Many Baby-Boomers had parents who went through the Great Depression. They would sometimes tell anecdotes to their children that might have seemed exaggerated to the children. The children would also tend to roll their eyes when their parents displayed frugality that seemed laughably out-of-date.
I am starting to wonder if there is another reason for the parents' frugal consumer behavior. Last post I talked about how inflation will cause substitution; that is, products will use cheaper and cheaper materials. They will take every shortcut imaginable.
How much cheapening can happen before a consumer starts to dislike shopping? When every new purchase produces a disappointment, won't a consumer start to dread buying anything that isn't absolutely necessary? It is hard for older consumers not to make negative comparisons.
Maybe there is a point where the cheapening actually starts to offend and disgust them. Products, companies, and retailers start to seem like scumbags to the older consumers. Commerce seems like a dirty, contemptible thing. The young have no basis of comparison so they just go along with things as they happen.
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Have a good day, though :)
The whole shoe industry takes what, $5 of materials, and gives it an image, and then charges over $100.
"Technical" river sandals are even more outrageously priced: a slab of rubber with a couple nylon straps on top. Shouldn't cost more than $25.
I now have a pair of Vellies as my casual shoes and Razorback boots for my walking shoes. Both of them are made by Jim Green Footwear in South Africa and have Goodyear welt soles that have held up well so far. They can be resoled so I anticipate putting a lot of miles on them. The Vellies sell for about the same price as what are advertised as walking shoes. The Razorbacks are the same price as the Chippawas - less than $200.