Can anyone recall this effect occurring with a software product?
Veblen goods
21–30 of 92 posts
Re: Veblen goods
#22I've never understood the desire to own things like Rolex watches. It's a watch. It tells you what time it is. You can get a pretty durable one that'll last you nearly a lifetime for under $100, especially if you get a digital one since there's no moving parts to break. So why spend $5,000+ on one? I mean, yeah you might want to get something fashionable and shiny, but that doesn't require a $5,000 purchase. I feel t…
I'm more of $30 Timex guy myself for day-to-day wear. But there are people who appreciate the craftsmanship associated with high-end watches. There also is such a thing as fashion which I don't personally much care about (within reason) but many do. Most people who have some amount of money spend it on things that aren't strictly utilitarian.
You're all fools! All you need is a good stick and the sun's light and you can tell the time of day! Wasting 30 dollars on a watch!
Joking aside, there are people who refuse to ascribe anything BUT utilitarian value to things as a sort of anti-consumerist view. Going to be hard to convert them.
Re: Veblen goods
#23Can anyone recall this effect occurring with a software product?
Re: Veblen goods
#24I've never understood the desire to own things like Rolex watches. It's a watch. It tells you what time it is. You can get a pretty durable one that'll last you nearly a lifetime for under $100, especially if you get a digital one since there's no moving parts to break. So why spend $5,000+ on one? I mean, yeah you might want to get something fashionable and shiny, but that doesn't require a $5,000 purchase. I feel t…
I own a $25,000 Lange & Söhne. While watches are a time-honored way of signaling, I didn't buy it to show off. I've actually never met anyone who recognized it, and off the top of my head I can't remember ever even getting a compliment on it. I'd never buy a Rolex, because they're too loud :) Here's the disconnect you're struggling with: you don't value watches. Or more accurately, you don't appreciate them beyond si…
High five. They have nice watches. Which model do you own?
Jaeger-LeCoultre owner here
Re: Veblen goods
#25I've never understood the desire to own things like Rolex watches. It's a watch. It tells you what time it is. You can get a pretty durable one that'll last you nearly a lifetime for under $100, especially if you get a digital one since there's no moving parts to break. So why spend $5,000+ on one? I mean, yeah you might want to get something fashionable and shiny, but that doesn't require a $5,000 purchase. I feel t…
I love mechanical watches, but in addition to that, it's also the only acceptable piece of jewellery for a man to wear.
However, the fact that something with so many small moving mechanical pieces can actually function still blows my mind to this day.
Re: Veblen goods
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I own a $25,000 Lange & Söhne. While watches are a time-honored way of signaling, I didn't buy it to show off. I've actually never met anyone who recognized it, and off the top of my head I can't remember ever even getting a compliment on it. I'd never buy a Rolex, because they're too loud :) Here's the disconnect you're struggling with: you don't value watches. Or more accurately, you don't appreciate them beyond si…
High five. They have nice watches. Which model do you own? Jaeger-LeCoultre owner here
Double High give. If we are talking about Richemont brands, I own a Baume & Mercier, and yes it was purchased for the Mrs as a Veblen goods :)
Re: Veblen goods
#27I've never understood the desire to own things like Rolex watches. It's a watch. It tells you what time it is. You can get a pretty durable one that'll last you nearly a lifetime for under $100, especially if you get a digital one since there's no moving parts to break. So why spend $5,000+ on one? I mean, yeah you might want to get something fashionable and shiny, but that doesn't require a $5,000 purchase. I feel t…
> which is just silly. The majority of the point is signaling, yes. To determine whether or not it is silly, you need to consider the goals. A majority of the point of college for a lot of people is also signaling. Is that silly? Again, it depends. You may dislike comparing an expensive watch to an education, but there are people out there with a lot of money who care a lot more about your ability to look like their…
Not that I care much about signalling, but you can't signal your education unless you bring you degree with you. You can signal your wealth.
Wealth generally signals success, and if you're successful no one cares about your education. Formal education also doesn't mean intelligence. You can be super smart and have no degree, and be successful.
Re: Veblen goods
#28I've never understood the desire to own things like Rolex watches. It's a watch. It tells you what time it is. You can get a pretty durable one that'll last you nearly a lifetime for under $100, especially if you get a digital one since there's no moving parts to break. So why spend $5,000+ on one? I mean, yeah you might want to get something fashionable and shiny, but that doesn't require a $5,000 purchase. I feel t…
>It's a watch. It tells you what time it is. I'm not a fancy watch buyer but I'll try to explain some of the thinking. To luxury buyers, it's not a "watch". Instead, it's "jewelry for the wrist that just happens to tell time." Therefore, explaining the technical superiority of the quartz crystal accuracy of a $10 Casio watch compared to the mechanical springs of a Rolex watch is an ineffective critique. It's not even…
It's a status symbol. To them the Rolex is like a code base written in idiomatic Haskell, the Casio is a code base for a pet shop written in php sprinkled across a dozen html files.
Re: Veblen goods
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
I own a $25,000 Lange & Söhne. While watches are a time-honored way of signaling, I didn't buy it to show off. I've actually never met anyone who recognized it, and off the top of my head I can't remember ever even getting a compliment on it. I'd never buy a Rolex, because they're too loud :) Here's the disconnect you're struggling with: you don't value watches. Or more accurately, you don't appreciate them beyond si…
High five. They have nice watches. Which model do you own? Jaeger-LeCoultre owner here
1815 38.5mm in white gold, model 235.026. Funny you say that, because at the time I was torn between the Lange and a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin, model 130842J. I like the form factor and complications of the JLC, but the simplicity and movement of the Lange won out for me.
Re: Veblen goods
#30I've never understood the desire to own things like Rolex watches. It's a watch. It tells you what time it is. You can get a pretty durable one that'll last you nearly a lifetime for under $100, especially if you get a digital one since there's no moving parts to break. So why spend $5,000+ on one? I mean, yeah you might want to get something fashionable and shiny, but that doesn't require a $5,000 purchase. I feel t…
I own a $25,000 Lange & Söhne. While watches are a time-honored way of signaling, I didn't buy it to show off. I've actually never met anyone who recognized it, and off the top of my head I can't remember ever even getting a compliment on it. I'd never buy a Rolex, because they're too loud :) Here's the disconnect you're struggling with: you don't value watches. Or more accurately, you don't appreciate them beyond si…
> I own a $25,000 Lange & Söhne. While watches are a time-honored way of signaling, I didn't buy it to show off. [...arbitrary justification...]
i see what you did there, you rascal--use a forum where people might care about such signalling and make sure they will know your watch in the future, so when they see it on your wrist, they'll wish they were you.
-- non-watch wearer (see how much cooler i am for not caring?)