Question:
Seriously, I bet many of us spend a lot of cash on clothes in part due to these various high end oriented fora.
I'm reading this book titled Wikinomics (by Don Tapscott) which makes a great case for collaboration and sharing in business. The web is really changing business for the better but I often see various forums in areas of watches, audio, and clothing lead to people wanting more and fancier things.
In a way I guess this is good since the free market can now see what the consumer wants and the consumer has lots of luxury choices these days and a global market makes it possible for us to get the best deal on shoes even if we have to order from Plal in Malaysia, etc.
But I wonder if the community can also lead folks to spend too much on clothes as well. It can be tempting to pull the trigger on a nice pair of dress shoes for an installment on the Shoe Porn thread...
What do you think? Is here too much of a good thing?
Answer:
I think anybody that buys something in order to show the internet gods is already ruined. That would be mentally and not necessarily financially.
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sure it happens. I used to buy sneakers in middle school just to have other kids be jealous of me.
if you do it too much you are stupid. especially as a middle aged man
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I buy way more shoes than I need b/c of my time on SF - though I'm pretty happy about it.
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+1
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if you think about it, there are hobbies guys have. some guys i know are motorcycle hobbyists. they have several. some are junk. they work on it. they spend hundreds fixing it up. it still looks like sh**. but they enjoy trying to fix it and fixing it up . they spend money on the tools. they spend time on forums on motorcycles and go meet people with other motorcycles. they will spend 10000 dollars on a motorcycle. this particular hobby of theirs does not benefit their family /spouse in any way. well, the ones i know. it is not a family investment. just purely the individual's hobby.
one of my hobbies is shoe. but even after buying several delicious shoes , i still have not reached 4 grand.
well, that is a bad example but my point is, we all spend money on our 'particular' hobby or something that makes us happy. collecting, consuming, buying. using, presenting. whatevers.
as long as you have the ability/capacity to do it and know your personal financial limits and dont make it something that will burden those who depend on you, then i think it is fine. but of course, these things are like the frog in the lukewarm water with the flame slowly boiling it.
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I think I will take on a second mortgage (or three) in order to buy that 450K watch with the cool little slot machine that was posted in another thread.
What do you guys think?
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Yep.
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I think SF and the posters here are a huge resource in helping to find the "best in class" items. The trick is in identifying the right class.
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It ain't easy being green...
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Do you have a mortgage you can't afford? Credit cards that are maxed out? No cash in the bank? Yet you are still shopping to keep up with your friends or someone on SF, you have a problem.
I have a rule, no credit cards for anything I buy, if I can't pay cash or write a check for it with ease, then I can't afford to buy it. I try to buy things on sale too.
To me, it's all a matter of balance, I put away 2/3 of my income every month into a high yield savings account yet am still on a first name basis with my salespeople in Beverly Hills and have a lot of, what I consider, nice things.
That said, I am single and have a really good job, so it's easier for me than someone with a family to support.
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I suppose one might argue that StyeForum and the other fora may help financially by:
1. Helping us make better investments and get quality which is likely to be better on a usability over time perspective.
2. Helping us find the best possible deals globally.
3. Related to #1, avoiding low quality which might lead to a quick second purchase.
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That's a good question actually. I have certainly seen this happen on watch fora. People accumulating purchases on the credit card to show pretty scans on the forum and get lots of props and wows. Then when they couldn't deal with the credit card debt, off-loading everything with a teary FS post about how they need the money real bad... :crazy:
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I always wondered if that happend on watch fora. The prices of some pieces are so damn high that they could give anybody a cash shortfall. I am not sure that there is all that much correlation between high income and good personal financial sense, so I could see the guy who has enough to buy a couple of 50k watches hurting when ax time comes.
We saw a lot of the same thing in SF during the tail end of the .com boom.
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Well, in our case there isn`t so much of a problem with peer pressure of BUYING expensive stuff, it is the pressure to DESTROY expensive items :laugh:
