Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk • Hacker News Board

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#91

Post by dukeofdoom » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 5:49 PM UTC

hermitdev wrote: post #87

dukeofdoom wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also the opposite strategy. Making a cheaper product of lower quality at lower costs. The better quality product loses sales and advantages of mass adoption, and often can go out of business. The lower quality product is now the dominant one in the market. The resellers can freely raise prices now, to match the better products price and greatly increase profits. The public is now stuck with a lower quality pr…

In the case of a dishwasher, I wonder how much environmental regulations factor into that. Modern dishwashers use less water for a cycle, but they also do a poorer job of actually washing dishes. So, what do you do? Prewash? Run multiple times? It's also concerning that the regulations on dishwashers are going to get tighter yet in the US if the certain organizations get their wish. Likewise with toilets. Low flow to…

Just to add one more factor, what happens overtime in old toilets is that sediment stone develops on the inside, and causes enough friction for the toilet paper to catch and plug up. So you can probably except even shorter life span from the new toilets as they flush less water, so more likely for that stone to develop. So you're more likely to need to replace the toilet in the future. Also the flushing mechanism is proprietary, so if anything goes bad, more likely to have to replace the toilet. Really debatable if having to replace toilets more often is environmentally friendly. It will make more money for the toilet manufactures.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#92

Post by dirtyid » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 5:49 PM UTC

I remember reading marketting was 50% of many mattress in box brands when they were being pitched on podcasts. So I decided to buy a Zinus off Amazon for ~50% cost and it's held up better than my friends named brands. Gambled that they were founded in the 80s in South Korea so at least had slightly more experience dealing with durability of goods that's suppose to last 10+ years than marketting team with a number to a foam factory.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#93

Post by fxtentacle » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 5:52 PM UTC

cushychicken wrote: post #46

flappyeagle wrote: post #18

My feeling throughout reading the article is best summed up as "Y U mad bro?" He harps on an "anti-woke" razor company that tries to market themselves as an alternative to Gillette and Harry's — the big point is "they spend 800k/month on marketing, so it drives up the cost of the razors". Does he know how much Gillette spends (saved you a search: 600M/year)? How do they fund that I wonder? He cites a study that says…

I suspect targeted ads are a part of the phenomenon the article is talking about. Since targeted ads got so cheap, tiny little businesses could buy super targeted social media ads for less money than they could selling their products wholesale at a store. Net result is that they can flood social media with targeted ads for some geoarbitraged thing that tiny startup found on AliExpress decided to sell DTC, and end run…

Your argument breaks down as soon as there are economies of scale. Gillette can probably buy the same quality as Jeremy's at a better price, because they order larger bulk shipments. That means the new niche DTC companies will most likely be a worse value to consumers than the established big brands.

Also, the article links to a study which found DTC to be 10% more expensive than traditional retail.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#94

Post by MichaelZuo » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 5:57 PM UTC

chasebank wrote: post #52

flappyeagle wrote: post #18

My feeling throughout reading the article is best summed up as "Y U mad bro?" He harps on an "anti-woke" razor company that tries to market themselves as an alternative to Gillette and Harry's — the big point is "they spend 800k/month on marketing, so it drives up the cost of the razors". Does he know how much Gillette spends (saved you a search: 600M/year)? How do they fund that I wonder? He cites a study that says…

You’ve clearly never worked in direct response marketing. The cost of customer acquisition vs lifetime value of a customer is terrible compared to traditional retail. In 2007, you could print money. In 2023, you’re most likely barely breaking even buying digital ads. The OPs thesis is quite correct. I’ve been in the space for 14 years and have tens of millions, if not hundreds, in DR adspend across multiple platforms…

Nearly perfect competition does imply a profit margin near zero.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#95

Post by teddyh » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 6:04 PM UTC

imwillofficial wrote: post #61

spicyjpeg wrote: post #10

I consider this phenomenon part of what I like to call the "Amazon syndrome", even though Amazon is far from being the only culprit. As China started flooding the rest of the world with cheap but decent products mass-produced in a random factory in Shenzhen, people turned away from brands they used to trust and towards no-name options from the likes of "Kxbnheb" or "Ypknwoj" in order to save a buck. Eventually the bi…

Ah, Ypknwoj, a brand you can trust.

Fhqwhgads!

