I suspect Weber, like many companies, has a cheaper line that they sell at big box stores in addition to their more expensive, higher quality models. Because the Weber grill I got at Target for probably like $79.99 has not held up like the one my parents had did. Namely, that hook that you can use to hang the lid from the side of the grill broke off. And one of the wheels keeps coming off because the cap that’s supposed to hold it in place keeps coming off. And the legs just feel kind of flimsy and wobbly. I mean, it’s still good enough to keep grilling stuff on, but I’m starting to think it would be nice to have something better.
L.L. Bean. Though they had to drastically restrict their former unlimited return policy due to abuse.
Do Hostess Twinkies count? 
20-30 years ago my brother said he’d read that Maytag washers lasted longer because they didn’t get clothes as clean. Not sure where he heard it.
We have an LG front loader that we aren’t impressed with. I think now that so many are “High Efficiency” that’s probably common. We use Oxi-Clean all the time in the wash now.
VW Beetles:
Similarly, the firm that built Stonehenge.
I love my L. L. Bean “Grandma Pants.” Not cheap, but they wear like iron.
Fisher-Price makes some pretty solid toys too.
But I have read reports by outside testing agencies and Energizers generally come out on top of these tests. So it appears they deserve their reputation.
Levi’s? I always preferred other brands for jeans but I had a really good coat by them. AFAICT they’re still putting out the quality.
News to me that Weber makes cheap grills. Are you sure it was really a Weber and not some cheap knock-off? The one that I bought nearly 18 years ago was closer to $900, and it was a fairly low-end gas grill. And it’s still working fine today with the original burners, which are stainless steel, and except for being pretty dirty are about as good as new.
Maybe it was a Webber, like getting a good deal on a “Rollex” watch.
I read something long ago about different models of electronics being sold at Wally World. I think the HP printer was a 1400, but the one at Wally was a model 1410. The folks at Wally pressured HP into deleting a few features to bring the price down. Then they could guarantee you wouldn’t find a better price because nobody else sells a 1410. The same approach applied to other electronics like TVs, VCRs, etc. Maybe Weber uses thinner metal for their Wally versions?
I don’t deny that such things happen quite a bit. But I’ve never seen a cheap, low quality Weber grill, though I haven’t looked at them closely for years now. The ones I happened to look at in passing at Home Depot recently looked pretty sturdy and they weren’t cheap.
The original model Swingline Tot 50 mini-stapler. I still have, and still routinely use, the same one I had as a young tadpole, at least 50 years ago and probably more than 55 years ago!
Article with the history of this product, from which the above image comes:
(Bold added.)
The “Tot” staplers made today are not the same – They are just smaller-than-usual standard staplers that take standard size staples.
I heard several years ago that they were going to discontinue making the miniature staples that the Tot 50 uses, so I quickly bought several boxes of them. I’m sure the supply I have now will last the rest of my life. I haven’t looked to see if you really can’t get them any more.
ETA: Okay, I looked up Tenite, as suggested above, because of course I did. I noticed this remark:
If the Tot 50 is in fact made from Tenite, then the above remark is certainly not true. As both the author of the American Stationer essay and I have noted, our staplers are still in excellent working condition even after 50+ years of operation.
Pyrex baking bowls and other such glassware will last forever, as long as you don’t drop them or otherwise break them.
Mine is from the 19th century, and still works.
My husband still has and still uses his HP calculator from his undergraduate physics days. He’s retired now.
This is a good opportunity for me to note the difference between PYREX™ and Pyrex™. PYREX used to be made from borosilicate glass due to its very low thermal expansion, but after it was bought out in 1998 the new owner switched to a tempered form of ordinary soda-lime glass (at least, in North America, AIUI). I do have a couple of the newer baking dishes and have not yet experienced a problem with them, but I have heard horror stories of exploding lasagna dishes and the like. The claim is that soda-lime glass is more resistant to shattering from impact, which may be true, but the purpose of Pyrex is resistance to thermal shock!
Estwing hammers - or more specifically, Estwing geological hammers (geopicks). I have met many a grizzled geologist where their geopick was the one they got as a first year.
I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a non-Estwing geopick. I’m sure they exist, just never met a geologist that had one.
I’ve always hear good things about KitchenAid stand mixers lasting forever, at least until recently.
Ask him what model of calculator it is. I bought a vector mechanics textbook at a used bookstore a while ago and have been working through the problems. I’ve been using my HP 15c that I got in the '80s. Still works, and I don’t even remember ever changing the batteries.
To be fair, I did download an app for my phone that can do cross and dot products of vectors.
My dad bought an HP in the 70’s in the $300-500 range. He loved it and I’m sure I would have too if I had ever bothered to learn RPN.