The relativity of values causes us to use money irrationally. I go to the supermarket to buy a $15 pen, and the clerk smiles and says, “You can buy this pen for $7 if you walk 5 minutes from here.” Then, most people walk five minutes and buy a $15 pen for $7. But if you want to buy a $1,000 jacket and the clerk smiles and says, “You can get a $992 jacket in five minutes from here,” most people simply buy the $1,000 jacket. Reasonably, walking for 5 minutes equals the effort, and the profit of $8 is the same. However, people might go to a store that sells pens cheaper, but not for the jacket, because the discount rate is too low. In other words, the relativity of comparing values makes us act irrationally. The pen’s discount rate is 55%, and the jacket’s is only 0.8%. Yet, the total amount is the same for all $8, and the effort to gain that profit is identical. Attitudes and misconceptions about consumption influence how we build wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Luxury goods are valuable not only because they are well-made but also because they are scarce. The proof lies in the abundance of counterfeit luxury goods. Controlling production and supply is one of the things luxury goods brands excel at. Initially, quality and reputation create luxury goods; however, the fact that the value of these goods does not diminish but continues to rise is due to the maintenance of scarcity. While customers determine the fate of the product, producers and suppliers also influence the fate of the customer. They achieve this through their offerings. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”