$39 for hair spray

[Patty Hann]

Patty
Very true, when I bring a dress shirt to the dry cleaner the cost is $2.50, when my wife brings hers they’re $12

Yep...also true with shampoo, deodorant, body wash/lotion, hair care products.
But the drycleaning pricing disparity is one of the most egregious situations.

[Brian Deakin]

I worked for Alliance Boots in the Uk and we sold a branded Charles Worthington Shampoo

(Charles Worthington is a celeberity hairdresser in the Uk )

The shampoo is made by Alliance Boots so in effect it is an own brand

I was told Alliance Boots makes 5 times the profit from this shampoo than a widley available Pantaine shampoo the company also sells

[Jerome Stanek]

Does it make her happy. You know the saying "Happy wife Happy life"

[Patty Hann]

Having already priced its product(s) exhorbitantly (extortionately?), the final thing a company does is have the pro athlete and/or Hollywood celebrity du jour endorse it or, better still, be seen actually using it.
And thus a mad scramble ensues by those desperate to improve their lives and fortunes.
(PT Barnum, call your office.)

[Curt Harms]

Not only no appreciable difference between the higher priced and lower priced item...
The great majority of youse guys on the forum are, well "Guys" (possessing the XY chromosome) and so you maybe unaware of the "pink tax" we XX types pay.
Sometimes it can be mitigated or avoided entirely; sometimes not.
You can google it or ask your better half about it.

"Pink Tax". Thanks Patty, I've never heard that term before but it certainly fits.

[Patty Hann]

I worked for Alliance Boots in the Uk and we sold a branded Charles Worthington Shampoo

(Charles Worthington is a celeberity hairdresser in the Uk )

The shampoo is made by Alliance Boots so in effect it is an own brand

I was told Alliance Boots makes 5 times the profit from this shampoo than a widley available Pantaine shampoo the company also sells

Only FIVE times???!!...good heavens, they need to up their marketing game...(they are leaving money on the table. )

[Bill Dufour]

I do not know about shampoos but in perfume the bottle costs about the same as what is in it. Fancier perfumes have fancier bottles. The priciest are cut crystal with gold plated caps.
Bill D

[Stan Calow]

It is an odd thing about human behavior, that you can explain and prove all this to intelligent, educated adults, and without swaying their spending habits.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Having already priced its product(s) exhorbitantly (extortionately?), the final thing a company does is have the pro athlete and/or Hollywood celebrity du jour endorse it or, better still, be seen actually using it.
And thus a mad scramble ensues by those desperate to improve their lives and fortunes.
(PT Barnum, call your office.)

Isn't that how Norm Abrams sold power tools on the New Yankee Workshop. He used a new power tool on Saturday's show, and by Monday noon they were sold out.

[Patty Hann]

Isn't that how Norm Abrams sold power tools on the New Yankee Workshop. He used a new power tool on Saturday's show, and by Monday noon they were sold out.

Did he? I never watched him because I never knew about him.

However, (and I don't know if this was the case with Norm), there's nothing wrong per se with buying a tool/thing/whatever that a "celebrity" of whatever stripe uses.
Especially if the celebrity (Norm) has earned a reputation for what he does., AND the thing is well made, AND the price hasn't been inflated because of the celeb's use/endorsement.

A lot of members here just lately recommended the Bora Centipede---folks I have not a little respect for--so I'm currently thinking of getting two of the smaller ones.
What would be highly objectionable (if not reprehensible) is if Bora had someone on this forum and that, that ...that mole relayed the info (that people on a WW forum were getting interested) back to the company and the Centipede price suddenly tripled or quadrupled.

[Patty Hann]

"Pink Tax". Thanks Patty, I've never heard that term before but it certainly fits.

A variation of the pink tax occurred, I guess, 15-20 years ago (maybe even farther back) when tool manfacturers began targeting women.

I found this article on the PB Swiss Tools website .... there are other articles out ther, I'm sure.

Women were identified as a target group for hand tools at an early stage. Although it is great that advertisements now often show women carrying out large and small DIY projects, there is not enough in-depth knowledge about what women's needs are when it comes to hand tools. It’s time for a couple of facts!

When the first hand tools specially designed for women appeared in DIY stores, it became blatantly clear what was thought at the time about women and their tool requirements.
A large number of manufacturers seemed to be convinced that the appearance of the products was vitally important for women and that women have a special preference for certain colors and patterns. The consequence – cheap, low-quality products that were, of course, pink and printed with colorful flowers.

In a study funded by PB Swiss Tools into the “Gender Marketing of High-Quality Hand Tools” (Claudia Schweizer, 2013), we have proven that women neither have an especially strong affinity to the color pink, nor select tools based primarily on their aesthetics.
On the contrary, it is often even the case that they reject products that are marketed as “developed for women”. (my emphasis added)

I remember when I when I first saw "hand tools for women" at Home Depot, a hand drill, I think it was batt operated....picked it up, could tell right away it was junk, and it also was priced on the high side.
I don't remember what color it was but there was no mistaking that it was for women... maybe a bright label that said something like "TOOLS FOR HER VERY OWN".
I can't tell you the number of times my women friends (the ones that didn't know which end of a hammer to use), but knew that I used tools a lot, told me I could now buy tools made especially for women, and wasn't that a great thing.
Conversely, when my male friends mentioned it (and knew me quite well and were trying to get a rise out of me), "Hey Patty, what do you think of the new Tools Especially Made for Women" trend?"
My deadpan reply, "I don't think of it."

However, concerning "tools for women" I will say this; the designers need to take into consideration the typical size and strength of a woman's hand (yet the grip still need not be pink )

[Rich Engelhardt]

$39 for hair spray

LOL!
I wonder if somewhere on a hair spray forum - there's a post like this - $865 for shop vac" referring of course to a Festool CT 36.

[John Lifer]

I have bought cheap Aqua Net to use on my old 3d printer plate. I just looked it up. It is $15 at Walmart, and $10 on Amazon. This is for the cheapest hairspray in existence.
While $40 is not cheap, unless it is for a 4 oz can, I'd let it go.... Or print a couple of labels and put on that AquaNet can

[Tom M King]

She doesn't ask me how much money I spend on anything, and I don't ask her. Couldn't work better.

[Bill Dufour]

Johnsons paste wax is no longer made. ebay has one pound cans for over $100 each. plus $10 shipping. Some are selling used cans for about the same 39 dollars for 75% full cans. I assume the hairspray can is full?
Bill D