Womens Handbags. Is it immoral to buy a £10,000 designer handbag?

Do you think it is immoral to buy a 10,000 pound handbag
Handbags- Is it immoral to buy a 10,000 pound designer handbag?
The exam reputed to be one of the hardest in the world has just got (slightly) easier. All Souls College, Oxford has this year dropped the famous one-word essay question that has taxed new entrants for almost a century.
I n a typical year, around 50 academic high flyers – all graduates – compete for fellowships at the Oxford college, lasting seven years and offering an annual stipend of £14,783. For the two successful candidates, it is often a ticket to academic stardom. Former fellows include Sir Isaiah Berlin, Marcus du Sautoy and Keith Joseph. In previous years, by far the most daunting element was a single card with one word on it ("innocence", "miracles" or "water"), about which candidates were asked to write coherently for three hours.
The exam now consists of four papers of three hours each: two general ones and two specialist papers. Try this paper from 2008 for size. If it's all a bit much, don't worry, both John Buchan and Hilaire Belloc took the exam and failed to get in.
One of the questions on the candidates exam was "Do you think it is immoral to buy a 10,000 pound handbag?
Would you not love to be the marker of this exam. Just imagine trying to determine the fate of a scholar and his ability to fully utilise his potential by going to Oxford purely on the basis of the answer to this question ?
I had the dubious honour of Driving around from of the the International Olympic Committee members wives. She carried a Louis Vuitton handbag of course. I mean don't all Olympic Official wives carry around this brand. Well one day she wanted to visit the Balmain Flea Markets It was my job as well as driving her there to to escort her around as she walked and I guess act as a de facto security guard at the same time. Well anyway whilst browsing she wanted to buy these candles at the Flea Market they amount to about $25 Australian. Well she opened her Louis Vuitton handbag and guess what ? You guessed itthat's right there was wads of American dollar bills wrapped up in elastic bands. Well wasn't there a kerfuffle the market store owners had noe idea what to do. They would hardly ever be expected to change currency whilst selling candles. But guess what they did have a manual credit card processor. So outcome the black Am-ex Card. Why am I telling you this I feared an International Public relations nightmare if the handbag was stolen.
- How do you know if your designer handbag is authentic or a knock-off? Real or fake?
Designer handbags are EXPENSIVE. With that said, how frustrating would it be to be told that your purse is actually fake? In some countries, like in Europe, it's against the law not just to sell a fake purse,...
Is it immoral to buy a 10,000 pound handbag-In my view it is not immoral to buy a 10,000 pound handbag if all these other conditions are met. That is you have such a large amount of surplus income or financial reserves firstly all other things should be paid out first. All liabilities to banks credit card companies and other loans. That a proportion of funds has already been allocated to local national and international charities. At least 10% of discretionary income. Then and only then should a amount of 10,000 pounds be made available .
Comments
Not immoral (to me) but definately ludicrous.
Im not sure who is crazier ,the one charging the price ,or the one prepared to pay the price.
Vanity has no set price it seems.
Great read and I really enjoyed the pics.
Everyone's ethics are their own, so I can only speak for myself.
Speaking for myself, however... yes, spending $10,000 on a handbag is immoral.
If I had that much surplus cash, then I hope I would spend it on something like this:
Hi barryrutherford,
I agree with you that it is not immoral to buy a £10,000 pound handbag. I don't even think buying an expensive item has to do anything with immorality. It is same like owning an expensive car, a mansion, an airplane or anything else. If a person can afford he or she has the right to spend their money as they wish.
However, I can't afford a £10000 Louis Vuitton handbag but if I did I would have bought one too. I do own some cheaper Louis Vuitton handbags, not the fakes.
I really enjoyed your hub because the topic is unique & interesting.
10,00 pounds? I don't carry a handbag at all. Thumbs up!
barryrutherford, HUMMMM I'm a frugal Scot and well you know what they say about us... I'm not ever spending that much money on a handbag, as long as there are people who need my help and support I will opt for the lesser expensive bag, say $200.00 is probably my limit. I like handbags and buy them often so why spend so much. I give my old ones to charity. Thanks and Peace :) Rating this up and all that's good. Fab Hub! :)
Living in Turkey you get a bag for a lot less. But it may look pricier.
Very interesting hub, Barry! And wow! Of all the things I personally could do with that money, buying a handbag would be waaaaaay at the bottom!
really....? its insane to spend this much on a handbag...
Immoral? I dunno-- foolish is another matter IMHO. Interesting hub.
Barry, fun and provocative hub.
I don't think it is immoral to spend £10,000 on a handbag. However, it could be construed as foolish and self-indulgent to the extreme (unless bought as a gift or if it is sold at a charity auction and the money goes to support a worthy cause).
It could be immoral to sell a handbag for £10,000 - especially if the said handbag is a fake! :-)
Interesting read Barry . .funny when I was 16 it is all I wanted and that desire lasted for years . now not only would I not spend all that money on a bag but I destest even having to carry one! Give me a waist bag if I need to schlep things around. . ! Thumbs up. ..
Thank you Barry. I will only speak for myself. In my mind, the two are mutually exclusive. Morality is innate. It is the basic goodness in man wanting to be expressed and with basic sanity, one expresses it at all times, regardless of the circumstances.
Money is a tool of exchange, nothing more. We all need it to buy food, clothing and shelter, our basic needs.
Most Thai girls I know would buy the handbag if they had the money. The money for other things would have to wait ;-)
Hmnnn...a provocative hub.
If one has the money as long as she did not steal it...I don't think it is immoral at all..
The price is not the question. It never is. Just like having dinner with someone, it does not matter if you are eating a bowl of noodle for $1.80 and sharing it, or at the Top of the Ilikai, the Revolving Restaurant in Honolulu, when I was there. Does this make sense to you at all?
I don't think there is anything wrong with Larry Ellison withdrawing his $100 million dollar pledge to Harvard while at the same time maintaining a 100 Milion dollar Japanese Garden and a $250 Million dollar yacht. It is his money, he can spend it anyway he wants. The same is true for all of us.
I think the better question would have been "Would you buy a 10,000 pound handbag?"
It is immoral to charge 10,000 pounds for any handbag. Nothing could be worth that amount of money.
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