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Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

robkhenderson.substack.com

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Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#161

Post by AussieWog93 »

fnbr wrote: post #139
trasz2 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically a Rolex, however expensive, will always be much worse as a watch than a 20$ Casio. But recently there's another aspect to this: there are now watches that are technically (mechanically) identical to rolexes. Same design, same mechanics, virtually impossible to tell the difference when you tear it apart. Rolex has always been more about marketing (artificial scarcity, waiting list etc) than mechanics, but…

What’s an example of a watch that’s mechanically identical to a Rolex?

It's pretty common now to find "Super Fakes" of designer brands, that are very difficult to tell apart from the real thing. They'll be expensive but not as expensive as the real thing.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#162

Post by PaulHoule »

helen___keller wrote: post #70
steveBK123 wrote: post #47

"An example from Ogilvy Vice Chairman Rory Sutherland: If you’re a top executive, turning up to work on a bicycle is a high-status activity because it was a choice and not a necessity. But if you work at Pizza Hut, turning up on a bike means you can’t afford a car." This tidbit reminds me of a similar anecdote (that my experience aligns with) re: the modern upper class that wearing a $2k Rolex or driving a $70k BMW i…

> wearing a $2k Rolex or driving a $70k BMW is frowned upon. But instead they have eccentric "hobbies" requiring $10ks of of equipment, inclusive of "needing" $10k viking stove/range, and $10k subzero fridge/freezer in your kitchen because you are a "foodie" […] Isn’t this conflating status signal with lifestyle? The wealthy have always enjoyed expensive lifestyles and hobbies. In and of itself, expensive hobby equip…

There are different audiences.

I worked for a company that sold products and services to sales managers. The CEO and his wife (who was also an owner of the company) lived in a house in Rochester that had the biggest kitchen I'd ever seen anyone actually use. We would have holiday parties there and it was clear cooking was a hobby they liked to but that entertaining is also a way to enjoy your status.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#163

Post by [deleted] »

helen___keller wrote: post #77

Wouldn’t the best advice simply be to avoid unproductive signaling and be authentic when possible? It’s one thing to signal by wearing nice clothes to a company outing where you make an impression on the person who can materially affect your future income. It’s another thing to consider every aspect of your life in the lens of “what would the wealthy do?” I really have no interest in allowing others to make decisions…

[deleted]

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#164

Post by browningstreet »

steveBK123 wrote: post #81
helen___keller wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> wearing a $2k Rolex or driving a $70k BMW is frowned upon. But instead they have eccentric "hobbies" requiring $10ks of of equipment, inclusive of "needing" $10k viking stove/range, and $10k subzero fridge/freezer in your kitchen because you are a "foodie" […] Isn’t this conflating status signal with lifestyle? The wealthy have always enjoyed expensive lifestyles and hobbies. In and of itself, expensive hobby equip…

Yes I think my point is that they simply signal differently by for example regaling you about how they spent $5000 on custom designed esoteric tiles from a local artisan for their shower. Personally I don't think things that are 90% purchase/consumption (housing/renovations/appliances) are hobbies in the same way as photography/kitesurfing/gardening/cycling which may be expensive but have some sort of skill/learning/…

I worked for a wealthy man.

I remember two stories among many:

He once told me he was upgrading the doorknobs and hinges in this house. The bill just for those items came to $45K.

We were both getting coffee in the office once, and he looked towards me and ask, “My socks cost more than everything you’re wearing.”

And he liked me.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#165

Post by AussieWog93 »

steveBK123 wrote: post #47

"An example from Ogilvy Vice Chairman Rory Sutherland: If you’re a top executive, turning up to work on a bicycle is a high-status activity because it was a choice and not a necessity. But if you work at Pizza Hut, turning up on a bike means you can’t afford a car." This tidbit reminds me of a similar anecdote (that my experience aligns with) re: the modern upper class that wearing a $2k Rolex or driving a $70k BMW i…

>inclusive of "needing" $10k viking stove/range, and $10k subzero fridge/freezer in your kitchen because you are a "foodie"

Haha, don't forget the classic combo of the $10k Caesarstone countertop plus half a dozen blunt knives.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#167

Post by killjoywashere »

I was at a small dinner party recently and one of the guests arrived in a three wheel golf cart kind of thing. His other car is an orange Lamborghini Huracan. He got a degree in poli sci or some other liberal arts thing, but played in tech sales and eventually sold a gaming company to Google and has now worked with Google for several years. The conversation turned toward advice to our kids (everyone is 45 to 55 and has kids headed to college). At one point I said something to the effect of “The standard advise is that whenever you get to a fork in the road you should probably take the harder path.”

Without missing a beat, the other guest quipped “Yeah, take a nap”.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#168

Post by tomrod »

nradov wrote: post #155
doubled112 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course people are financing them. Vehicles are expensive. I believe the average used car price is over $40K now here. Even an average used car was about $20K. Let's stick to the truck, though. F-150s are everywhere. If I head to the Ford Canada website, an F-150 XL (the cheap one) is $39K before you get started. A Platinum brings you up to $87K, and the Limited brings you up to $98K. The website is definitely NOT…

The average new car transaction price is currently $48K. https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/kbb-atp-september...

What's the histogram? Surely the mean is highly skewed.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#169

Post by rdtwo »

none_to_remain wrote: post #82
NikolaNovak wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Physical cash? How?

One simple option: Hand someone some cash, they send you some BTC

Not that simple. You need to validate the transaction on the chain and that takes hours

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#170

Post by steveBK123 »

asoneth wrote: post #160
steveBK123 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Precisely! Not to mention a fully specced out Tesla Model 3 is $80k and Model Y is now.. $90k, and the tax credits are basically gone! I remember getting a pretty well configured Model 3 for $50k after tax incentives in their first year of production. For ~$70k you used to be able to get a Model S, which now STARTS at $105k. Easily configurable into the $130-160k range now.. insane.

Agreed that they are expensive cars that have gotten even more expensive over the last decade. But comparing absolute numbers for a car you bought five years ago may be misleading because the majority of the increase is likely due to inflation. Back of the envelope math: If you were in CA and got $7.5k federal and $2.5k state credits that means the Model 3 you bought in 2017 was ~$60k or ~$73k in today's dollars. If…

Inflation is a huge factor here for sure. Most people probably can't get their heads around a well equipped Toyota Corolla approaching $30k or Honda Accord hitting $40k. Mentally to me these are BMW 3-series prices, but that's not been true for some time!

If you are in the market for a 3-row / 7 seater, you can spend $55k on a Toyota Highlander SUV or $40k on a Toyota Siena minivan.

It's genuinely pretty challenging to spend under $30k on a new car now outside fairly basic 2-4 door smaller sedan/hatchback vehicles in their base trim without options.

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