The pricing is crazy/justified thread

[zamb]

we should start a "when I was fourteen" thread........

[Faust]

/\ yes, tell us about your gangster past, hahaha!

[fenrost]

The way I brought up just made myself into like this, a type of person who really appreciate money. Obviously, just say I love 100 pieces of clothings with exactly the same level. Can't I then buy the pieces with higher resale value so that the lost margin would be little less? That basically means I would have at least a dollar less to purchase the next item.

Seriously, do you ppl reeeeeally expect expensive clothings will assure you some sort of financial security? There is always loss in reselling, period. And the discrepancy can pay off many things.

If you value money then be an intelligent one, differentiate your want and need.

[calvinc]

Seriously, do you ppl reeeeeally expect expensive clothings will assure you some sort of financial security? There is always loss in reselling, period. And the discrepancy can pay off many things.

If you value money then be an intelligent one, differentiate your want and need.

No. I am totally aware that *edit: IN MOST CASES* there is always a loss in reselling and an item will lose its value over time. Precisely. Expensive clothings do not give financial security. My friend just lost $2700 from buying gold and the value dropped exponentially in hours. If this could happen to gold, how could expensive clothings were to give financial security? If I were to spend 200k JPY, I might think how I could sell the piece in the future but I must also be ready to not be able to sell the piece and get $0. Despise on how much you pay for a piece, $100 or $4000, I do not see why it is improper to just give a small extra thought about the resale value.

I value money and I understand completely what I want. But I just want to spend my own money wisely

[ironman]

there isn't always loss in re-selling. even worn items can increase in value beyond what was paid, or even beyond the original retail

[calvinc]

there isn't always loss in re-selling. even worn items can increase in value beyond what was paid, or even beyond the original retail

/\ Editted

[pierce]

There is an interesting book called the paradox of choice by the one of the leading experts in the field of consumer choice Barry Schwartz.

The crux of what he says is that we are now a society of maximizers, in that we only want the best. Perfectionist on crack in other words.
I was going to write a big post about it, but its alot better to watch the talk he gave at google.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200#

It very very interesting when you apply his points to the fashion industry and why people would consider resale value.

[fenrost]

No. I am totally aware that *edit: IN MOST CASES* there is always a loss in reselling and an item will lose its value over time. Precisely. Expensive clothings do not give financial security. My friend just lost $2700 from buying gold and the value dropped exponentially in hours. If this could happen to gold, how could expensive clothings were to give financial security? If I were to spend 200k JPY, I might think how I could sell the piece in the future but I must also be ready to not be able to sell the piece and get $0. Despise on how much you pay for a piece, $100 or $4000, I do not see why it is improper to just give a small extra thought about the resale value.

I value money and I understand completely what I want. But I just want to spend my own money wisely

Ok, here are my thoughts,

First of all, Gold value does not deteriorate, if you look at it as long term.

Second, again, it's not the point you can't think of reselling, but it's the point people choose , let's say a $4000 shoes over $100 shoes simply because they will get back some money when they resell.

Third, as long as these designers coming up with seasonal items, and then custom orders, those $4000 will go cheaper. By logic, you lose so much more when you resell, than just throwing the $100 shoes away.

We are talking about used clothings, the way I see it is that most people will not pay the original, or higher price for a used clothes, (just look at the good finds threads...)

Finally, it should be the clothings, never about the resell value when you buy clothes, but that's just my opinion... unless your someone who just want to be trendy.

[sammywaslow]

... I paid around $1800USD for the CCP boots 2 years ago, I wear them almost everyday. I believe they would get sold for at least $1200USD now if I put them on the market. At least that was one of the reasons convinced me to buy a pair of boots with such a high price.

Don't be so sure. Maybe everyone here was asleep at the wheel or it was just the great spaghetti monster in the sky having a laugh at my expense (again), but my CCP 07 cordovan side zips (worn twice) sold on ebay recently for $350USD.

[interest1]

/\
Well sammy, you were the dummy who chose to post CCP on eBay, so you were the one responsible for this fail. Suit your product to its optimal audience and you wouldn't have walked away with a paltry $350. At the very least, you could have set a reserve.

Don't risk what you can't afford to lose.

[Faust]

There is an interesting book called the paradox of choice by the one of the leading experts in the field of consumer choice Barry Schwartz.

The crux of what he says is that we are now a society of maximizers, in that we only want the best. Perfectionist on crack in other words.
I was going to write a big post about it, but its alot better to watch the talk he gave at google.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200#

It very very interesting when you apply his points to the fashion industry and why people would consider resale value.

this line of thinking is pure bullshit. walk into any given h&m on any weekend, you won't need further prove. probably sells books though.

[Raw]

Don't be so sure. Maybe everyone here was asleep at the wheel or it was just the great spaghetti monster in the sky having a laugh at my expense (again), but my CCP 07 cordovan side zips (worn twice) sold on ebay recently for $350USD.

