I am shocked that when I hear people buy jeans that cost only $45 a pair. I am shocked when people buy an Mp3 player that is not iPod. I am shocked people still buy a $400 PC when they can buy a $500 Mac Mini. I am NOT shocked that some gals – an no they are not on the cover of InTouch and their initials are not BS – are paying upwards of $300 for a pair of jeans.
New York Times Styles: Far from being rarities, jeans with price tags of $200 are now everywhere, the retail equivalent of dandelions after spring rain. And it no exaggeration to say that a pair these days can easily cost as much as an iPod (Tsubi, $319), a Motorola Razr (Levi’s vintage, $325), or a desktop computer with the printer thrown in. (Nudie vegetable dye jeans, $428.)
Clearly the priorities for guys and gals are whole different.
Om, Never underestimate the importance of having the perfect ass. As far as a woman is concerned if she spends that $300 for jeans that make her ass look super, then she can get a guy. Once she has the guy then he can pick up the tab on all the rest of her nonsense! Seems like a good ROI.
The 80s are back (as far as clothes are concerned-apparently in IT it isn’t cool to go retro.) That may explain the jeans.
My “red tag” Wranglers are only $14.95 at target, and they’re darn good jeans.
More on point, Om there was a recent book about this sort of behavioral phenomenon called “Trading Up”. The guys who wrote it were either from BAH or BCG.
Basically the book is about how marketers can exploit a person’s purchasing paradox. That is to say that many folks are quite frugal and sensible in 90-99% of their purchases, but money is no object in the other catagory.
The “trading up” category.
It was very good book.
I think you may want to edit your post. Shouldn’t the first few sentences say “I am NOT shocked” instead of “I am shocked”?
If you’re shocked that people would buy a 400 dollar PC over a 3000 dollar G5 or that people would buy an mp3 player other than an iPod, you need to get a reality check.
dustin i actually meant that…. i am a mac bigot. so that’s why i think people should buy a 3000$
Ok, but then I don’t understand why you start the following sentence, “But I am shocked”. “But” means “on the contrary” or “in exception to”.
‘Cos us girls are all the same right…
(My credit card debt is probably 75% gadget. The rest is clothes though)
ditto for guys mary ann. sweeping generalization… well 75% of my cc debt is clothes. go figure
My gadget splurges in the past 12 months have exceeded my clothing/shoe budget. I bought a new iPod, an iMac G5, new iBook. Ouch. I did buy one pair of Gucci shoes this year but that was it. Normally I buy more designer shoes. However, by an incredible stroke of luck, I found a gorgeous Gianfranco Ferre black cocktail dress at Macy’s last week for $15, and a Trina Turk cape-let also for $15. Unreal. So now I can really splurge on a new digital camera, the new Powerbook, and Sony Playstation Portable.