In With the New Get your customers to get rid of your products--so they can buy more.

By Kimberly L. McCall • May 1, 2003

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Time was, watches, mops and sofas enjoyed life spans exceedingthat of a new Madonna movie. But then, along came IKEA, Swatch andSwiffer to say hey, it's OK to cast off once-enduringcommodities.

We Americans crave items that allow us to do more, go faster orlook stylish. In a land of plenty, where the garbage collectorshields us from viewing our largesse, companies are quickly hoppingon the planned-obsolescence bus. Mitchell Goozé, author ofThe Secret to Selling More: It's Not Where You've BeenLooking, If It Were, You'd Have Found It Already (IMI),says the trend is driven by our short attention spans. "A'long time' in the U.S. is two years," explainsGoozé.

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