I had never heard of this company prior to this thread. Out of curiosity I looked at the website that was posted earlier and I very nearly crapped myself out of indignation. $400 for a baseball cap? $345 for a T-Shirt? What in the name of all things foul and unholy could cause a person to pay that kind of money?
In short: Hell yes it’s overpriced. I didn’t vote, though, because there is no “except” involved in my answer. I don’t care how much money you have, there’s no excuse to pay that. You could have the exact same article of clothing custom made and tailor fitted to your body for less than the prices they are charging.
I had never seen their stuff until I just checked out their website. The men’s stuff is obviously for retired old farts who hang out at the yacht clubs. Check out those “sneakers”, the outer jacket, or especially the boxer shorts. Too funny.
500 bucks for a scarf? 500 bucks could make a huge difference in the life of a “normal” person. Why do people do this? Conspicuous consumption is one of the biggest problems I have with America’s capitalistic culture.
Yes I agree that we can’t all be philanthropic all the time, and we should get to enjoy the money we make. But I still feel faintly sick when I think of the different $500 would make to a struggling single mother versus wearing it in a strip of tacky silk around your neck. blah
I take it then, that you’ve never spent money on anything other than the bare necessities? Don’t own a TV, buy only the necessities and used if at all possible, don’t eat out? Because, you know, every little bit could help a struggling single mother, and you really could skip that movie tonight.
Everyone makes choices. Yeah, I’ve got an Hermes scarf, given to me as a gift. I also drive a 12 year old car covered in rust and haven’t taken a vacation in about a year and a half, and give regularly to charity. Big deal.
My reaction is much what Athena said. I can’t afford a $500 scarf, but I’m sure someone could look at my life and think that spending, say, $30 on a container of foundation powder. I don’t absolutely need it and I could spend that money giving it to people who really need it. But I don’t. Same with the scarf, except that that person can afford it.
I remember you saying in another thread that for you, air conditioning and Internet (for WOW) were considered necessities. Someone could make the argument that you don’t really need those things and that they’re luxuries. A lot of what we buy is luxuries. Some people’s luxuries are just more expensive.
Don’t be messing with her WoW. Srs Bsns. Anyway, I’ll echo sven and say they’re not my style. I’m sure they’re fine quality, but when I see them, I can just smell the old lady perfume.
Their bags are lovely, but you could get a Radley bag for a fraction of the price and I doubt there’d be a huge difference in quality. So yes, I think they’re overpriced, but people are welcome to spend their money on what they want, whether it be luxury bags or computer games.
The word “overpriced” really irks me, it’s like nails on a chalkboard.
If you sold something and you weren’t getting enough buyers, what would you do? You’d lower the price. And what if you got so many buyers you couldn’t make enough? You’d raise it.
So, a product can’t be “overpriced” for long–if the price is too high (meaning that the seller isn’t getting enough buyers), then the price will lower.
Just because something costs more than you are willing to spend on it doesn’t mean it’s “overpriced.” It seems as if you are asking if the price is objectively too high–if it’s higher than what the price “should be.” But there is no should here, there’s no objective value to something. Something is worth only exactly what someone else is willing to pay. Hermes appears to still be in business, so there are people willing to pay what they ask for their wares. The fact that you are unwilling to pay that much is inconsequential.
That’s the first post from Rand Rover that I agree with 100%.
Six months ago I bought my wife a diamond ring from Tiffany. A lot of people think Tiffany and/or diamond is overpriced. But I could afford it, the ring is beautiful, and my wife loves it. So there.
I’m not angry about “luxuries”; where are you getting that idea? I was railing against conspicuous consumption. Games, internet, and air conditioning are not conspicuous consumer items. A $500 scarf is. Do people walk around flaunting their cool, comfortable home environments on their sleeve while bragging about how logging in and playing their gnome mage makes them a total badass? Because I want to live in that universe.
I even conceded in the very post you quoted that we all deserve to enjoy our money. But I am still sickened by this degree of conspicuous consumption.
Any more strawmen to pull from the woodwork? I especially enjoyed the tag-team by MOL, who has had absolutely nothing to say to me other than the occasional snide comment since my join date. It speaks well of you, dear.
In the world of luxury goods, Hermes is one of the few brands that actually remains a true luxury, from a quality point of view. Gucci, Armani, Chanel, Prada – everything else is going to take a trip through China, especially for accessories, whereas Hermes’ bags are still made in France. So while you may find it ridiculous to buy a $1,000 purse whether it’s from Christian Dior or Hermes, if you opt for the latter you can at least count on excellent handiwork and quality.
Really? You’d know by looking that my scarf is Hermes and that I’m flaunting it? Because I sure can’t pick 'em out of the crowd. Hubby bought it for me because he knew I’d love the design and the quality and the fact that it’s blue with elephants and that it’s not something I’d ever go buy for myself. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone ask where it’s from or who made it, nor have I volunteered that information.
People do buy pricey things sometimes just because they like them. Not everyone is a big showoff.
Who goes around flaunting and bragging about their scarves? Or are you saying that just wearing it is flaunting? Because I’m not sure why a scarf from Hermes is any worse than anything else. I know people who easily spend about that much on various clothing/make up items in a year. Why is it different because it’s a scarf? Why is spending $500 on just a scarf wrong? And where do you draw the line? There are some that think spending $300 on an outfit/item is too much and some who think it’s normal.
Why is the WoW mention a strawman? I bring it up because I know it’s something you enjoy. I’m sure someone who never plays computer/video games thinks it’s an asinine thing to spend money on, just as you think that $500 on a scarf is insane. My point is that almost anything can be considered copious by someone who has less than you.
And a greater possibility that the person who made it has health care (and other better working conditions than the factories in China). I myself would not pay $500 for a scarf that is identical to many other manufactured scarves, so I wouldn’t be buying Hermes. However, I have paid up to $350 for scarves from handweavers and bought artist (okay, art student) designed jewelry. Different perferences, but same willingness to pay for appearance as well as function in an object.
This is the gist of what I was going to say. I once read that there was a waiting list for some of their merchandise. If this is the case, it shows that the items are underpriced.
Except for the flaunting part, there are people who can tell at a glance if a scarf is Hermes or non-Hermes or a Hermes knock-off. They study the subject that well for good (high end store clerks or fashion experts) or bad (pickpockets) professional reasons.