&gt;The problem is that the consumer usually has no way to compare quality easily<p>That used to be true and is an example of information asymmetry in markets - classic example being the used car market [0]. It is much less so now, when was the last time you bought anything substantial without reading a review of it or checking the customer ratings?<p>&gt;If you ask a consumer whether they want a $500 product that lasts 10 years or a $200 product that lasts 2 years, they&#x27;ll happily pay extra for the higher quality product.<p>That&#x27;s not necessarily true - value decisions are more complex than that. Depending on the market, those two price points may be in different segments based on (e.g.) disposable income. Sure, for Alice, who has $500 disposable income available for a particular purchase, this might be a no brainer, but for Bob with only $200, not so much. See also Vimes&#x27; boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness [1], hyperbolic discounting [2]<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_Market_for_Lemons" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_Market_for_Lemons</a><p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.goodreads.com&#x2F;quotes&#x2F;72745-the-reason-that-the-rich-were-so-rich-vimes-reasoned" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.goodreads.com&#x2F;quotes&#x2F;72745-the-reason-that-the-ri...</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Hyperbolic_discounting" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Hyperbolic_discounting</a>