(no subject)

[fishsupreme]

I just read this article on MSNBC about fraud on eBay, with people auctioning off supposedly-designer merchandise that's actually a cheap copy. However, what amazes me is not the fraud on eBay, but that people would want these products in the first place.

“Obviously, I was in over my head,” said Lori, the woman who narrowly escaped paying $4,000 for a fake handbag.

Who the hell would want to pay $4,000 for a real handbag? Why would a person want a handbag that costs more than a used car?

Comments

[ginger]

ugg. i can't imagine paying more than $60 for a piece of clothing at all, barring something like an evening gown for a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

[fishsupreme]

I am amazed at how the very rich are able to spend the amount of money on living expenses that they do. I can't imagine a pair of shoes being so much better than my $100 ones as to be worth $1000, even if I were making millions of dollars a year. But there are people who go through half a million dollars a year (or more) in day-to-day purchases and living expenses, not even including houses, cars, and other big capital purchases. I don't really see how it's possible. If I just bought everything I saw that I wanted (excluding big capital purchases), I still don't think I'd go through $4,000 in a month... let alone on a handbag.

However, I've noticed that it's not all the very rich that do this.. it tends to be the "old money" very rich, or the "celebrity" very rich. I can't imagine that, say, Steve Ballmer owns any $4,000 clothing -- or at least that if he does, it's because some consultant told him he needed it for a business or social function, and not because he actually wanted it. But somehow people get in the habit of spending these outlandish sums of money on pitiful consumer products.

[anjelabug]

There's a reason I've never done a really expensive knitting project: I can't justify the exorbitant cost of the yarn when I so enjoy working with Wool-Ease. Now, I won't use acrylic yarn ever again for knitting (and acrylic yarn is the cheapest out there), but there's a limit to how much quality I'm willing to pay for.

I can imagine going through a lot of money if I bought every book I got out of the library, but that's about all that comes to mind. I might buy fewer books, too.

I think we've had a similar discussion about luxury cars vs. non luxury cars... there's only so much premium I'm willing to pay.

[pyran.livejournal.com]

You know, that's almost the cost of my FastTrack program. For that, I get three certifications and learn 7 programming languages. As for her, for that money she gets... a piece of cloth with text stamped on it that holds stuff.

I'd say I come out on top. ;-)

[stesla.livejournal.com]

Which certs and which laguages?

[pyran.livejournal.com]

VB, C, C++, Java, C#, XML, Javascript.

Admittedly, I know some of these (VB is my strongest, and I know bits of C, C#, C++, and Java), but by the time I get out of this I'll know them a hell of a lot better.

As for the tests, I take 3 exams:
Designing & Implementing Desktop Apps w/ MS VB 6.0 (Exam 70-176)
Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 (Exam 310-025)
IBM XML Certification (Don't know the exam numbers)

[stesla.livejournal.com]

You do realize that XML isn't really a programming language. It is a data manipulation protocol, effectively.

[stesla.livejournal.com]

To clarify, It isn't any more of a programming language as XHTML or SOAP is. More a definition of a protocol that you use in the programs you write.

[pyran.livejournal.com]

Yep. I'm actually familiar with the basics of what XML is. I just don't know how to use it. :-)

Re:

[pyran.livejournal.com]

Well yes. I meant to add that, but I guess I ran out of my apartment in a hurry and didn't get a chance to check to see what I forgot. :-)