Supply and demand

[pez]

Grow. Up.

It's Christmas. Or birthday. Gift-giving time. Or the day a new console priced at £400 coming out and you really really want it. If you can't afford it or think it's not worth the price tag, grow up and don't whine. Either save up for it, or wait for the price to come down, or just don't get it. It's not rent or clothes or food, you don't need it to live. If it's completely out of your price range, it doesn't mean they've priced it too high - you're just not their target customer. It's a simple theory of supply and demand, which determines the price. There are other people who think it's worth that price; Nobody sells stuff at a price they know won't make them money because nobody'd buy it. And what is wrong with somoene trying to make the most money out of their product/service? Everyone wants to live better. Have more money to get presents for family. You obviously want to have more money too, to get that perfect gift, and guess what? Other people feel just the same. They just have the means to get that extra bit of money quickly, by selling things at a premium price to a small bunch of people willing to pay at that price.

People are just so... WTF. When the PS3 came out, for example. "Wii is sooo much better, it's cheap and everything! Sony are losers!" - go and buy the Wii, then. Let's see, the Wii doesn't do high definition, doesn't play Blu-Ray, doesn't even play normal DVDs. And the sounds are mediocre. It's like comparing a mo-pad to a motorbike (although said motorbike hasn't got much petrol in it right now, but that's a different topic). If those features aren't important to you and you like Nintendo games better, you're probably the sort of people Nintendo's targeting and you will end up getting a Wii. It doesn't mean the people who bought PS3 when it first came out were all idiots. They think it's worth it, that's all that matters. If Sony really priced PS3 too high, they'll realise when the sale figures are low and eventually there'll be an adjustment. Or maybe their strategy is price-skimming, in the first place. In the meanwhile, very few people will be playing PS3 games. What good is it for you to go whinge whinge whine complain? If you hate it so much, don't play it then, for fuck's sake. And if you can't find a Wii to buy, then see the paragraph above. The eBay sellers are there to make money, but nobody is holding a gun to your head forcing you to buy the bloody thing. Get something when the price is right for you. If others are able to afford it before you, then so be it. Get over it.

Think supply and demand. Target market. If that dress, or that paid LJ account with extra userpics, is too expensive for you, then it's not for you. It's all good to be a little upset about it and talk about it sometimes. Think about how you can afford it (sell something? Get a part time job?), and if you really want it so bad. Might be a good lesson that teaches you the importance of saving up, too, and how to cope with life's little disappointments. And you'll treasure it more if you do get it in the end. But please, don't keep whining about it day after day after day. It's inconsequential. Your life would not be incomplete just because you don't have it. Wake up, grow up.

Comments

[solaas.livejournal.com]

Word!

[scribblemoose]

I think the world would be a better place if consumers weren't so gullible. And if credit wasn't so freely available. And if capitalism would just go away.

But there you go, I'm just a hippy with a guilty fetish for electronic gagetry. I'm doomed.

[fic-faery.livejournal.com]

Actually, PS3 sort of did outprice their target market as sales have been abysmal and they've been slashing prices and creating cheaper versions with less memory in them to try to boost sales and get their target market to actually buy the thing.

Though I imagine another problem for Sony is that demand is down because none of their big name games have been released on PS3. And then they have plenty of supply of the systems because unlike the Wii they have easy access to all of the parts and there's no wait to create more.

So in the end, despite Sony having the superior product, with a high price and few games wii will continue to out sell it despite limited stock to sell.

[potter.livejournal.com]

Yep, I totally agree with this. PS3 priced the console too highly, I think. The target market might not have been 12 year olds, but certainly, a share of the target of any console is the older teens, student, early twenties market -- and who, of those people, can easily afford a £400 console? I think Sony ballsed it up, big time. That and, well, Blu Ray isn't all that shiny, if you ask me. ;)

But in response to the post itself, I totally agree with you. Not enough people are going out there and trying their hardest to get a job nowadays. It makes me angry when I see the families of people I work with claiming benefits purely because they get more money that way, than if they got a job. It is a tricky business, job hunting, I've been there, but sometimes people just don't seem to want to try.

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

They probably did. But my point it, it's Sony's problem and they'll adjust it eventually (price has gone down by 1/4 now I think). They learn their lessons through consumers' response, which is reflected most directly through bad sales. Whining about it isn't going to help.

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

Not that I know much at all, but I think their market might actually be 30+ year olds this time, those with real spending power and look for new gadgets and have a hi-def TV...

(Not sure about the whole blu-ray vs what's-the-other-format issue. It's probably going to end up like VHS vs BETAMAX. =_=)

[lechaco.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I think it just needs to wait until PS3's flagship game, Final Fantasy XIII comes out. I didn't think much about the PSP until Crisis Core came out. That is a truly amazing game and was a major selling point for PSPs which allowed it to top sales of the DS in Japan (and in Japan, they have more awesome DS games too). Just at the moment, PS3 hasn't seen really spectacular games to make the consumers buy it. Though I would love it if Sony slashed prices a bit more. DX

[eolo.livejournal.com]

We're so alike... it scares me, the other day I vented at some idiot in a makeup forum when she immediately categorized everyone who bought high-end cosmetics as idiots, because drugstore brands did the exact same thing.

And I said "Excuse me, they don't, foundation wise the quality isn't the same, the finish isn't the same and the way your skin reacts isn't the same, specially if you have break-out prone skin, so don't come and complain because you can't afford it."

She got offended and called me a snob, which was fascinating, considering she called me an idiot first... BAH

[strawberryjoy.livejournal.com]

Anyone who's whining I will put in touch with my 18 year old brother who will be working all through Christmas, is on minimum wage, and has had no holidays for 2 years having found himself employment before he even left school (a special school, remember, he's autistic) with no qualifications, and hasn't been out of work for a single day since! He cyles to and from work, manages and pays all his bills himself, and when I gave him £200 for his birthday he used it to pay his television licence.

I'd very happily buy him a PS3 for Christmas but he probably wouldn't use it because he's trying to keep his electricity bill down.