5 ms·

There is also a joy and inherent value to real craftsmanship that transcends shallow desires for ostentation.

jotux 9y ago
A Veblen good, by definition, doesn't have additional value due to real craftsmanship or any other tangible characteristic. It gains value because of it's high price. Compare this Louis Vuitton leather briefcase: http://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/porte-documents-voyage-ombre-010113 http://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/porte-documents-v... To this Saddleback: http://www.saddlebackleather.com/thin-leather-briefcase http://www.saddlebackleather.com/thin-leather-briefcase 8x the price but the Saddleback likely has quality on par with, if not exceeding, the Louis. Sure, the Louis is probably very well made, but that has nothing to do with the price.
- int_19h 9y ago
  Back in the 90s in Russia (when this sort of thing was very much in vogue among the newly minted organized criminal / mobster class), there was a joke that went like this: - Hey man, look what a nice new tie I've got! $1500! - Dude, you're lame. They sell the same for $5k in the shop down the street.
PhasmaFelis 9y ago
It's fascinating to me to see articles about art aficionados using advanced means (carbon-dating, etc.) to pick out visually indistinguishable fakes. If one truly loves art, I should think that looking as good as a Rembrandt would be more important than who actually held the brush.
- erdle 9y ago
  totally different pictures though - if it's a print or even a copy painted in the last couple of decades the light will be hitting it all wrong. oil paintings are interesting in how they settle overtime and cure.
theoh 9y ago
To craftsmanship, yes. To goods made by that craftsperson? Aren't they only ever a proxy for human skill and achievement? (beyond some basic level of usefulness) A skilled stonemason these days might find him or herself doing quite a lot of work for the wealthy, creating buildings that have traditional-style features but are not good or authentic architecture. That doesn't demean the craftsmanship involved (thankfully), and keeps the skills alive, but the end product is more or less waste.
Fricken 9y ago
You can go to the museum to see that. If you need to own it, though, it's cuz you're doing it to advertise your wealth.
- anigbrowl 9y ago
  Third option: produce your own and wallow in aesthetic bliss for the low price of your materials, time, and financial stability.
  - elefanten 9y ago
    You cant be one of the best at everything and you'll get bored wallowing in one type of good.
    - anigbrowl 9y ago
      Ooh, a challenge :-) I was being facetious though, playing off the GP comment's mention of museums. I'm a painter and an unsociable one at that.
anigbrowl 9y ago
Yes, but that is a normal economic utility rather than the type that attaches to a Veblen good. I had a roommate years ago who made a living selling knockoffs of expensive handbags, but who would occasionally get busted and have his merchandise confiscated. (I personally think it should be legal to sell fakes but that's another story.) Anyway he switched to buy non-branded handbags, of really excellent quality, arguably as good or better than the fashionable ones. His business went well, as far as I know, but he had to sell more units to overcome the branding 'deficiency'.

A Veblen good, by definition, doesn't have additional value due to real craftsmanship or any other tangible characteristic. It gains value because of it's high price. Compare this Louis Vuitton leather briefcase: http://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/porte-documents-voyage-ombre-010113 http://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/porte-documents-v... To this Saddleback: http://www.saddlebackleather.com/thin-leather-briefcase http://www.saddlebackleather.com/thin-leather-briefcase 8x the price but the Saddleback likely has quality on par with, if not exceeding, the Louis. Sure, the Louis is probably very well made, but that has nothing to do with the price.

int_19h 9y ago
Back in the 90s in Russia (when this sort of thing was very much in vogue among the newly minted organized criminal / mobster class), there was a joke that went like this: - Hey man, look what a nice new tie I've got! $1500! - Dude, you're lame. They sell the same for $5k in the shop down the street.

PhasmaFelis 9y ago

It's fascinating to me to see articles about art aficionados using advanced means (carbon-dating, etc.) to pick out visually indistinguishable fakes. If one truly loves art, I should think that looking as good as a Rembrandt would be more important than who actually held the brush.

erdle 9y ago
totally different pictures though - if it's a print or even a copy painted in the last couple of decades the light will be hitting it all wrong. oil paintings are interesting in how they settle overtime and cure.

theoh 9y ago

To craftsmanship, yes. To goods made by that craftsperson? Aren't they only ever a proxy for human skill and achievement? (beyond some basic level of usefulness) A skilled stonemason these days might find him or herself doing quite a lot of work for the wealthy, creating buildings that have traditional-style features but are not good or authentic architecture. That doesn't demean the craftsmanship involved (thankfully), and keeps the skills alive, but the end product is more or less waste.

Fricken 9y ago

You can go to the museum to see that. If you need to own it, though, it's cuz you're doing it to advertise your wealth.

anigbrowl 9y ago
Third option: produce your own and wallow in aesthetic bliss for the low price of your materials, time, and financial stability.
- elefanten 9y ago
  You cant be one of the best at everything and you'll get bored wallowing in one type of good.
  - anigbrowl 9y ago
    Ooh, a challenge :-) I was being facetious though, playing off the GP comment's mention of museums. I'm a painter and an unsociable one at that.

anigbrowl 9y ago

Yes, but that is a normal economic utility rather than the type that attaches to a Veblen good. I had a roommate years ago who made a living selling knockoffs of expensive handbags, but who would occasionally get busted and have his merchandise confiscated. (I personally think it should be legal to sell fakes but that's another story.) Anyway he switched to buy non-branded handbags, of really excellent quality, arguably as good or better than the fashionable ones. His business went well, as far as I know, but he had to sell more units to overcome the branding 'deficiency'.