Who buys the stuff in the Wall Street Journal “Off Duty” section?

[dennis thompson]

I’m reading the WSJ. They show a keychain from Prada for $460, another from Bergdoff Goodman for $285. I never paid for a keychain in my life.

The next page shows three different sandals for $425, $480, and $590. The last pair of sandals I bought were $100, I wanted to buy the ones for $35 but my wife convinced me to buy the more expensive ones.

They top it off with a Rolls Royce for $522,000:eek: , if I added up all the cars I’ve bought over my 79 years I don’t think they would total $522,000.

My wife is always telling me I’m out of touch with the times when it comes to prices, I guess she’s right.

Who buys this stuff?

[roger wiegand]

Who buys it? The folks who "can't afford" to pay their workers a living wage or provide decent health care.

[Jerry Bruette]

People who buy that stuff are people who read the WSJ, or it wouldn't be advertised there.;):)

[Jim Koepke]

People who buy that stuff are people who read the WSJ, or it wouldn't be advertised there.;):)

Reminds me of the guy sitting on a corner with a box of apples marked "Premium Apples $1,000,000 Each." Someone said, "you're not going to sell many at that price." He replied, "I only need to sell one."


I never paid for a keychain in my life.

I'm still using a key ring my dad gave me when I was 8 or 9 years old in the late 1950s. It was an advertising give-away from a trucking company that began in 1913 but no longer exists. That key ring may last longer than me.

jtk

[Andrew More]

People who crave status. In some cases it might even be necessary for the job (high powered lawyer, broker, exec).

[Jim Koepke]

People who crave status. In some cases it might even be necessary for the job (high powered lawyer, broker, exec).

I think you are right about the craving of status. Many people will over pay for something right now in order to secure "bragging rights."

The wealthy people among us didn't get where they are by buying overpriced glitz. No one ever achieved success by buying the "trappings of success."

I think it was a very successful investor who said not to judge a broker by the car they drive but by the cars their clients drive.

jtk

[Rich Engelhardt]

Who buys it? The folks who "can't afford" to pay their workers a living wage or provide decent health care.Those people tend to not blow money on overpriced stuff, they leave that to the people that haven't got money, but, want people to think they do.

[Alan Rutherford]

"Money looks for a place to be spent."

[Patty Hann]

"There's a sucker born every minute." (Erroneously attributed to PT Barnum)

[Derek Meyer]

After examining the state of my garage and basement, my observation is "Stuff expands to fill all available space."

[Andrew More]

The wealthy people among us didn't get where they are by buying overpriced glitz. No one ever achieved success by buying the "trappings of success."

There's a lot of truth in that, but there are also some exceptions. Do you think that Goldman Sacs is going to let you close a billion dollar merger in jeans and a t-shirt, or do you think the expectation for meeting with those clients is an expensive custom tailored suit? Do you think you can drive to the meeting yourself, or are you going to need a chauffeur? Do you think they'd be impressed with my '06 Honda Accord, or would they expect a 2023 BMW or Audi? Do you think Goldman Sacs would hire me out of UC Law, or would Harvard be a requirement?

[Jim Koepke]

There's a lot of truth in that, but there are also some exceptions. Do you think that Goldman Sacs is going to let you close a billion dollar merger in jeans and a t-shirt, or do you think the expectation for meeting with those clients is an expensive custom tailored suit? Do you think you can drive to the meeting yourself, or are you going to need a chauffeur? Do you think they'd be impressed with my '06 Honda Accord, or would they expect a 2023 BMW or Audi? Do you think Goldman Sacs would hire me out of UC Law, or would Harvard be a requirement?

I do not recall ever seeing Steve Jobs wearing a tie. I haven't paid much attention to Elon Musk. Most of my recollections of him is he is dressed to go out clubbing.

I think if you are ready to drop a billion dollars into something they would take the meeting and the commission.

UC Berkeley or UCLA maybe. UC Santa Cruz or UC Davis, maybe not.

jtk

[Bill Dufour]

Interesting to see how few supreme court justices went to school west of the Hudson river.
Bill D

[Mike Henderson]

I don't read the Wall Street Journal so I don't purchase the stuff in their "Off Duty" section.

Even if I did read the WSJ, I wouldn't purchase that stuff.

Mike

[Zachary Hoyt]

A quotation from an old novel that has stuck with me is "Surely them with plenty money and no brains was made for them with plenty brains and no money."

[Stan Calow]

Do they have Festool ads?

I read the WSJ because there is almost no national or international news in my ever-shrinking local paper, and definitely no analysis. Every now and then there's a useful nugget of consumer information in the WSJ, but if you read it for a long time, you realize there is a whole world of people out there with more money than brains. And plenty of proles who aspire to that Kardashian lifestyle.

[Jack Frederick]

Phew! Glad I solved that problem. I don’t see those ads. When Rupert bought the journal, I dropped out.

[Andrew More]

I do not recall ever seeing Steve Jobs wearing a tie.

You won't, for the same reason people on Wall Street wear them. It's a signifier of being part of the "club" or group. I swear I lost a couple of job offers during the Dot Com era by wearing a suit to the interview before I got smart, and stopped wearing it.

[Bernie Kopfer]

Who buys it? The folks who "can't afford" to pay their workers a living wage or provide decent health care.
Thank you Roger for stating what all our politicians and half the population does not wish to understand!

[Patty Hann]

I personally know a half dozen people who are not entrepreneurs or business owners but who have "more money than is good for them."
It is "family money",.... "old money" in some cases and "new money" in others.

Much of what they buy are brands that indicate status: Prada, BMW, Audi, Rolex. They routinely vacation Europe or Cancun or at high-end resorts in the US.
Why do they have it/buy it/do it? Because they can, pure and simple.

One man who is at the lower end of the "having more money than is good for them" continuum refuses to eat "leftovers", and I mean next day leftovers.
"Eating leftovers", he declared, "is for poor people." (He throws away a lot of food.)
"Well," I thought, "That is probably a good thing for me to know... that I am poor.... I never knew that until now." :rolleyes:

[Andrew More]

Much of what they buy are brands that indicate status: Prada, BMW, Audi, Rolex. They routinely vacation Europe or Cancun or at high-end resorts in the US.
Why do they have it/buy it/do it? Because they can, pure and simple.

Which is something else to keep in mind. A lot of rich people are still living within their means when they spend money on these sorts of things, unlike the "big hat, no cattle" types. Considering we're all involved in a hobby that tends to produce things for the fun of it, rather than any need, and has some pretty pricey "toys" involved, it's hard for me to be too superior about what other people spend their money on. Other than the "are you living within your means" criteria. I don't have a lot of respect for people beyond a certain point of income who are not.

[Patty Hann]

Which is something else to keep in mind. A lot of rich people are still living within their means when they spend money on these sorts of things, unlike the "big hat, no cattle" types. Considering we're all involved in a hobby that tends to produce things for the fun of it, rather than any need, and has some pretty pricey "toys" involved, it's hard for me to be too superior about what other people spend their money on. Other than the "are you living within your means" criteria. I don't have a lot of respect for people beyond a certain point of income who are not.

Very well said, Andrew.