Why is does the whole human race seem so darn cheap ?

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   Billie Kelpinposted 11 years ago

   Why is does the whole human race seem so darn cheap ?
   
   Did marketers do this to us?  the economy?  Was it always this way?  My parents didn't seem to be this way.  They never expected to get something for nothing. We lived in an apartment.  My father had no assets really, but yet he had the mentality (and I'd say morality) of paying the price that something was worth to him. My parents raised me to feel that if I didn't pay for what something was worth, I was being unethical.  I value this quality they taught very highly and it drives me a bit crazy that everyone is always looking for something on sale.  Does anyone feel the same?

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   CalebSparksposted 11 years ago

   That's very interesting. While I don't believe in cheating or "shorting" someone (especially when the cheater is in an authority position over the one cheated), I do think that looking for good deals and things "on sale" is a good way to manage your resources.
   
   You mentioned the principle of paying what something is worth. In regard to purchasing goods, the sad fact is that the prices of many manufactured goods are grossly inflated. Many items are produced in poor countries by unskilled workers and then sold at high prices elsewhere. So how can we really know what something is worth? Second hand shopping can really come in handy in this instance.
   
   I am willing to pay a higher price for some items, mostly depending on the purpose of the item and the country in which it was produced. Also, those with low incomes must naturally be more conscious of price.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You have a really important point, Caleb, "...especially when the cheater is in an authority position over the one cheated." Also injustice to unskilled workers as well is really important issue.  I participate-we all do..wish we didn't have to.

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   Desmith3posted 11 years ago

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   cebutouristspotposted 11 years ago

   The main key here is "What something is worth" which varies from people to people.  While a painter will value a good brush versus common people who would not know the difference other than it is priced high.
   
   Different people see the worth of an item differently. 
   
   Also I dont believe there is anything wrong on trying to get a good deal out of your money.  I dont usually prefer saled/discounted item but if the item I want is on  sale/discount then I will take it

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      good point: "what something is worth" - I, too, like sales.  I'm not explaining myself very well n maybe I don't even understand what it is that bothers me. (not unusual for me:)  Thanks C (My Realtor/friend is frm the Philippines-goes back and forth

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   Becky Katzposted 11 years ago

   My parents raised me to pay my bills and look for bargains. We were not rich but they had two houses. They bought and paid for both of them and when my dad became disabled, the rent for the one paid the cost of both of them. If they were not bargain hunting, they would never have been able to get those things. Looking for bargains is not new, it is old. Everyone looks for bargains in their own way. That is the part that the economy has changed. We used to look for bargains, just to save money for something else, now it is to get by.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      so true, so true.  "now it is to get by"  So really, what I think I object to is not bargains, per se, but the social structure that has people at the bottom and middle trying to "just get by"."What the market will bear" has gone all wonky.

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   Eli Mooreposted 11 years ago

   "Did marketers do this to us? the economy?"
   
   The purpose of corporate advertising is too subvert market forces.
   
   And what do you expect when an entire generation of people have been raised on false promises and false hype; have had their food filled with all kinds of substitutes, chemicals, and artificial flavoring; and have had a neoliberal economic elite rob them of their wealth, only to inflate their class's buying power with credit cards and debt in order to get them to keep buying their products?
   
   Our economic elite who run everything don't respect markets. And they don't care much about qualitative values.
   
   So what are we to do? Personally, I don't watch T.V. I don't buy junk products. I don't get hooked on to fads. And I try to eat organic foods whenever possible.
   
   But our economic elite wants to brainwash us all, subvert market forces, get government bailouts and contracts, get corporate personhood, and sell us cheap, toxic products manufactured by peasant workers living under a totalitarian Communist regime.
   
   And, of course you should expect everyone else to be conditioned to be consumer drones. It's the system they were raised in.
   
   If they were raised in a Communist country, I'd expect them to be Communist drones.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      like the coal miners of Appalachia at the turn of the century who defended the company store while the "company" owned their souls. However, it's always been liberals, in my view, who are the environmentalists, the champions of the under class, etc.

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   Barbara Kayposted 11 years ago

   I don't think there is a thing wrong with buying things that are on sale. I don't think it is being cheap. Buying on sale is being sensible. There are certain stores that mark up the prices on clothing, so they can have sales. If you pay full price you are actually overpaying.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I guess sales weren't what I meant exactly, but even in my own business, I have to say something is worth $39.95 and put it "on sale" for $19.95! Human nature, I guess

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   michiganman567posted 11 years ago

   I deal with customers everyday.  Often I try to give them the most competitive price possible.  MOST of my customers still complain and want a better deal.  I just passed up a job because I could work for a company as a flunkie and make more money than working for the price that the guy wanted me to work for.  Im not going to do high quality work for low wages.
   
     Are we all cheap... No!  I look for sales, sure.  I don't like paying a fortune for shoes that are made in China.  But, I understand that people need to make a living.  I think that more people need to look at what they do to earn their money (sit on their butt at a desk) and realize that their time isn't more valuable than people that do real work.  If you make $30 an hour sitting down pushing a pencil... trust me, I can probably do the same thing.... then don't expect a crew of guys to break their backs for $7/hour.  People need to get paid. 
   
   The same thing goes for writers.  $5 for a highly researched article written by an educated person.... I will never do a job like that.  Neither should any other writer.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      MM, That's what I meant about  paying for what something is worth. One time, I tipped a taxi cab driver in NY and my relative looked at the amount and said it was too much and took the money out of my hand!  We need to appreciate others' work!

