Posted by alexandra_k on September 9, 2019, at 17:21:33
I have been thinking a lot about scalability. About how I have heard people say that things often don't seem to be scalable.
You have a little company producing some quality product. People buy in (purchase the product) for something along the lines of the right reasons. Because they value the quality, or whatever.
But then other people sort of catch on and go along for the ride.
Then eventually you have a lot of people doing that because... It is easier? It is habit? Because they don't know why.
I was looking into shoes... I will risk this one. I was looking into shoes...
Doc Martins was produced out of this shoe store someplace in England. Then they took off... Then production got shifted off shore to keep up with the sales.
Now we have 'vegan' (which is to say non-leather, synthetic) fibre shoes costing a price premium solely (haha) because of the branding around the product.
I have found that if you are willing to hunt through the mounds and mounds and mounds of crap you can find one or two pairs of good, solid, functional, hardwearing leather, made in England doc martin shoes. Actually... Very (very very) reasonably priced. One might want to say... That all the money they are making off of the people willing to throw $300 + dollars into rubbish shoes with the right label... Some of that money, at least, is subsidising a good, sensible, pair of functional shoes for someone who can tell the difference and choose those ones.
And what happened to all of the beautiful beautiful functional boots? Soleofair is what happened to them. A different company. A different label. But the whole good quality leather that's been dyed different colors on a good quality sole... Thats where that went.
And now I feel like I've run the risk of ruining it. Maybe I won't be able to find those shoes at that price when I look next time. Maybe they'll be all sold out.
But I'm seeing it more, now. If I look.. Put time into looking.
Because people can't tell the difference. Or... Because people have different things that they value.
Eleiko barbells.
I think I can get a barbell from here that... Given the price point... Given the price point.... Well... A subsidy is coming from somewhere else in the production line / production process...
It isn't about 'we made too many now we have to sell them at reduced cost because that's better than boxing them up until fashions return in 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 years...'
And that is as it should be. I reckon. That seems fair.
I really need to lift from home. So I have some control over that.
The obvious cardio solution is a bicycle... And rollers. Rollers so I can do that from home, too...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1106072
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20190715/msgs/1106072.html