It makes me wonder how companies managed to stay in business when there was lack of purchasing power and goods usually cost way more than today compared to the average salaries.
So people wouldn’t buy a lot of new products and generally products lasted longer.
How did companies make money during this period before mass consumption became normal and products started to be sold by the millions?
In: Economics
Companies would sell repair services a lot more. So for example, the cobbler would not just make shoes, but repair them. The tailor would not just make clothes, but repair them. The watchmaker would not just sell watches, but repair them.
Repair services existed throughout the 20th century – when I was a kid, there were many local businesses that not only sold small appliances and computers, but offered repair services as well. Today, many of these devices are not made so that repairs are all that viable, and if the devices are repairable, it often is a lot harder to find someone locally to do it – you may need to send away to a specialist.
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