It's a profit-motivated, anti-consumer refusal to move away from ancient, obsolete technology (carbon film potentiometers) and onto something that is actually reliable and unlikely to need replacement (hall effect sensors)
@K3Nv3, nah I canceled prime fuck giving them more money than I already do. Plus the slower shipping encourages me to 1) impulse buy less, and 2) look for alternative places to shop at
like don't get me wrong I'm still buying shit from amazon, but, since there's no more "click buy and it's here tomorrow" I'm thinking on things for a day or two and waiting to hit that $35 free shipping threshold