This is a question that I have often asked myself: You go in to a sunglasses store, and take a quick look around.
There are many different types of sunglasses of course, however you notice that they all seem to have one thing in common - the price! Attempting to purchase the top "designer" sunglasses these days will commonly set you back between $200 and $500! When you think about it - why would you actually pay that price for a bit of plastic and maybe a little metal if you are lucky, when you could just head in to a place such as H&M and get a pair for a mere $9? It truly baffles me that people are prepared to spend such exorbitant amount of money on such a minor accessory.
So, why are these designer sunglasses so expensive? Well - you are paying for the label of course.
And how do we know that? It's because when you line a pair of designer sunglasses up with a pair from say - H&M - and then ask people to tell you which is better, without revealing which is the designer branded one - they will have trouble actually making a decision.
This in itself says a lot.
It means that really, at the end of the day - the sunglasses that you could pick up at an H&M store - or on the H&M website is actually just as good - if not better in some situations, than the high priced alternatives.
Here is another thing that people tend to fall for - pushy shop assistants.
Of course, in these higher priced stores, assistants are party based on a commission structure for their pay.
The more the sell, the more money they make.
Of course - this is great for the employee, but ultimately not so good for the customer.
It leads to what some people call the "fake opinion".
Things such as "oh yes - they look just great o you", or "wow, that really suits your face" - are all common lines people use to get you excited about purchasing the product.
Over at H&M there is none of that.
If a pair of H&M sunglasses doesn't look good, the assistants will say so.
This is because they don't have the added incentive to make as much money as possible - only to make the customers happy and return time and time again.
Clearly, it seems to be working.