• hark@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      By that logic, nothing is really a scam since people are just paying what they think something is worth.

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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      8 hours ago

      Wrong, that’s what they have been conditioned to believe it’s worth because that’s what things are priced at, it has nothing to do with their actual value.

      You buy a Gucci handbag for 2k, it cost 50$ to make and sell, the rest is overhead going to investors. You think you paid a fair price because that’s what these things sell for but if you remove the leeches that have nothing to do with producing the good then you’re left with a 50$ handbag.

      • y0kai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        6 hours ago

        If someone is willing to buy something for $1 than it’s worth $1. If someone is willing to buy something for $1,000,000 then it’s worth $1,000,000. Even if it’s a single potato chip.

        If a company produces a bag for $50 and sells it for $2,000, then the materials and labor were worth $50, while the completed bag, because a single person was willing to buy it for $2k, is worth $2k (even if its only worth that much to that one person).

        If all that overhead paying the “leeches” went away and someone was still willing to pay $2k for the bag, guess how much the bag is worth. Hint: $2k.

        How do I know? Because, if a thing sells for a price, that’s its price.

        On the flip side, if all those leeches drove the price up to $2,001 and no one was willing to spend that much, the bag would not be worth $2,001 and the price would therefore have to fall. If the cost of the “leeches” was keeping the price above what people were willing to pay, the leeches would be fired and the price of the bag would drop, or the company / product will stop existing in its current form.

        Are there more people who would buy a Gucci bag for $50 than for $2k? Absolutely, but why the hell would Gucci sell a bag for $50 when people are literally willing to pay $2k.

        No one needs a Gucci bag, be it $1 or $1m. Gucci knows this, their customers (hopefully lol) know this, and yet $2k is still the agreed upon price, because it is paid by people willing to pay it.

        • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works
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          5 hours ago

          You contradict yourself immediately in your first sentence. It can’t be both worth 1 and 2000 at the same time. Someone willing to pay a high price does not set that price for others. We are talking about setting fair prices, not just for a single outlier.

          Your definition equates to “my wares are worth whatever I can convince someone they are worth.” Is that a fair way to set prices?

          • y0kai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            2 hours ago

            Your definition equates to “my wares are worth whatever I can convince someone they are worth.” Is that a fair way to set prices?

            That actually hits the nail on the head and I believe that is a perfectly acceptable way to set prices for luxury items like a Gucci bag.

            ETA:

            It can’t be both worth 1 and 2000 at the same time.

            It can, because people value things differently. One person might not regard a single item as being worth $1 and $2,000 at the same time, but two people could. And, as long as both people exist, the guy who thinks it’s worth $2,000 is who the company is going to sell it to.

            • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works
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              19 minutes ago

              I understand its based on perspective, I’m saying that you can’t say an item holds a certain worth objectively. A Gucci bag is only worth 2000 if you can find someone to pay that. I think the word “worth” is doing extra work it doesnt need to.

        • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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          6 hours ago

          That’s where you’re wrong. It’s the frog in hot water thing that’s happening, prices artificially increase to feed the leeches progressively enough that people just accept it.

          You’re a victim here and you’re defending it, it’s disgusting.

            • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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              2 hours ago

              It’s the same thing with everything that you purchase! 3$ for celery, the CEO is a billionaire the employees make minimum wage? How much do you think that celery cost???

              • y0kai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                2 hours ago

                We’re not talking about celery, we’re talking about a Gucci bag that no one needs. Food, water, and healthcare should be free.

                • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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                  1 hour ago

                  Well it’s fucking not and it’s more expensive than it needs to be because of billionaires.

                  Just

                  Like

                  Everything

                  Else

                  But people pay for it so by your logic then the price is fair, right? Unless all of the sudden you decide to go back on your argument, but you wouldn’t do that, right?

                  Let me quote you before you say “but it’s essential needs”

                  “even a single potato chip”

                  There, your said so, even for food, whatever people pay is a fair price in your mind.

                  • y0kai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                    1 hour ago

                    lmao i knew you were going to bring up the potato chip with my last comment and you’re right I used a poor example when I said potato chip, since it’s technically a food item. I’ll leave it as it is, but think of it more like like a “rock” or “bag of dung” or something and my point stands. I was literally just eating potato chips when I wrote that so it seemed convenient, and I don’t really view potato chips as “food” in the same sense I would something like celery, but I see your point and admit I contradicted myself there.

                    As for this part:

                    Well it’s fucking not and it’s more expensive than it needs to be because of billionaires.

                    We agree.