My company is working on changing the economic incentives for manufacturers, so that they will make high quality durable goods.
Here's how it works:
1) Each item has a unique serial number, and a database for storing maintenance records about the item.
2) When the item is going to be resold, third parties including the original manufacturer sell warranties on the item to protect the new owner. A manufacturer would inspect, refurb, and re-warranty on each iteration.
3) The new buyer pays more for the item, and the warranties on top of that, because they're getting goods closer to new goods in performance.
4) The manufacturers are profiting every time the goods are resold, possibly as much or more than selling a new one.
We think this model of the circular economy is a lot more likely to succeed than the current model which involves ripping things down to their raw materials then reusing those materials to manufacture new things.
Yeah, sure, buying "physical asset NFTs" from you will suddenly convince major appliance manufacturers to change their ways and part with millions of dollars in profit.
Sorry, the problem you mentioned is 100% valid, but the NFT-based solution you are offering is a pure grift.
If I’m understanding correctly, you’re asking the manufacturers (and/or other warranty writers) to take on liability for unknown damage that may have been accrued over the lifetime of the item. The only way to make this damage known would be to return the item to the factory to be inspected, which would be considerably more expensive than “ripping things down to their raw materials”.
How do you solve this problem in a way that consumers aren’t paying for all these externalities?
EDIT: didn’t even see the crypto connection, that answers that question.
It has been my experience for a very long time that most warranties aren't worth the paper they're printed on. They either take too long to replace the item so that you end up buying a new one, or simply do nothing at all. The warranty service that Amazon tries to add on to every "device" purchase is famous for this.
Here's how it works:
1) Each item has a unique serial number, and a database for storing maintenance records about the item.
2) When the item is going to be resold, third parties including the original manufacturer sell warranties on the item to protect the new owner. A manufacturer would inspect, refurb, and re-warranty on each iteration.
3) The new buyer pays more for the item, and the warranties on top of that, because they're getting goods closer to new goods in performance.
4) The manufacturers are profiting every time the goods are resold, possibly as much or more than selling a new one.
We think this model of the circular economy is a lot more likely to succeed than the current model which involves ripping things down to their raw materials then reusing those materials to manufacture new things.
https://mattereum.com/circular-economy/ <--- more here