaller ones more efficient

3. What might happen when a lion attacks a small baby elephant?

Lions don't attack elephants because the meat is too tough

The mother elephant may come and attack the lion

The baby elephant will turn on the lion and kill it with its tusks