Buy it for Life

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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.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

A place to post anything that's vintage, old, or out of production, but still kicking with plenty of life to give!

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We're looking for tower fan models/brands specifically, but you can use this post to talk about whatever :)

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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I was looking at my little speaker the other day and thinking to myself about how well it has done. My husband bought it for me about 10 years ago when we were just dating and had moved halfway across the world together with little money. It seemed like a big splurge at the time and we were using it to watch tv shows on our laptop without relying on the tinny laptop speakers (we didn’t have a tv). Fast forward to now and that speaker has traveled all over the place, been to the beach, been camping, been on sailing trips etc. and it still holds a charge really well and has pretty decent audio quality for its size. It even still looks good. I think ten years is pretty good for a little Bluetooth speaker, personally (maybe that's a normal amount of time?). Hopefully I can get many more years out of it. Anyway it feels strange to bring up older items and recommend them as BIFL because you never know if manufacturers have kept up their quality over the years. If these speakers are still being made with the same quality i definitely recommend them.

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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Hello, would anyone have experience with this brand?

In particular the nonstick performance as well as scratch resistance?

Any alternative recommendations?

Thank you. They're not cheap but if they are indeed durable they could be worth it. We cook nearly every day at home

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My big stack of cartridge razor blades has just run out and I'd like to replace it with something less wastefull, and from what I hear a safety razor gives a better shave too.

From what I can see there's no big difference beyond personal preferance on ergonomics, but are there any brands to avoid? Any well regarded? Can I just get anything? Anything I might not have thought about?

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I'm looking to change my reading and buying habits away from Amazon and need an alternate source for my ebooks. Where can I buy ebooks that won't expire or have their licence revoked and will allow me to download a copy of that ebook I can store on my own system regardless of the websites status?

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I bought a Thule Crossover eight years ago and the zip on it has finally gone. Short of getting a local seamstress to fit a new zip, I think it's time for a new one, and am a bit tempted by the Thule Crossover 2 30l. Are Thule still good? Is there anything else of the same sort of size that I should be considering?

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submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

I just bought this carry-on, the 22" Essential expandable, from Briggs and Riley based solely on their lifetime warranty and the feature-set I was looking for in a bag.

I've suffered too many times with loose or damaged castors, wonky expandable handles, straps that break when cinched, and ZIPPERS - like, the one part of the entire bag that really, really needs to work!

I will be using it for the first time next month so I'll be able to offer my opinion on the bag then.

Anyone else already have one and care to share their experiences?

ETA: I forgot about their sustainability efforts: check out https://www.briggs-riley.com/pages/our-sustainability-efforts.

Again, not offering an opinion on use of the bag just yet, just passing along their information.

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I have a Mastermouse MM530 by Cooler Master at the moment, bought on the basis of its "sturdy" build, but the mouse wheel has been playing up for a while now, occasionally scrolling down when I'm in fact scrolling up.

I'm not even looking for a gaming mouse, just a decent mouse with a clickable scroll wheel. More buttons is nice, but not needed. Any tips?

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So, hi! Hello!

I've been looking for a spring coat/jacket and I came across this on Amazon. I love the colour, and I love the look. Very utility, kind of military with the epaulets.

But I've seen it under half a dozen different brand names with the same picture, and on Wal-Mart, and many other fast-fashion shops, so I assume it's going to end up being made of crafting felt or something.

My first thought was figuring out how to dye an army surplus jacket, but I doubt I'd get the colour I want. I've tried looking elsewhere, but I'm not even sure exactly what I'm looking for, here, but whatever it is I'd love for it to fit well, and to be made of a strong material that will last.

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cross-posted from: https://lemdro.id/post/7868819

Willing to consider alternate styles such as parkas, as long as it includes a head covering

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Any recommendations for bike lights? They all seem to come with non-replaceable internal rechargable batteries these days 😢

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EDIT: The consensus on the proposed rule change seems to be to remove the rule, and to re-investigate it if it ever becomes an issue. Let's see how it goes!


Heyo everyone, hope you're doing well!

For the past week or so, I've been thinking about tweaking the rules slightly. Specifically, the requirement that a suggestion/recommendation must still be in production.

In previous community chats, a consistent complaint about the reddit BIFL was that it was inundated with random vintage items, some of which could be hard to track down.

However, there have been a couple times that I've held back recommending an item because its no longer in production, even though it's fairly commonly available second hand. In addition, buying used is very much in-line with Solarpunk ideals, as it reduces waste, carbon emissions from increased production, and if purchased locally or from an individual, helps keep money out of the hands of corporations.

With that in mind, I think it may be wise to remove that rule, but wanted to get the community's opinion first. Yay, Nay, or do you have a different idea?


As for the secret project...

Thanks to @[email protected]'s efforts, BIFL now has access to its very own wiki page! (The wiki itself will receive an official announcement at the start of next month with more details, so keep it on the down low 🤫).

Today I've been puttering around with it, and put up an experimental wiki-page for the BIFL Community.

So far, my plan with it is to slowly add in all the various things that the community recommends, taken from posts and comments, along with price information and any little tidbits the commenter mentions about the item (You can see how I'm formatting that in the Rain Gear catagory). But I'm open to any other suggestions you may have on how else we can utilize this new wiki! :D

Lastly, if you have any other general recommendations, ideas, or thoughts for the community, don't hesitate to throw 'em down in the comments!

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submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Am also looking for sneakers to get for the following seasons:

  • grey ones for summer
  • black ones for spring/autumn

But I'm virtually clueless when it comes to fashion + they should be available in the EU

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I'm currently looking for new (or 2nd hand) boots to get and was wondering whether anyone here had experience with Solovair in particular or could recommend other ones available in the EU.

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I have been walking to the nearest grocery, and have just had my foldable shopping cart break. The large plastic wheels shattered, and made for a very unpleasant time dragging the thing back home. I'm curious if anyone has suggestions for a good cart, or even one that's relatively easy to repair. Foldable is not important. Not getting stuck on every crack in the sidewalk would be a plus.

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There are now two BifL communities in the free decentralized world:

Perhaps each wants to mention the other in the sidebar?

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I've got a backpack that's falling apart after less than a year and was looking for a much better one that will hold up well. Specifically, the use case is dragging food home from grocery stores or dragging cards in plastic boxes/board games around at best...

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So I don't live in a hurricane area, but average storms got the best of my two umbrellas that I thought would withstand the wind. One samsonite, one Taiwanese brand (rainbow) that had advertised it as storm resistant. It is true that both would "pop out" in case of strong winds, which is to prevent the immediate break.

Still, facing the wind (a sudden burst as I was walking past a tall building) has bent the ribs irremediably.

Any suggestions based on actual experience?

Thank you

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Pants (lemmy.world)
submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 
 

Im looking for some pants. My wife has been repairing mine for a couple years now, but some of them are coming apart at the seams. I got mine really cheap. Im willing to spend if it means they are repairable and made better. Any suggestions?

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