"Translation: candidates actually expect to negotiate a fair salary, sensible working conditions, fringe benefits, and maybe even relo costs, while the company

"Translation: candidates actually expect to negotiate a fair salary, sensible working conditions, fringe benefits, and maybe even relo costs, while the company would rather bring in starry-eyed naifs willing to take the company's "fun creation" instead of real compensation." I don't think your translation is accurate. Your argument seems based around your personal value for money over "intangibles" and misses the fact that these intangibles are a non-trivial business cost for Zappos Ex. Parties aren't free, nor are the meetings of high-level execs who carefully plan the parties and craft the culture. They just seem free in a similar way that the roads we drive on seem free. These intangibles have been at the core of Zappos' success for years and it's clearly been working for them. [0][1] The Zappos network is yet another experiment in a long line of experiments from a customer service company located in the desert considering new, innovative ways to attract and retain the right talent for their culture. This experiment might completely fail or it might give them the extra leverage they're looking for to help their small HR team. [0] http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/snapshots/31.html http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/s... [1] http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2014/snapshots/38.html http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2014/s...