Who says romance is dead? Poundland offer £1 engagement rings

[brogdale]

And if the person being asked says no...

Even more likes.

 

[hash tag]

have you seen this possibly the least romantic thing in the world?

Seen as a romantic gesture by the youngsters of today - thank goodness I am no longer single and too old for all that.

 

[kabbes]

This is truly the end of days

 

[Baronage-Phase]

I only wear a ring of it has sentimental value to me.
So I wear a ring that belonged to my mum when she was young and a ring my aunt left me.

 

[Marty1]

There’s got to be a massive market for 50p engagement rings surely?

 

[weltweit]

Imo engagement rings are a little like perfume, I mean it could smell divine but if the recipient knows it only costs £0.25 they are not going to be impressed.

There is a word for such goods but it escapes me. Not luxury nor premium, aspirational no, ..

 

[kabbes]

Imo engagement rings are a little like perfume, I mean it could smell divine but if the recipient knows it only costs £0.25 they are not going to be impressed.

There is a word for such goods but it escapes me. Not luxury nor premium, aspirational no, ..

Are you talking about a Giffen good maybe?

Although I’m not sure the demand rises as price rises.

Or maybe you mean Conspicuous consumption, otherwise known as a Veblen goods?

 

[weltweit]

kabbes actually those names don't ring a bell, though they are interesting in their own right.

 

[brogdale]

kabbes actually those names don't ring a bell, though they are interesting in their own right.

Possibly more Veblen/'snob-effect' ideas than Giften, tbh.

 

[brogdale]

Trouble with the basic premise ("I don't like it now I know it only cost £1) is that the recipient expressing such a view is not the agent of demand (willing and able to purchase the product)...and Giffen's essentially relate to necessities.

 

[weltweit]

Not really conspicuous because the effect occurs between buyer and recipient almost privately. The recipient feels greater value from the gift because they know it was reassuringly expensive.

However it is also the case that material cost bears little on selling price. Probably the material cost of a bottle of Chanel no 5 is tiny compared to the reassuringly elitist price for the perfume.

 

[weltweit]

Trouble with the basic premise ("I don't like it now I know it only cost £1) is that the recipient expressing such a view is not the agent of demand (willing and able to purchase the product)...and Giffen's essentially relate to necessities.

Perhaps my thought only applies mainly to gifts?

 

[kabbes]

Conspicuous consumption became consumer capitalism, where people started to construct their identities piecemeal from the goods and services they consumed rather than derived ground-up based on their place in either an industrial or pre-industrial hierarchy.

The thing about a consumer identity is that it doesn’t require the consumption to actually be visible to others, it just requires the self to be accreted through the consumption. So far, so standard theory. I personally would suggest on top of this, however, that the concept of “conspicuous consumption” can be extended within this framework to encompass a “conspicuousness to the self”. In other words, goods (or services) bought to reinforce the self-concept, to show-off within the Eigenweld that one is successful or worthy. An engagement ring strongly fits this extension of conspicuous consumption.