Says Nabila Popal, a director of a market research firm, quoted in "Foldable Phones Are Unpopular. Why Is Apple Selling One? The company unveiled a new iPhone that costs $1,999. Here are the economics behind that price tag" (NYT gift link).
I think some high-priced things evoke laughter and You bought that?!
To get you started thinking of some of these things, I found "Wastes of Money Sold to You by Luxury Retailers" (Cheapism). I kind of want the hippopotamus sofa.
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38 comments:
I'd love to have a hippopotamus-shaped sofa, but not that one: the seat-back is too high and straight and the seat itself not deep enough for comfort. Something softer and poofier and plusher would be much better. Nice try, but fail.
I admit to feeling a rush of desire when I saw the All-Americam Carousel. I was four years old again.
I kind of want the hippopotamus sofa.
For Christmas...?
There is nothing nice about a hippopotamus, or that sofa.
While mentioning features for which the hippo is revered (intrepidity, tenacity and bravery) the copy writer left out the fact that the hippo is responsible for more deaths caused by animals than any other in Africa.
If not for my wife's refined sensibilities, I'd be delighted to have this in my house.
Note: If visiting San Francisco Zoo, keep at least 12 feet from fence while observing hippo. They use their tail as a propeller/fan to evenly disperse fecal matter in random direction.
As opposed to gorillas, who will scoop up a handful and tease visitors with a threat to toss it, and laugh when they scatter. Naturally, occasionally launching will serve to keep crowd wary.
My natural tendency is 180 degrees from this. Exclusive , limited and luxurious is a total turn off to me. I don't even look at such things, and I can afford them. I think it's one of the main reasons I can afford them. My lack of desire for such things is a blessing, possibly a financial superpower.
Wow. A sofa and a beanbag chair.
Paging Dr. Veblen, Dr. Veblen.
Doesn't look very nap-friendly to me.
Isn't the free market great? You won't find these types of things in communism or socialism!
bagoh20 said...
My natural tendency is 180 degrees from this. Exclusive , limited and luxurious is a total turn off to me. I don't even look at such things, and I can afford them. I think it's one of the main reasons I can afford them. My lack of desire for such things is a blessing, possibly a financial superpower
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Ahh, a kindred spirit.
I've never had a desire for such things either, and have never been much influenced by advertising of any sort. My roommate in college, a marketing major, was non-plussed when I told him I would read a magazine and not pay more than a moment's attention to any ad.
However, I disclaim any super-powers in this regard.
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the copy writer left out the fact that the hippo is responsible for more deaths caused by animals than any other in Africa.
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Deaths by mammals, I think you mean.
Venomous snakes and crocodiles both account for far more deaths than hippos do, and extending it to invertebrates, the Anopheles mosquito is the undisputed champ, along with the tsetse fly and sandflies and freshwater snails that carry schistosomiasis.
$95,0000? You can probably buy a real hippo for that, and it would be more comfortable to sit on.
Isn't it great that in this country you can spend your money however you choose. And isn't it great that you have the money to spend on luxuries?
Fully automated luxury communism means everyone having a hippo sofa whose legs collapse reverting to a grayish beanbag due to lack of QC.
I understand the motivation for the foldable phone. I do little with my phone other than make calls; it's just too damn small to do anything else with. But I won't be buying one; it's still too damn small. I'll stick with my iPad.
As to "Whenever something is exclusive, limited and luxurious, automatically consumer psychology wants it. … Says Nabila Popal, a director of a market research firm"; he would say that, wouldn't he? My response is the opposite; if it's expensive it'd better have a good reason for being expensive.
You may not think anyone but the two of you know you had wild sex on the hippo sofa last night...but look in its eyes. It knows. It knows you're nasty.
@RideSpaceMountain: I can't top that comment!
"Automatically consumer psychology wants it"
Nonsense. There's nothing automatic about it, except that massive efforts are made to ensure that "automatic" behavior occurs.
Leading to things like someone purchasing that ridiculous sofa, or "youths" assaulting people to steal their shoes.
The nose on that hippo looks like a scrotum. I don't want that in my living room.
With any luck, over time it’ll bump up my Apple stock. So I hope lots of people buy it.
@Hassayamper: Correct. I should have narrowed my statement to "the mammal responsible for the most human deaths in Africa." And I say that as someone who has had a boat upended under them by a crocodile on the Rufiji River, has contracted schistosomiasis in Lake Malawi, and been diagnosed several times with falciparum malaria. Fortunately, I avoided a run-in with a hippo in a score of years on that continent.
Oh no. Althouse is posting about hippos again.
I’m now a few generations behind the latest cellphone models. I simply haven’t seen improvements that warrant a grand for a newer model. Definitely not for two grand. However, I do understand the niche for a foldable phone. It’s for those of us that carry around a tablet regularly and rather have something they could put in their pocket. Alas, even my cellular iPad didn’t cost a grand and isn’t outdated.
It seems to me that people make a mistake about wanting things that are luxurious and expensive. They imagine others will look at them positively and envy them, but I think it more often makes people dislike you as arrogant and wasteful. Personally, I just think you're dumb. Probably the dumbest common item is a purse that costs thousands. That just makes me think dipshit. You can't even tell if it's real of fake, and the difference is minor anyway.
“"It’s like handbags. Why is someone buying a Chanel versus that? It’s not because of the leathers. It’s to show that they have a Chanel and they can afford it."
Yep. Inclusivity goes out the window when AWFLs be shoppin’.
"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!"
We stayed at a hotel in Wellington, NZ in February that had a hippo theme. Weird place with a kinda ghoulish motif in the hallways. Didn't see a hippo sofa, however.
"Why yes, this is the new hippo shaped 'love' seat. A fitting addition to anyone's timeless art of seduction. It's got real pieces of hippo in it so you know it's good. Girls think hippos are sexy, and 40% of the time this baby [slaps ass] will get them naked 100% of the time. Also, check this out, the nostrils double as bottle openers!"
If everything else in the house was shaped like a hippo, it would be less noticeable.
When I move into Lucy, the Margrave Elephant, all my furniture will be shaped like elephants.
I'll want what's expensive and exclusive, limited and luxurious, when I finally satisfy my thirst for what is free or cheap.
It seems like foldability could help protect the phone's glass, but flippable, foldable fones came first, so people still think of them as primitive and rudimentary.
I want a hippopotamus shaped sofa for Christmas…
The hippopotamus sofa,
For the discerning sheboon.
Samsung has had a folding screen phone like this for years.
As a kid I wanted one of those hippo costumes that were essentially a few hula hoops inside a large body suit.
Veblen goods, the rare objects that increase in demand when prices rise.
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