Well said.  amen

... because people are spending money like crazy.

My unemployment from the state is $390.00 a week Add in the $600 a week the feds are throwing in, and it adds up to $990.00 before taxes. That was a decent weeks take home check when I was working. Not buying anything extravagant, just paying bills, and stockpiling cash.

New car sales have also just had their worst month since records have been kept in the US.

And even if you have money and income many people are wisely holding on to it.

Good news is that car companies are cutting prices and the big three all have 0% financing and we are getting news from even companies like SQ about incentives to get people to buy now.

But back to the original question about higher appliance prices, basically lower and midlevel appliances have been selling for bargain prices for many years, and low appliance  prices never really recovered from the 2008 recession.

With washers and dryers a tariff was added to FL imported washers which allowed everybody to raise prices on dryers as well, but consumers also need to get used to the idea that a good washer is going to cost you $1000 the days of a good machine costing you $500 are over.

Today I did a call for a property owner where a year and a half ago I condemned a 9 year old Chinese built GE FL Washer in a rental property of his, he asked what to buy and because it was a group house near Georgetown University I suggested either a SQ FL or TL washer. He said he would not spend $900 on a SQ TL so it got the Amana $500 special and today he spent $250 replacing a lid lock on it,

It usually pays to buy quality, that Amana will be lucky to last 5 years with 5 students living there.

John L.

Car sales around the globe have been in a downward spiral since about 2016.  

The markets, even China, are over saturated.  That's why there are vast acreages in many countries now like old abandoned air ports filling up with brand new cars that haven't sold. 

These factories closing down here have been a god send to the failing companies like gm and ford. 

The virus things is certainly going to make things even worse for these out-dated fossil fueled clunkers.  

With electric cars soon to take all of the market, the last thing anyone should do is buy a new petroleum vehicle.  That is a big mistake.  That's literally throwing money in the toilet.  I'm so glad I will never have to buy another petroleum based vehicle.