And why was that not posted in the good finds thread?
Honestly, I never think about re-sell value when I buy, espesially since I became interested in this type of designer fashion because I know there will generally be a loss. The stuff I was into when I was younger had much better re-sell value actually. Even then, re-sell value only came into mind when I was selling but not at the time of purchase. For me if I see something I love, I just buy it without thinking. I do however consider AUD$ value lol, I definately tried to buy less when the AUD$ plummited.

[interest1]

.

Of course it was only a matter of time before I chimed in on this one too, LOL.

I wanted to set a few things straight about the place of re-sale in the niche/artisanal brand market. Forgive me if I seem to be stating the obvious here for most of you, but I see there are clearly some newer members whose exposure to the labels discussed here is limited and just beginning to develop. At least I hope that is their excuse. Those of you who understand that re-sale only enters the minds of those with an ulterior motive underscoring their purchases, feel free to skip over this post. I don't think the horse is actually quite dead on this one yet, but after this post, you can bet it will be.

The majority of those who feel the gravitational pull toward niche/artisanal brands have a singular motivation when they go out for a fresh kill: to secure that particularly sweet piece which they are (currently) fixated on. You never hear "Oh, I think I'd like to kop that". It's always "MUST kop". Unlike mainstream luxe brands, small obscure labels are by their very nature more difficult to ensnare, so acquiring something you really want from one often becomes a serious quest. It's not a leather jacket with a bagel holster–it's a grail!

You'll notice that the people who are truly discerning about the clothes they choose to put on their bodies are also very careful people: they don't buy "good enough"–they buy perfection. Often, a lot of time is spent finding the "right one". The right ankle boots. The right grey ankle boots. The right grey donkey ankle boots. When they succeed, the only thing going thru their head is "does this shit look sick as fuck?" as Merz so succinctly put it. Thoughts of selling your new pride & joy down the line don't even enter into your realm of thinking. If they do, you're a fickle idiot who is likely basing your buying decisions on all the wrong reasons.

Anyone who is tabulating the potential margin for profit or loss (listen up, calvinc), in their clothes is defining them as a commodity, which is your first mistake. Your second mistake is buying with your head, instead of your heart.
The moment the abacus comes out, you reveal yourself as a total poser. Period. You must not feel the clothes stand on their own merits if you have to find "extra incentives" in order to spend this kind of money on them. I sense you may be more excited about the image of these clothes than I sense a true passion FOR them, if monomon's sig quoting you is any indication: calvinc - "Found this place and omg the people here are so cool and they dress super ultra mega well!"
Sadly, you are my case-in-point that I was describing in my prior post a few pages back– the person who buys based on what is expensive because that is how they define what must be good.

Re-sale value changes moment to moment, and is determined by a host of constantly shifting variables –everything from condition to scarcity, to shit like if the right group of people are around at the right time to kop your shit. You may hit it right one week and sell those cordovan CCP's for $1200, or you might realize it wasn't a good week for re-sale when you walk away pocketing only $350. Re-sale value should be considered a bonus–not an expectation. It's a complicated game of chance at best, often serving not as a form of reimbursement (gimme a break), but more like a little "kick-back". There are times you'll make MORE than what you paid, and more power to ya. But often you won't, and no one who has a genuine love of the brands that fall under this small umbrella would ever even give 2 seconds of consideration to that in the dressing room.

Most of us are keenly aware of re-sale potential because it's become the sole form of commerce for a large demographic (the same demographic that ain't dropping 20K each time they go out to shop; see my post on pg 4 for companion rant). Take a look at all the action the Classifieds sub-forum gets. Your grail is another person's fail. And vice versa. The only way a lot of people are able to get their hands on some of these pieces at all is if they buy them off someone else who's willing to sell at a good price. It's easier to scrape together $800 than $1500, let alone $1.5K instead of $3K . So often it does work out better for the buyer than the seller, and that's ok. Most of us have been in both sets of shoes, so it's all good.

calv & co, my advice to you is: buy with your heart, not your head. If you don't, understand that it's not the clothes that are letting you down. It's your unrealistic expectation of them.

*3rd & final behemoth to this thread. Ridiculous...

.

[Castor]

Very well said interest1.

I personally never consider the resale value of anything I buy at retail, whether full price or on sale. That moment is about pure joy and a visceral reaction. I also get to see and feel the piece in person and try it on my body. Once I know, I just know.

However, I actually do consider resale when I buy something used, say through the classifieds here, sufu, etc, mostly because by definition I am buying sight unseen and I like to believe that I have a way out if the item does not turn out to be what I expected or if there is a problem with the fit.

[Fade to Black]

understand that it's not the clothes that are letting you down. It's your unrealistic expectation of them.

this quote could be applied to people, life and everything in it. a sentence for the ages