Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Cheap, really?

Cheap is not really cheap as we know from sales where we end up buying stuff we have no use for, but that kind of thoughtless shopping is only a small part of a huge problem. A surfeit of low-priced "stuff" costs the planet. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned idea of buying good quality products that last a long time?

Check out the new non-fiction title Cheap: The High Price of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell to find out more. She is a science correspondent for The Atlantic.

Take for instance, IKEA -- most of us have bought from them one time or the other, and actually thought ourselves cool for that. For such folks, the chapter on the furniture retailer would be a don't-miss. Here is an excerpt-of-sorts.

If you liked Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational, there is a good chance you'll love this book!

2 comments:

Anaka said...

Absolutely. Plus, if stores can offer such huge discounts, can you imagine the real price of those products? I mean, in order to offer a huge discount and still make a profit, that product must be made of really really inexpensive material.

Pipa said...

Hi Anaka -- So this book probably understands your pain. Trying to sell high-quality goods in a low-priced market which may not value a good thing it sees!

I don't know if Cheap will be available in India but I will drop off a copy in person next time I am in madras.

meanwhile keep up the good work.