Yes, repair is another significant aspect of the dynamic. One of the things that distinguishes a quality good is the ability to repair it if it does fail, but the economics of repair have very badly misaligned incentives. It can also be very hard for someone to tell if they are being ripped off, especially for complex products like computers. It's a lot easier to tell if a cabinet is well-made than a cell phone. But if the product is cheap then it matters less that it is crap. As long as you get some use out of it before it fails you can still get your money's worth if the price is low enough.

As the Elton John song says, it's a sad, sad situation.