True. I’m having trouble thinking of good examples of things that have larger replications costs. Food is a good example. Companionship isn’t the sort of ~consumer type of thing I was going for here. Living accommodations is interesting. At first I didn’t include it because I was focused more on single experiences, but now that you mention it, I think that it belongs. Eg. experiencing what it is like to live nicest, most comfortable, luxurious atmosphere. That is something available for purchase via expensive hotels or Airbnbs, and they are in fact very expensive, consistent with your point about replication cost. Do any other examples come to mind for you?
Cars, phones, laptops, doctors, shoes, clothing, watches, jewelry, haircuts, makeup (both the physical makeup you might buy, and the attention of a professional to apply it really well), pillows, mattresses, chairs, yards/parks, gold, silver, bitcoin, …
OK, out of that list, the only thing that’s free/cheap is parks. (Of course my list is very biased, since I was primed with the idea of expensive things. But I don’t think anyone would seriously contest the idea that difficulty of reproduction is an important factor which drives price. The question is more whether there are “many” top-in-class experiences which you can only have via difficult-to-reproduce things.)
But I don’t think anyone would seriously contest the idea that difficulty of reproduction is an important factor which drives price. The question is more whether there are “many” top-in-class experiences which you can only have via difficult-to-reproduce things.
Agreed.
Cars, phones, laptops, doctors, shoes, clothing, watches, jewelry, haircuts, makeup (both the physical makeup you might buy, and the attention of a professional to apply it really well), pillows, mattresses, chairs, yards/parks, gold, silver, bitcoin, …
Most of the examples you mention seem like they’re conspicuous consumption/about status signaling. However, I think the category of comfort (pillows, mattresses, chairs) is a good one. As for phones and laptops, I personally think that a big part of that is status signaling, and unless you’re doing something intense like video editing, I don’t think that using the best computer in the world would be much of a better experience than a Macbook.
True. I’m having trouble thinking of good examples of things that have larger replications costs. Food is a good example. Companionship isn’t the sort of ~consumer type of thing I was going for here. Living accommodations is interesting. At first I didn’t include it because I was focused more on single experiences, but now that you mention it, I think that it belongs. Eg. experiencing what it is like to live nicest, most comfortable, luxurious atmosphere. That is something available for purchase via expensive hotels or Airbnbs, and they are in fact very expensive, consistent with your point about replication cost. Do any other examples come to mind for you?
Cars, phones, laptops, doctors, shoes, clothing, watches, jewelry, haircuts, makeup (both the physical makeup you might buy, and the attention of a professional to apply it really well), pillows, mattresses, chairs, yards/parks, gold, silver, bitcoin, …
OK, out of that list, the only thing that’s free/cheap is parks. (Of course my list is very biased, since I was primed with the idea of expensive things. But I don’t think anyone would seriously contest the idea that difficulty of reproduction is an important factor which drives price. The question is more whether there are “many” top-in-class experiences which you can only have via difficult-to-reproduce things.)
Agreed.
Most of the examples you mention seem like they’re conspicuous consumption/about status signaling. However, I think the category of comfort (pillows, mattresses, chairs) is a good one. As for phones and laptops, I personally think that a big part of that is status signaling, and unless you’re doing something intense like video editing, I don’t think that using the best computer in the world would be much of a better experience than a Macbook.