Quote: (11-15-2016 05:21 PM)Meister Eckhart Wrote:
Quote: (11-15-2016 03:31 PM)Phoenix Wrote:
I think it's a good thing. How much do you think Rayban's costs per pair of glasses is? Their 'value' is a pretentious and fabricated illusion and little else. Even watches: the gold standard in time-keeping is a quartz-based digital watch, which costs $5, not some old fashioned spring loaded cogs contraption that costs $5000.
That's the whole reason they can be faked so easily. You can't fake a fighter jet or a mansion.
If it bothers you just buy stuff that can't be faked so easily. I.e stuff with real value due to rarity. Gemstones, high quality leather, vicuna, chiffon silk, gold, platinum etc.
I read somewhere that one manufacturer in China produces about 65% of the world's sunglasses. I wish I could remember the source.
You really are paying premium simply for the label.
Just because one manufacturer makes a wide range of products, it doesn't mean those products are all of equal or even close-to-equal quality. The manufacturer is building to specifications provided by their buyers. Run size, materials, finish quality, metal coating/plating/painting, tolerances, how difficult the design is to actually produce and assemble, lens coatings, etc all factor into the cost of the final product.
Cut every corner in the book except adhering to the basic design of the product you're copying, and yeah, you can crank out replicas for 10% of what the real thing costs. But they won't last nearly as long, they'll scratch easier, won't have crucial lens coatings, etc.
I won't hazard a guess how much the added value of a high-recognition status brand is, but I'm sure it's a lot less than most people would guess. There are exceptions of course: the whole fashion industry is an easy one to pick on and Apple is another.