Car purchases are about more than the product: durability, warranty and availability matter. The same goes for clothes. Restaurants are about the experience and

Car purchases are about more than the product: durability, warranty and availability matter. The same goes for clothes. Restaurants are about the experience and health reputation. While I may purchase a lesser shirt from a known brand when a superior one was at the same price from a street shop, I may be justified in that choice because I cannot know in advance that the better shirt is as durable. I may even purchase an Arduino when a cheaper Chinese replica has the same specs, in order to contribute to their R&D. Of course, there will be some to knowingly spend on lesser products for fame's sake. But I'm not convinced this is the case here. Firstly, the owner may have been told he could make a fortune, and spent more than he could afford hoping to make that money back tenfold. Secondly, some markets act as implicit international currencies, such as gold, and tangible art. This is similar to owning a forged €500 bill.