Ah, the consumer culture.
A recent Associated Press business article informs us that “A number of companies are … targeting the affluent who don’t want to hold onto anything for long and those less monied folks who want to get a taste of the lifestyles of the rich.”
Examples include a Seattle-based online service called Bag Borrow or Steal that allows customers to borrow designer handbags through a monthly membership fee. Gotham Dream Cars LLC in New York will deliver exotic cars such as a Lamborghini Gallardo to customers for rental fees ranging from $595 to $1,950 a day.
On the other end, Portero is a “luxury exchange site” that sells second-hand high-end electronics, fashion, jewelry, art, cars and home items. It has registered 8,000 buyers and 6,000 sellers.
“The whole mindset is changing. Customers are no longer buying things to hold on to,” said Portero president Daniel Nissanoff.
Don’t worry, no lectures about a throw-away society here. These services definitely seem like an improvement to, say, buying a fancy handbag at Nordstrom for your big night out and then returning it under their liberal return policy.
And if the affluent don’t want to hold onto their new things, but can resell them, well, there’s a reason they’re wealthy.
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