Wednesday, September 09, 2009

What Does 'Expensive' Mean?

What Does 'Expensive' Mean?, article by Michael Johnston. It introduced to me the interesting concept, which I had a feeling about but no term for, of "Veblen goods", which means products which are perceived as being highly valuable because they are extremely expensive, not despite of it. Like a Rolex, a Rolls-Royce, or a turntable which costs $20,000. The bulk of the price is perceived status and "magic", not actual added value. If Rolex started selling a $100 watch, the brand would be dead soon. If everybody wore the cheap Rolex model, who would pay $10,000 for the expensive model?

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