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   C.V.Rajanposted 11 years ago

   Sure, quality has its own price. But people have different needs of quality based on their affordability. Marketers have to meet the needs of all categories of buyers.
   
   And there are these super rich people who would not settle for anything that is not branded as premium. They may not have a real idea about the quality, but they get swayed by the premium with its added cost. it is one area where gullible marketers may cheat the rich, with a pricey product which may not really have a proportionate worth either in stuff or in quality.
   
   The food in a five-star restaurant may not really be better than the same menu served in a 3-star restaurant. But there are people who would never go to the 3-star one because it would be infra-dig for them to step into it.
   
   "Lokho binna ruchi" - (A sanskrit proverb) -- every one in this world has different tastes.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      ah...branding - the other end of this whole conversation!   I agree.  It's all a smoke and mirrors kind of market, isn't it?

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    Billie Kelpinposted 11 years ago

    ...so embarrassed.  I changed the question while I was writing it and am left with the horrible evidence of my scattered mind: "Why is does..."  iii yii yiii.  I wish Hubpages would let us change questions after that initial 10 minutes or so.  It won't be the first time I'm embarrassed, though, and I know it won't be the last. 
    
    The answers here are so much more than I expected. I really don't know what to say except "Thank you" for your thoughtful replies. 
    
    I guess it just seems as if everyone wants something for free, especially on the internet, and that really bothers me (not necessarily for my own sake, but for all the talented  musicians, comics, actors, photographers, etc. who are struggling to succeed in their craft.)  I try to click on ads of my fellow writers here on hubpages because when I asked for clarification, someone on the staff said if we were sincerely interested, we could click. I make a point of looking for an ad I might really want to view. 
    I wrote an app that I have to give away for free.  When a family member said he'd like to download my app, he was surprised that it was 99 cents! "I've never paid for an app before," he said.  I knew he wouldn't have bought it if we weren't related.   
    My little children's ebook is illustrated by a wonderful children's artist from the UK,  and I think, written well, but few want to pay for intangibles.
    But it's not only that ...it's all aspects of not wanting to pay people what they're worth because ultimately, that's the result and it becomes a vicious circle.  People who don't earn enough to pay for goods and services are forced into this cycle.

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       dashingscorpioposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I believe a lot of consumers are use to the apps being sold to Apple or some other manufacturer and they in turn bundle it with their products. Essentially the consumer is not your customer. Having said that there are some apps people do buy.

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       Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       D, I know. I should bundle this with some other products.  It was just a lark and a very simple app - what to say to your wife today kind-of=thing.  I was actually trying to make my kid's ebook a narrated app and was experimenting - Thanks!

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    dashingscorpioposted 11 years ago

    I don’t believe people are expecting to get something for nothing in the marketplace.
    However everyone wants to (feel) like they got a “deal”!
    This is one of the reasons that car dealerships don’t simply tell us the “sticker price” for a car (is the price) of the car. In other countries and cultures it’s normal to “negotiate” prices with shop owners.
    
    Online shopping has also made it possible for consumers to shop around the world to find the( best) prices for goods and services.  Sites such as eBay, Amazon, and Overstock.com make it possible for people to go into retail stores to examine a product and then go home and order it online.
    
    The primary reason for subscribing to a Sunday paper these days is to get the (coupon) section. The actual news itself was plastered online in “real time”. Department stores have always known people want sales/bargains. Wal-Mart specializes in offering products at reduced prices. Even people that do not shop there benefit because competitors can’t raise their prices as high as they would like to. McDonald’s sells more hamburgers than any other restaurant in the world and it’s not because they make the best burgers! LOL!
    
    Needless to say this is not just about consumers looking to get the best products for lowest prices. Business has always done the same thing. In fact the reason manufacturing and steel mills are not nearly as plentiful as they once were here is because businesses have (outsourced) jobs to (save money).  You’d have to deliberately work hard to buy “American” made products to fill your home. The business model always has been (buy low and sell as high as the market will bear). The only difference today is consumers have become much savvier than previous generations!

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       Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You hit on an important point, D.  It's the "negotiating"  I hate .Maybe it's a taboo passed on frm my parents. I wonder if generations back, my father came from wealth. My Aunt says my parents never had money 'cuz my dad would only eat Gr Giant peas

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    Borsiaposted 11 years ago

    Yes it has always been this way. Let me ask if your family bought the best they possibly could or simply what would get the job done.
    In most countries people will buy the cheapest unless it is a luxury, to them, IE; I've never bought a cheap fishing rod or reel or a cheap camera.
    I personally go for value and will buy better quality rather than buying again. But I wouldn't buy a Rolex over a Seiko.

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       Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Interesting. My father earned $140 a month.  I remember that because our rent was $70 and a 2 wk. vacation up North was $70.  In spite of little money left, he bought quality "everything"-my doll buggy, ice skates, best cuts of meat, tools, cars...

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    Sri Tposted 11 years ago

    Nothing really has any value, that's the secret. It's only a concept. Whatever the owner wants for it. As for looking for deals, yes it's better to be a smart shopper. Many companies are waking up to the excessive greed factor. Now that they know they can get away with it, they are off to the races. Everyday products from gasoline to doritos are going through the roof in California. Doritos are 4.29 a bag, the same price as a gallon of gasoline. If you have the money, its irrelevant, but the corporate greed cannot be denied.

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       Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I TOTALLY agree, couldn't agree more.  I heard a woman author on npr who studied people as they rise to power and found that empathy lessens as the rise to power increases.  The inability to relate when we have achieved money is behind greed, I think

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