$450 for a School Bag?
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$450 for a School Bag?
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Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#2The article tries to articulate the value add through attention to detail in manufacturing "so the bags survive 6 years of rough and tumble", but I'm not really getting it. What am I missing?
I had a $60-in-1995 northface backpack that lasted through hauling 5+ periods of textbooks every day, walking and biking to middle school and highschool. It worked fine, in fact my dad still uses it (30 years later) to hold and transport teaching materials for a college course he teaches. Lots of kids got by with a single basic $25 Jansport.
Today, kids in the U.S. don't even tote many (or any) books, most of the content and schoolwork takes place on a lightweight Chromebook that stays in the classroom.
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#3I ran with the same Jansport bag from 1989-2000. I wonder if they still offer that awesome warranty? As a kid my family really didn't know about it and it was pre-internet. My grandma was amazing repairing it. These bags do look pretty cool IMO but I feel there's more to the price that is essentially the generational guilt-trip of a custom that makes it that price.
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#4The article tries to articulate the value add through attention to detail in manufacturing "so the bags survive 6 years of rough and tumble ", but I'm not really getting it. What am I missing? I had a $60-in-1995 northface backpack that lasted through hauling 5+ periods of textbooks every day, walking and biking to middle school and highschool. It worked fine, in fact my dad still uses it (30 years later) to hold and…
The moment you add an aspect of culture and social pressure all economics goes out of the window. The bags cost $450 because it is the expectation that grandparents will buy an expensive school bag for their grandkids, that's it. Everything else ("it's handcrafted!", "it has 200 parts!", "it's durable") is reverse justification from there.
It's the same as trying to figure out why a tiny piece of abundant rock costs thousands of dollars when sold as an "engagement ring".
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#5I _love_ Japanese dedication to craft; really any hyper-focused efforts, but i digress.
The problem that I have with this of course is families who cannot afford these really well made pieces of gear (touched on at the end of the article) and where children who can't afford it are ostracized because of it.
Growing up I was on meal plans due to our financial status and paying in physical tickets, made me and the others like me a small target of ridicule. Personally I don't think it was a lot, but naturally we banded together and became friends simply because we paid for lunches a particular way.
The social pressure is crazy and unnecessary and feel terrible for the kids who can't have it as well as the families who literally sacrifice for it.
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#6The article tries to articulate the value add through attention to detail in manufacturing "so the bags survive 6 years of rough and tumble ", but I'm not really getting it. What am I missing? I had a $60-in-1995 northface backpack that lasted through hauling 5+ periods of textbooks every day, walking and biking to middle school and highschool. It worked fine, in fact my dad still uses it (30 years later) to hold and…
The article doesn’t try to do that at all.
It just points out that these bags do need to last 6 years so they aren’t throwaway items.
In fact, towards the end it points to how some schools are managing to achieve the same with $60 bags “ran-bags”.
I think you’re reading too much into it if you think the article is trying to justify the cost.
It’s trying to explain the cost, which is driven by the fact that these are hand made and have a ton of parts and also need to last many years.
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#7If it's so expensive and durable, where does that bag go after school? Why does each generation have to buy new bags, why are they not passed down from parents to children?
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#8The article tries to articulate the value add through attention to detail in manufacturing "so the bags survive 6 years of rough and tumble ", but I'm not really getting it. What am I missing? I had a $60-in-1995 northface backpack that lasted through hauling 5+ periods of textbooks every day, walking and biking to middle school and highschool. It worked fine, in fact my dad still uses it (30 years later) to hold and…
The article seems to be aware of the fact that plastic backpacks can be durable too: "Some schools in Shimane prefecture have moved to city-provided lightweight nylon backpacks called ran-bags (yeah, don’t ask me how they name things in Japan). Unlike the randoseru, these cost a much more affordable 8,000 yen (57 USD), are lighter, and just as durable."
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#9> After a few rounds of bastardization, ransel became “randoseru” in Japanese.
I thought there was actually a formal transliteration system the Japanese use for foreign words? Like with cutlet becoming katsu retsu. Not quite “bastardization”.
Re: $450 for a School Bag?
#10The article tries to articulate the value add through attention to detail in manufacturing "so the bags survive 6 years of rough and tumble ", but I'm not really getting it. What am I missing? I had a $60-in-1995 northface backpack that lasted through hauling 5+ periods of textbooks every day, walking and biking to middle school and highschool. It worked fine, in fact my dad still uses it (30 years later) to hold and…
> What am I missing?
Likely a disrespect for a living wage for a common craftsman, and a misunderstanding of what quality goods actually are.
Certainly a lot of kids here survived on cheap $25 jansports, but did the people making them?