[Jewelry making - Article 00170] - Re: [Orchid] Why is it so hard?

[Trevor F]

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>     ... You somehow believe that YOU have the right to choose FOR OTHER
>     PEOPLE .... 

    Interesting interpretation. It has nothing to do with what I've said
    or actually believe but hey, that's part of what makes life so
    interesting: the unexpected. 

>     I think if you really want to shop ... in the U.S. to find the
>     HIGHER PRICED goods that meet your "quality" preference you will
>     ALWAYS be able to find them. 

    Been there, done that. I was living and working in a major US city at
    a time when I was earning the highest wage I've ever earned in my
    life and I spared myself few luxuries, more or less. However, what
    I've said I still believe: the overall quality of stuff in Europe is
    higher and often the selection of those quality goods is broader,
    especially in the mid to higher quality brackets. You obviously feel
    that this is either false or impossible and that's your business. ;)
    I see it pretty much every time I go shopping so that's my reality.
    C'est la vie. 

>     ... You believe somehow control should be kept from them .... 

    On the contrary, I think that they might want to exercise a little
    _self_ control which, I believe, is what I've been repeating
    throughout this discussion. 

    We certainly agree on this: buyer's _should_ make their own choices
    etc etc. Simply stated nothing else will do. However, the point I've
    been trying to make is that it is not money in the pocket that makes a
    consumer wise or meritorious, it is what is in their head that might
    make them so. Simply because they have money to spend does not make
    them wise spenders. 

    It seems as obvious to me as the day is long that if most consumers
    want cheapo goods that's what they'll get, in overwhelming abundance.
    And I would think that it is equally obvious that the producers of the
    other goods will change, quit, or leave. At some point said consumer
    may find that this has brought them to a place that isn't so great
    after all: they've effectively bargain-hunted themselves into a
    dollar-store marketplace. 

>     ... those who wish to move "up" in "quality" will ALWAYS be able to
>     do so in the U.S. 

    Yes, I more or less agree, but I'm saying their selection will often
    be somewhat limited as compared to other marketplaces where people
    are not unaccustomed to paying more for quality goods, ie Europe, and
    thereby fueling that part of their economy. We're not talking
    absolutes here, we're talking relative comparisons. To simply state
    that you can "move up" says nothing about what you'll find when you
    get there. The shelves may be _comparatively_ bare because in the
    time it took you to "move up" the producers and suppliers who would
    otherwise have stocked those shelves have disappeared. Because of the
    pressures the bulk of consumers have applied through their spending
    habits many of those producers will have either re-tooled to supply
    cheaper goods or left the market. 

    I've said it before and it's worth repeating: the American economy is
    a wonder to behold and I am often very thankful that it is there to
    satisfy my needs and desires when circumstances do not allow me to
    satisfy those needs locally. However, that marketplace is not without
    it's own particular characteristics, as compared to other
    marketplaces, and sometimes those characteristics are ...
    under-whelming. Contrary to popular belief the American marketplace
    is not without it's _comparatively_ bare shelves here and there. To
    simply repeat that this cannot be so is to wander with intent from
    the path of enlightenment. 

>     And Wal-Mart and other U.S. big box stores are rapidly expanding
>     into Europe .... 

    Yes, I've seen them. People here worry about them having the same
    effect here as they have in the US but that's an overall concern, it
    applies to many US influences on the European economy. Some local
    producers and "small box" shops are disappearing because of the "big
    box" places but the process appears to be moving much slower here. I
    suspect it's something like the McDonald's story: it exists but in a
    much smaller proportion than in the US because a smaller proportion
    of the people are interested in that kind of product, which has been
    my point all along. 

>     Nice wall, BTW. 

    Thank you. 

Cheers,
Trevor F.

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