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Gib Bogle[_2_] Gib Bogle[_2_] is offline
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Default Cowboy Builders (TV - Channel 5)

Huge wrote:
On 2010-05-26, John wrote:

My wife's a VAT Assurance Officer and is forever complaining at the prices
of stuff because she knows just how much markup is being put on :-)

Two quick examples (not DIY related but you'll get the point):

1. Opticians and spectacle frames - most frames are bought in for a fiver or
less, _including_ the 'designer' ones such as D&G, DKNY etc


*All* so-called "designer" crap is a rip-off.

It's all about charging what the market will bear. And fashion is a triumph of
that - create a demand for something ephemeral and all about looks over
substance, and then charge a premium price for it.


I'm not sure "rip-off" is the word I'd use. They are exploiting a foible of
human nature, and they don't have to lie about what they're providing. Is that
ripping people off? To me it's immoral to take advantage of stupidity, but the
bizarre truth is that many people seem to like being taken advantage of in this
way. "Some of them want to use you, some of them want to be used by you."