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#96

Post by Scarblac » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 6:05 PM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #19

sharkweek wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve got a take: I think the current gap in the market for a lot of product areas is “more expensive but high quality.” I desperately want to spend more money on a product that will stand the test of time but it’s so hard to find them at times. Sure there will always be a majority of shoppers who want the cheapest thing as fast as they can get it and they won’t mind if they have to buy 3 of them every year, but I thi…

“ I think the current gap in the market for a lot of product areas is “more expensive but high quality” Often those products do exist, but you need to become an “expert in X” to find them. Oh… you want to buy a high quality leather [whatever], better start learning about leather grades, leather tanneries, stitching thread, stitching types… so it doesn’t blow out in a year. Except we can’t all become experts in all pr…

And there are many companies that _start_ making high quality products until they have a reputation for it, and then later dial it down to improve profit margin. Even experts may have outdated information.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#97

Post by Retric » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 6:09 PM UTC

alex7734 wrote: post #48

sharkweek wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve got a take: I think the current gap in the market for a lot of product areas is “more expensive but high quality.” I desperately want to spend more money on a product that will stand the test of time but it’s so hard to find them at times. Sure there will always be a majority of shoppers who want the cheapest thing as fast as they can get it and they won’t mind if they have to buy 3 of them every year, but I thi…

> I’ve got a take: I think the current gap in the market for a lot of product areas is “more expensive but high quality.” Misleading, dishonest marketing and bribed reviewers make it impossible for a consumer to know that a high quality product is indeed high quality without trying it before (which is often impractical) Whatever you do to differentiate yourself will be copied by 728934712 Chinese brands which will fl…

There’s still quality brands out there. My general approach is to stick with brands until their quality declines and then ask friends and family for a reasonable option. Generally this results in companies that simply don’t advertise much because they don’t need to advertise.

Sure there’s probably a better options out there, but avoiding junk is more important than getting the absolute best product at the absolutely cheapest price.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#98

Post by bdowling » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 6:12 PM UTC

nlh wrote: post #30

I hate to be one of those "you lost me at the second paragraph" kind of guys, but....you lost me at the second paragraph: > stuff that's pushed to you via targeted ads costs an average of 10 percent more, > and it significantly more likely to come from a vendor with a poor rating > from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB is pay for play organization whose ratings mean little more than "they paid their membership due…

The author seems to have referenced BBB as a generic for a firm that rates businesses (ala using Kleenex for tissues or Xerox for photocopies). It’s unfortunate that the most well-known firm of that type is a pay to play scam.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#99

Post by mrweasel » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 6:16 PM UTC

narag wrote: post #84

mrweasel wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because kids. It's easy enough to say "don't buy it", but the family members buy the juke, the kid comes home bawling his eyes out because everyone else has product X, and it's only $Y, so you get it, because it's been a long week, and it's really only Wednesday and you can't really deal with something valued at only $19.95 right now and just maybe it will buy you 20 minutes of peace so you can cook dinner.

Because kids. Not that I can't understand, but that's terrible neglect. Saying no is difficult but it's the parents' duty, same as many other difficult things.

If you never say no, sure. I'd be rather surprised though if most parents haven't just said: "Screw it, get the cheap plastic car, I really don't have time for a 30 minute session of combined anger and crying right now".

Personally I also sometimes make the "mistake" of letting my kid pick a toy, snack, t-shirt, and forgetting that she'll pick cheap colorful junk every single time.

Re: Everything advertised on social media is overpriced junk

#100

Post by mrweasel » Sat, Apr 08, 2023, 6:21 PM UTC

hammyhavoc wrote: post #88

mrweasel wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because kids. It's easy enough to say "don't buy it", but the family members buy the juke, the kid comes home bawling his eyes out because everyone else has product X, and it's only $Y, so you get it, because it's been a long week, and it's really only Wednesday and you can't really deal with something valued at only $19.95 right now and just maybe it will buy you 20 minutes of peace so you can cook dinner.

In the most inoffensive way I can put this, this is a personal issue of parenting style rather than a problem with the junk or advertising. This is exactly the kind of "it's easier to just give in" mindset that is the ideal target customer.

> This is exactly the kind of "it's easier to just give in" mindset that is the ideal target customer.

Exactly, be on-call, have 20 minutes to get home to deal with an alert, while at the same time trying to get a toddler to comply, it's not exactly the ideal situation for making sane choices.

I am insanely impressed by anyone who regardless of how their day have been can stick to a rule of always making the correct choices and never giving in. I haven't personally meet anyone like that yet.