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A 'luxury good' in the technical sense is one where when your income goes up your spending on that good goes up disproportionately. So: * Rice, Buses: 'inferi
by jefftk 4y ago
A 'luxury good' in the technical sense is one where when your income goes up your spending on that good goes up disproportionately. So:
* Rice, Buses: 'inferior goods', because as people get richer they shift their spending to other goods.
* Bread, Cars: 'normal goods', because as people get richer they spend more on them.
* Caviar, Sports Cars: 'luxury goods', a category of normal goods where as as people get richer they spend a much larger percentage of their income on them.
See's Candy is a high-end candy brand, and I would expect it to function as a luxury good here.
- azinman2 4y agoI wouldn’t equate it with caviar or sports cars. It used to be a treat for the masses. My grandparents would often have a box, and were anything but luxury - sharecropping farmers retired and living on social security. I don’t think they ever bought a “luxury” item. But perhaps this is regional as it’s HQed in South SF.
- jefftk 4y agoI do think it's likely more of a luxury item nationally, yeah; I didn't realize you were talking specifically about Sees in its local area. But even then, I wouldn't be surprised at all if had your grandparents suddenly had 20% more money their spending on Sees would have gone up by more than 20%.
- mbesto 4y agoLuxury goods have a definition and has little do with how luxurious the potential buyer is: In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to necessity goods, where demand increases proportionally less than income. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_goods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_goods
- dredmorbius 4y agoThe etymology is interesting, and even more emphatic: c. 1300, "sexual intercourse;" mid-14c., "lasciviousness, sinful self-indulgence;" late 14c., "sensual pleasure," from Old French luxurie "debauchery, dissoluteness, lust" (12c., Modern French luxure), from Latin luxuria "excess, extravagant living, profusion; delicacy" (source also of Spanish lujuria, Italian lussuria), from luxus "excess, extravagance; magnificence," probably a figurative use of luxus (adj.) "dislocated," which is related to luctari "wrestle, strain" (see reluctance). <https://www.etymonline.com/word/luxury https://www.etymonline.com/word/luxury>
- mbesto 4y agoluxury != luxury goods
- dredmorbius 4y agoEtymology informs. It is not definition, but does show sense evolution. That said, this etymology tends to support your position, given that at the heart of luxury is the sense of self-indulgence. Which would seem to apply to the non-essential nature of See's Candies. Regardless, I wasn't arguing for or against your view, only providing what seems to be an interesting datapoint. Cheers.
- mbesto 4y agoOk.
- lotsoweiners 4y agoIt still is affordable. It is only considered expensive when you compare it to the candy in the checkout line at the grocery store.