Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/14/cheap-materials-expensive-sho.html
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Wasn’t it Nike’s core idea to make a really cheap shoe and spend 10-15 times the cost of production on advertising to get it sold to idiots with a massive markup
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It’s not about the quality - it’s never about the quality with these things. It’s about showing off how wealthy you are (or appear to be).
The only thing that would make these shoes even more desirable would be to double or triple the price.
They have done a careful microeconomic analysis of the target market and decided that $425 is the price point that will be barely achievable by this market, but not too overpriced that they really can’t possibly afford them.
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Sophisticated tax advisors tell me that licensing the IP from our tax-haven subsidiary whose PO box is apparently a prolific creative is crushingly expensive; so much so that our operations in areas that have taxes are practically charities. Surely this must be figured in to the BOM analysis?
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I love that he just let his cat be in the shot rather than doing another take. Not just for the cat but for how unperturbed he was about it. But also, cute cat.
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Dudes cat is named Toast.
I think that that may be the single best cat name ever.
We had one named Lumpy, but that’s just a standard quality
good name for a cat.
Toast though is a top grain cat name.
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I had never heard of this guy, but his videos are amazing. I’m cracking up at his April 1 “Crocs” review:
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With me and my sweaty feet, leather uppers on sneakers are a mistake in the first place. I want fabric that will present less of an impediment to seat evaporating.
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As with many things, the most difficult part is finding customers who are, simultaneously, dumb enough to think the product will make them look good and who have the money to buy it. A fine balancing act, for sure, but you only need to look online at the number of people buying super-expensive exclusive [insert product description here] and then bragging about their purchases.
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Cheap materials, expensive art: $425 painting teardown
Four hundred twenty-five dollars! For sneakers? 
That is ridiculous. I’ve never paid that much for the best dress shoes or boots in my life. It’s certainly not the price for a pair of sneakers. But what do I know about fashion?
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If I’m going to pay 100s of dollars for a pair of boots, they better be more durable than these things.
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Thanks. I knew there was a term for this, but I couldn’t figure out the key words needed to look it up. Also, I found it very satisfying to see a $425 shoe destroyed and being pronounced “meh”.
ETA: " But what do I know about fashion?" I have long said that fashion is what I happen to be wearing now.
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I now have a lot more respect for crocs. But they’re still ugly and expensive.
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This is it exactly. It’s called false economy. Instead of buying the $1.85 box that contains 12 pieces, you buy the $1.49 box that contains 8 pieces. You’re actually paying more per piece, so in the long run you pay more overall. But you only have $1.49 in your pocket. All over this country, wages and prices have been engineered to ensure the majority of Americans are forced into false economy because that’s the way the 1%ers want it. Because that way they have to spend all their time and energy scratching and clawing to just stay alive so they can’t do anything else.
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