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People in general do not give a fuck about anything besides price, and behind that, convenience. However, people spend a lot of time talking about how they car

People in general do not give a fuck about anything besides price, and behind that, convenience. However, people spend a lot of time talking about how they care about more than just price. The actual manifestation is tiny though.

ethanbond 3y ago
People care about multiple things on different time horizons. There’s nothing contradictory in saying, “I would prefer a world not owned entirely by one PE firm” and “I will generally seek the lowest acceptable prices.”
- PeterisP 3y ago
  The contradiction is not between saying two different things about different time horizons, but saying one thing and doing another. It matters little what you someone says with their words if they say the opposite with their money - if in practice someone is seeking the lowest acceptable prices, then their "revealed preference", to use the technical term, is that they're actually preferring a world where that shop is run by a PE firm, as they're actively helping make that world happen. And sure, their stated preference may well be that a world not owned entirely by one PE firm, but really, who cares about the stated preference that doesn't get reflected in acts in the real world? Those are just empty, misleading lies if the actual choices show the opposite. It's like saying "I prefer a world where I will lose weight" while buying a 12-pack of donuts for lunch.
  - ethanbond 3y ago
    That term isn’t “the” technical term. It’s a term from economics to try to explain apparently contradictory behaviors. Gee wiz, what a great explanation! “People just don’t actually prefer the things they say they prefer, even when they have far better reasons to prefer their stated preference over their revealed preference.” Now here’s the thing, when you actually ask someone actually amidst buying the dozen donuts if they’d prefer to have the donuts or to lose weight, they’ll tell you “to buy the donuts.” If you remind them of their goal to lose weight, they’ll shrug and say “yeah but that starts tomorrow,” or “oh well,” or “I’ll skip dinner later.” Why? Because it’s not actually the case they are behaving against their preferences. It’s that their preferences are alternating as different rewards approach on different time horizons. “Revealed vs stated preferences” is the laziest frictionless spherical cow explanation of human behavior ever crafted.
    - ethanbond 3y ago
      Too late to edit, but I’ll add: the revealed vs stated explanation is plenty useful for some things. A lot of times (especially in business) you don’t really care why someone behaves against their stated interests. But that doesn’t mean it’s actually an accurate description of what’s happening at the individual level.
BeetleB 3y ago
> People in general do not give a fuck about anything besides price, and behind that, convenience. They do when it comes to their pets.
QuarterReptile 3y ago
First, you should be careful about thinking you know people in general, and even if you could know such an abstract and totalizing thing, you don't need all the customers, just enough customers, or even plenty of customers. Also, the very fact of charity shows that people must care about something other than price. Paying higher prices to interact with your neighbors is just a much smaller step on the same road of doing things you think are beneficial but that won't maintain your bank account at the highest possible value at that exact instant. Farmer's markets are another example of the same. You're either looking at the wrong people or making the wrong changes, if you don't think anyone actually cares about anything other than price.
- SantalBlush 3y ago
  It's people with deeper wallets who do what you're describing, including shopping at farmer's markets. This brings us to the real way a smaller business survives against a giant competitor: they raise their prices and target a niche market by offering more obscure/luxury products or services. That produce at the farmer's market? It's not the same produce that you'll find at Kroger. If it were, the farmer's market wouldn't last long.

ethanbond 3y ago

People care about multiple things on different time horizons. There’s nothing contradictory in saying, “I would prefer a world not owned entirely by one PE firm” and “I will generally seek the lowest acceptable prices.”

PeterisP 3y ago
The contradiction is not between saying two different things about different time horizons, but saying one thing and doing another. It matters little what you someone says with their words if they say the opposite with their money - if in practice someone is seeking the lowest acceptable prices, then their "revealed preference", to use the technical term, is that they're actually preferring a world where that shop is run by a PE firm, as they're actively helping make that world happen. And sure, their stated preference may well be that a world not owned entirely by one PE firm, but really, who cares about the stated preference that doesn't get reflected in acts in the real world? Those are just empty, misleading lies if the actual choices show the opposite. It's like saying "I prefer a world where I will lose weight" while buying a 12-pack of donuts for lunch.
- ethanbond 3y ago
  That term isn’t “the” technical term. It’s a term from economics to try to explain apparently contradictory behaviors. Gee wiz, what a great explanation! “People just don’t actually prefer the things they say they prefer, even when they have far better reasons to prefer their stated preference over their revealed preference.” Now here’s the thing, when you actually ask someone actually amidst buying the dozen donuts if they’d prefer to have the donuts or to lose weight, they’ll tell you “to buy the donuts.” If you remind them of their goal to lose weight, they’ll shrug and say “yeah but that starts tomorrow,” or “oh well,” or “I’ll skip dinner later.” Why? Because it’s not actually the case they are behaving against their preferences. It’s that their preferences are alternating as different rewards approach on different time horizons. “Revealed vs stated preferences” is the laziest frictionless spherical cow explanation of human behavior ever crafted.
  - ethanbond 3y ago
    Too late to edit, but I’ll add: the revealed vs stated explanation is plenty useful for some things. A lot of times (especially in business) you don’t really care why someone behaves against their stated interests. But that doesn’t mean it’s actually an accurate description of what’s happening at the individual level.

BeetleB 3y ago

> People in general do not give a fuck about anything besides price, and behind that, convenience. They do when it comes to their pets.

QuarterReptile 3y ago

First, you should be careful about thinking you know people in general, and even if you could know such an abstract and totalizing thing, you don't need all the customers, just enough customers, or even plenty of customers. Also, the very fact of charity shows that people must care about something other than price. Paying higher prices to interact with your neighbors is just a much smaller step on the same road of doing things you think are beneficial but that won't maintain your bank account at the highest possible value at that exact instant. Farmer's markets are another example of the same. You're either looking at the wrong people or making the wrong changes, if you don't think anyone actually cares about anything other than price.

SantalBlush 3y ago
It's people with deeper wallets who do what you're describing, including shopping at farmer's markets. This brings us to the real way a smaller business survives against a giant competitor: they raise their prices and target a niche market by offering more obscure/luxury products or services. That produce at the farmer's market? It's not the same produce that you'll find at Kroger. If it were, the farmer's market wouldn't last long.