tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post4861308001275273047..comments2024-03-28T22:15:17.067-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/29/24: Costly candle.Neil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-45881088310569699602019-05-05T14:38:48.861-05:002019-05-05T14:38:48.861-05:00One might argue that spending $275 for a bath is p...One might argue that spending $275 for a bath is pretty darn indulgent and even more wasteful than $54 for a candle.J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-63996128082015838502019-05-04T21:56:32.520-05:002019-05-04T21:56:32.520-05:00World-class orchestra, world-class art museum (and...World-class orchestra, world-class art museum (and one of the few anywhere that's still free), excellent ethnic restaurants, and all in a neighborhood that's an hour by train from the airport...so no need to rent a car. Next time, pony up the additional money and fly to Cleveland. More and more people are finding they like it.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-82390058031654315122019-05-04T15:03:20.990-05:002019-05-04T15:03:20.990-05:00It's the difference between a "name"...It's the difference between a "name" brand and a generic. At Target, I noticed a guy (old like me) buying Tums. I mentioned that the Target brand was on sale. He was adamant that the Tums was better when they are essentially the same. He absolutely would not believe me that he was throwing money away by buying the name brand. I once saw this very old couple agonizing over the various sizes of Bayer aspirin trying to find the best deal when they could have bought 100 generic for a couple bucks. Consumer Reports did a study that $200 sunglasses are the same as $20 sunglasses, and most people can't tell the difference. Before they went out of business, Payless Shoes, as a marketing tool I guess, opened a boutique selling their regular shoes for $200-300 under a faux-Italian designer name. People ate it up. (Payless obviously returned their money.) Apparently you can sell anything with a brand name on it. So a generic candle isn't nearly as good as an Ancient Aire candle. Shari P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02844720465680592417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-68692702311856627152019-05-04T09:43:58.998-05:002019-05-04T09:43:58.998-05:00The notion that rich people will pay big bucks for...The notion that rich people will pay big bucks for something that's only a little better brings to mind David Ogilvie's classic ad for the new Rolls Royce, with a headline that claimed the loudest noise you hear at 60 miles an hour is the sound of the electric clock. The last paragraph gives a nod to those wishing to hide their wealth under a bushel by saying if they feel diffident about driving a Rolls they can spring for a Bentley, which is the same car with a less ostentatious hood ornament.<br /><br />Some years ago my seatmate on a flight to New York turned out to be a buyer for Marshall fields, who confided that they found some articles sold better when they jacked up the price. So much for "the invisible hand."<br /><br />Tom<br />Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09641357239788323783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-75296820549474917262019-05-04T08:01:13.089-05:002019-05-04T08:01:13.089-05:00The pricing of luxury goods is a recurring subject...The pricing of luxury goods is a recurring subject in <a href="http://william-poundstone.com/" rel="nofollow">William Poundstone</a>'s well researched and highly readable "Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)". I recommend it to anyone in a position to put a price on anything, which really is everyone. One of the basic ideas is that the highly priced items makes the prices of other items seem more reasonable. I don’t remember what he wrote about the “irk” factor, but I’m sure it’s been studied and is in there. Given the investment the owners of Aire have made in their business, it would be surprising that they’d price the candle randomly.kganderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11005895232135682751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-20187925244192338862019-05-04T05:48:19.759-05:002019-05-04T05:48:19.759-05:00Not meant for the rich as much as it is for those ...Not meant for the rich as much as it is for those pretending to be rich for a day. An impulse buy to say to yourself "so this is how the wealthy live." I don't think the wealthy got that way by being duped into buying $50 votive candles. Paul Fedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04384556977324071639noreply@blogger.com