4 ms·

Don't expect too much lobster (like caviar) is basically a Veblen good unless you live somewhere you can get it very cheap

ghaff 9y ago
You'd have to convince me that lobster is a Veblen good. Yes, it's often priced as a luxury good once you get away from the New England coast--and sometimes even there--but that's not the same thing as saying higher prices increase demand. I expect the restaurant selling $25 lobster rolls would sell more if they were a more reasonable $12 but they might not make as much money. I do like lobster when the price is reasonable. What is true is that it's very delicate so it's really wasted in things like lobster mac and cheese.
- Retric 9y ago
  We used to use Lobster as prison food / dog food because nobody liked it. It's mostly a tasteless meat which has become more popular as westerners have shifted to blander foods. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/26/394339284/how-snobbery-helped-take-the-spice-out-of-european-cooking http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/26/394339284/how...
  - ghaff 9y ago
    Well, it was extremely plentiful and cheap--which led to a sort of stigma being attached to it. Lobster is also very delicate; if it's not prepared super-fresh, it's not very good. Food fashions aren't always rational though. It seems to have become popular largely when people from New York and DC started vacationing up in New England in the 1800s.
  - sageikosa 9y ago
    It holds butter real well, without it soaking in too much.
    - eric_h 9y ago
      This. Lobster is an excellent vehicle for butter.
- beagle3 9y ago
  Higher prices increase demand are called giffen goods iirc. Veblen goods are goods that people buy to signal their higher status. (No opinion on whether lobsters outside of New England are Veblen goods. Am vegetarian)
  - ghaff 9y ago
    They both have inverted demand curves. Veblen goods because of status or because price becomes a signal. Giffen because of substitution effects. It's not clear that Giffen Goods actually exist.
Filligree 9y ago
Lobster is tasty, and kind of an unusual experience if it's your first time. Depending on how much you value experiences, it may be worth it even if it's expensive -- I wouldn't know, it's cheap in this area. Caviar is still tasty, but not fundamentally different from, say, peanut butter. It's something you spread on bread. I don't think I'd bother with it. If you do get some, try putting sliced, hard-boiled egg in a sandwich, caviar on top of the eggs. That's a great combination.
greglindahl 9y ago
Veblen goods aren't supposed to go up in price as supplies increase. See the graph in https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-18/maine-is-drowning-in-lobsters https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-18/maine-is-...

ghaff 9y ago

You'd have to convince me that lobster is a Veblen good. Yes, it's often priced as a luxury good once you get away from the New England coast--and sometimes even there--but that's not the same thing as saying higher prices increase demand. I expect the restaurant selling $25 lobster rolls would sell more if they were a more reasonable $12 but they might not make as much money. I do like lobster when the price is reasonable. What is true is that it's very delicate so it's really wasted in things like lobster mac and cheese.

Retric 9y ago
We used to use Lobster as prison food / dog food because nobody liked it. It's mostly a tasteless meat which has become more popular as westerners have shifted to blander foods. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/26/394339284/how-snobbery-helped-take-the-spice-out-of-european-cooking http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/26/394339284/how...
- ghaff 9y ago
  Well, it was extremely plentiful and cheap--which led to a sort of stigma being attached to it. Lobster is also very delicate; if it's not prepared super-fresh, it's not very good. Food fashions aren't always rational though. It seems to have become popular largely when people from New York and DC started vacationing up in New England in the 1800s.
- sageikosa 9y ago
  It holds butter real well, without it soaking in too much.
  - eric_h 9y ago
    This. Lobster is an excellent vehicle for butter.
beagle3 9y ago
Higher prices increase demand are called giffen goods iirc. Veblen goods are goods that people buy to signal their higher status. (No opinion on whether lobsters outside of New England are Veblen goods. Am vegetarian)
- ghaff 9y ago
  They both have inverted demand curves. Veblen goods because of status or because price becomes a signal. Giffen because of substitution effects. It's not clear that Giffen Goods actually exist.

Filligree 9y ago

Lobster is tasty, and kind of an unusual experience if it's your first time. Depending on how much you value experiences, it may be worth it even if it's expensive -- I wouldn't know, it's cheap in this area. Caviar is still tasty, but not fundamentally different from, say, peanut butter. It's something you spread on bread. I don't think I'd bother with it. If you do get some, try putting sliced, hard-boiled egg in a sandwich, caviar on top of the eggs. That's a great combination.

greglindahl 9y ago

Veblen goods aren't supposed to go up in price as supplies increase. See the graph in https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-18/maine-is-drowning-in-lobsters https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-18/maine-is-...