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What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

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Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#711

Post by bobbruno »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #320
oezi wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Price is 3-4 times higher but it lasts 5-10 times longer The problem is that if an Ikea furniture lasts 15 years then that's enough. People no longer need 50-100 years furniture, because nobody wants to inherit old stuff anymore. Life's circumstances change faster and buying quality often isn't worth it. Maybe a Miele dishwasher last twice as long at double the price. But it will become old after 10 years even so.

> People no longer need 50-100 years furniture, because nobody wants to inherit old stuff anymore. I'm going to challenge this assertion: did anyone, ever? Looking around in my parents' house (retirement age), there's no furniture from their parents (post-WW2). I don't remember whether my grandparents had any furniture of their parents in use either. I do recall going to the charity shops and finding older wooden fur…

I am responding to this from my living room in Berlin, sitting on a sofa that belonged to my father, after having dined on a table he inherited from my grandfather. Both were brought with us when we moved from Brazil.

So yes, people do want to inherit the old stuff. I have some IKEA stuff (the beds were just too big, and mattress sizes are different), it just can't compare.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#712

Post by rglullis »

ryandrake wrote: post #700
JohnBooty wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I think this is something that people in countries like the US don't instinctively understand, or at least I didn't. My Filipino friend explained to me that back home, if you have more than a certain amount of money, it's seen as incredibly selfish not to employ people as housekeepers, etc. I'd imagine that's true in a lot of places with income disparity and/or high unemployment numbers. It made a lot of sense t…

> Yeah I think this is something that people in countries like the US don't instinctively understand, or at least I didn't. Guilty as charged. I have the American mentality due to being raised here, and I would be horrified to hire a housekeeper or servant. The "well, it's better than nothing" argument, while true, feels icky and exploitative. "Better than nothing" is a terrible bar and a sign of a broken society, an…

Does it feel "icky and exploitative" to you to use Über/DoorDash/TaskRabbit?

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#713

Post by HaZeust »

fennecbutt wrote: post #679
FreebasingLLMs wrote: post #500

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Damn bro, shut your damn mouth using that offensive word for people like me. It's fucking 2025. Hurr durr 4chan kid, that site is dead now time to grow up. I hope dang senses a disturbance in the force.

You sunk to his level. First mistake.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#714

Post by alex43578 »

immibis wrote: post #373
alex43578 wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To the point about dollars, there very much is something the government can do about it: taxes. If the government requires taxes to be paid in dollars, that sets a "floor" on the value of a dollar as a medium of exchange - for most people in the US living a "normal" life, you have to acquire some amount of dollars throughout the year, under penalty of jail/loss of property (property tax). Then, since you already have…

Doing this in an environment where nobody is using dollars will lead to guillotines. The dollar has to be useful for exchange first, and then they can demand tax to be paid in it.

So this thought experiment isn't just that "everyone decides dollars are worthless" but also that the state is dissolved, along with all the property rights and the govt's monopoly on violence?

That's more like saying "Dollars are worthless in a scenario like Fallout or The Road", rather than making any relevant point about government efforts to maintain fiat currency.

In the original scenario of "people decide dollars are worthless... nothing the government can do", my point was that the government has a lot of levers to pull to backstop value, albeit at a far lower level than today's dollar.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#715

Post by foodevl »

fragmede wrote: post #548
rfrey wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Older microwaves have a cumbersome enter time, hit start procedure. Newer microwaves also have a "quick start" button for 30 seconds which you can just press four times to get it to go for two minutes QS-QS-QS-QS-Start 2-0-0-Start "Cumbersome"?

it's qs-qs-qs-qs, and yes, Americans, home of the Hot Pocket are that lazy.

Lazy, or more efficient? If you type a time and hit start, you're not microwaving until you're done with all the buttons. If you hit "QS" a bunch to reach the duration instead, the microwave starts cooking immediately on the first press. Your nuggets get done a whole second earlier!

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#716

Post by resource_waste »

moneywoes wrote: post #686
resource_waste wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Lavish spending is still seen as pointlessly insecure by anyone on any budget. I seen and lived this until I got my wake up call. I was regular upper middle class, I would laugh at people who thought I was poor for having an Android because I could easily afford a $1000 iphone, I just didnt want it. Then I got into philosophy and inevitably Stoicism, where I found happiness within. Then I read too much philosophy an…

can you elaborate more please

Power according to Hobbes is the ability to get what you want.

One of the forms of power is success power, another is riches (more here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3207-h/3207-h.htm#link2...)

By showing you can afford lavish things, you are demonstrating success power and riches. This makes people do whatever you want, or at least tilt the scale closer into your favor.

I think Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals, then reading Will To Power would very much get you up to speed. Other authors, Hobbes, Machiavelli, maybe Stirner, maybe skip to Callicles in Plato's Gorgias. Even ChatGPT can probably get you started on Nietzsche.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#718

Post by d--b »

song wrote: post #616
d--b wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Idk, I've seen 40-year-old Ikea cabinets being totally fine (in France). Nowadays, the trend is that people buy the cabinet frames from Ikea, and then buy the doors, handles, and bottom support from someone else who makes more durable ones. The thing is that with Ikea, I kind of know what I get. From a custom kitchen cabinet maker, I could get something that lasts a lifetime, or something that wears quickly.

There's been a severe decline in quality with Ikea though. I know that the cabinets prior to 2012 were significantly better than now.

Ah thanks for pointing out

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#719

Post by IshKebab »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #341
wiseowise wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just streamlining process of how to become desirable. Nerds with money can afford to even the odds VS their more successful peers who manage to do it naturally. Nothing cringe about that.

Based on the fact that you just wrote "streamlining process of how to become desirable" , we will probably never see eye to eye on what is cringe :)

Yeah honestly I think this attitude is shit. Maybe you were born with beauty and charisma but not everyone was. You're really going to say "you're not allowed to learn what I got for free"?

Pretty low dude.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#720

Post by TacticalCoder »

ponector wrote: post #348
alexey-salmin wrote: post #176

The referenced reply is dull. It's very pretentious but just reiterates common knowledge, it doesn't convey any useful information. For example I wish someone told me about the existence of Miele kitchen equipment before I accidentally rented an apartment of a well-to-do woman. She renovated it for herself but then rented out when circumstances changed. Similarly it took me a long time to realize just how much better…

Next stage is to realize solid wood is better than veneer wood. Also miele has too much marketing hype. Want the ultimate appliances? Buy professional equipment. Like washing machine that are used in hotels.

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