Am I a cheapskate or what? On one of the blogs I follow, a lady has won a give away of a lovely bag/tote, the retail price being $365.00. Now I guess I'm going to sound jealous here but let me assure you I am not. What I would like to say is that I can't see the value in the item. The bag in question is made from an old German grain sack and made into quite a large tote like bag. Is the value in the old grain sack, the labour hours it took to make (it's looks like a fairly simple design) or the fact that it can be bought from a business that sells "vintage/antique"?
I am not about criticising people who are earning a living, crafting, designing and spending a lot of time building a business. I'm questioning whether the pricing of such items is over the top because it has the label "vintage or antique" attached to it? I have similar issues with branded clothes. They are made in the same sweat shops in China or India as the clothes you can buy in Target or K-mart, are usually the same quality but cost three and four times the amount, sometimes more.
This really does sound like I'm full of sour grapes but I don't understand when it appears someone is taking advantage of an image or idea and then uses that to tack on a huge price.
I may well be misguided and uneducated on this subject and would be interested in the opinion and viewpoints of other people. Be brave, let me know what you think if you have the time to comment.
Anne
P.S. I am in no way criticising the concept of give aways on blogs, vintage, antiques, or the lovely lady who won the bag. It is lovely and she has used it beautifully in her home as a decorative piece. It's all about the concept. Just wanted to make that clear.
I am not about criticising people who are earning a living, crafting, designing and spending a lot of time building a business. I'm questioning whether the pricing of such items is over the top because it has the label "vintage or antique" attached to it? I have similar issues with branded clothes. They are made in the same sweat shops in China or India as the clothes you can buy in Target or K-mart, are usually the same quality but cost three and four times the amount, sometimes more.
This really does sound like I'm full of sour grapes but I don't understand when it appears someone is taking advantage of an image or idea and then uses that to tack on a huge price.
I may well be misguided and uneducated on this subject and would be interested in the opinion and viewpoints of other people. Be brave, let me know what you think if you have the time to comment.
Anne
P.S. I am in no way criticising the concept of give aways on blogs, vintage, antiques, or the lovely lady who won the bag. It is lovely and she has used it beautifully in her home as a decorative piece. It's all about the concept. Just wanted to make that clear.
