Do you like to blow money on CRAP like $250 sunglasses?

[McPhreak]

Well, seeing how I paid $300 for my glasses, I guess my answer to your question would have to be "yes".

Also shelled out $350 for my Elsa Gladiac 920 a few months back when it first came out sorta out of impulse.

No I don't make a lot of money. I just buy a few really expensive things here and there.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

<< Just curious. What makes Oakley worth 10+ times more than 25 dollar sunglasses. I never wear sunglasses so I don't know anything about them. I am just curious what makes Oakley so special? (besides the name) >>



Oakleys really are very good sunglasses - optically they are excellent, and they are extremely sturdy and very resistant to breaking. Whether or not they are worth the money is a personal matter. I had a pair of Oakley E-Wires (a mere $125 at the time) that treated me well for a few years.

 

[Jhill]

I would like to do an experiment and buy some nice but cheap 25 dollar sunglasses and put the name oakley on them and see if people still bought them.

That would determine if people just bought them for the name or not.

 

[Saltin]

<< What makes a Rolex watch cost $10,000? The name. >>




Well, that and they are the best wrist watches made by man. Go look at one and ask to try it on. You will see what I mean.

 

[tantos]

Why do people buy such things? Maybe bacause they like spending their hard earned dollars on themselves!
God, throughtout this off topic forum and the hot deal forum, any and all geeks seem to not miss a night of sleep when
they plunk down 2-3 bills on the latest and greatest video card or cpu, yet when it comes to personal items such as shoes, glasses,
and clothing, they would rag on anyone that would be so blasphemous as to spend such worthy dollars on such items.

Why do I spend so much money on clothes and glasses? Maybe because I actually want to look good. I don't think walmart or kmart will
sell the same kind of quality clothing that I can get at BR or any other retail establishment. I paid $125 bucks for pair of Oakley Why3 Frames, $220
on a pair of Armani prescriptions, and another $250 on a pair of Gucci prescription sunglasses. I'm still in school but I have no debts whatsoever.. I only buy what I can afford and never have had
to take out loans to pay for school.

 

[Kermy]

Paid 275 - 50 dollar coupon for my Oakley Romeo's. Still haven't gotten the prescription lenses for it yet. That'll cost around 200. But it's all worth it. Really nice sunglasses.

 

[ArbitrarilyInsane]

I spent £90 (~$140 to $150) on my Oakley Zero's. They claim zero refraction with the black iridium lenses. Besides, they look cool.

My motto is, don't buy anything you cannot afford to lose. My watch just tells the time, thats all. It doesn't try telling me my gps position or what time it is in guatemala. It isn't made of gold and diamonds either although I do have one of those (Rado) I wear on "special" occassions. With clothes, I never buy any designer gear that has advertising all over it (on the chest, side of the arms, back etc.0. A Little logo on the corner of the chest or in the collar or in the bottom corner is ok. This either means buying general cheap stuff, which can be uncomfortable if you don't look around, or it could mean buying really expensive stuff that usually has the logo on the inside, so you feel a bit more dignified (yes, huge logos across the chest does make me feel undignified,and like a billboard).

I live in central london, so I don't have a car. If I need to go away for business, the company provides one. I also don't spend 5 digit figures in home cinema etc. But I still can't save any money. Bizarre!

 

[spidey07]

$250 dollar sun glasses? He's just taking good care of his eyes (UV rays) and avoiding wrinkles from constant squinting.

Seems like a pretty good investment to me. They'll last many many years. My REVOs are 5 years old and look great. A good amount of the time you get what you pay for. Sometimes you don't.

<edit> about name brand clothes. I really don't think it is just a name. The nautica and tommy clothes I wear FAR outlast my other clothes. Cheap clothes last me about a year before they are faded, shrunk, threads busted. My name brand clothes last 3-4 years. Pretty big difference to me.

 

[bozack]

Skoorb, the last thing you said I can agree with:

"$3500 in stereo equipment in a $2000 car. "

However in regards to this Statement:

"A guy I know just bought sunglasses for $250. It's hardly as if he is loaded; he is a university student but for some reason felt compelled to do this. Other such similar ridiculous purchases would be $1800 watch if you make $30k/year"

and then followed up by:

"So what sort of crap do you buy that is really a total waste of money and you know it? "

I cannot totally agree...however you must first know that I am partially biased....

In the first scenerio you have 1. a car that is cheap and will definately depreciate in value and 2. Stereo equipment that will depreciate in value as that stuff gets old quick, not only does it increase the risk of your POS car getting broken into, in which case they will only take the radio and more times than not insurance will not give you Squat, least that was what happened to me...(had a $3,000 car with a $1500 Stereo in it, let my brother borrow it and it got stolen at the Mall, got back in total $1500 for car and radio...not a good deal)

Now In Regards to your Other Statements

I also bought a rather pricey pair of Sunglasses in College, not that much but enough (Like $125 Oakleys)......

My reasoning was that I always lose, scratch or Ruin Cheap sunglasses...if I got expensive ones I would never have that happen....three years later I still have the same sunglasses and they are in really good shape considering everything, also your talking about your EYES, something that I know I hold to have great importance in life and would hate to damage/ruin so I am all for spending a little more for better UV protection.

Now I make a little over 50k a year, and I drive a $19,000 car...but I bought a $2,600 Rolex.....why the expensive watch and the Cheaper car you may ask??

because I know that the car will lose value over time rather quickly...however the watch on the other hand will not lose that much at all as Rolexes are always in demand, also I am quite interested in High end watches as a hobby and have been for the past two years...

So the watch I can understand as long as done with taste and with proper knowledge....

I am also a sucker for high end writing instruments....and such

and my salary is not that great, just something that interests me

but if I just felt like blowing money on one thing, I would probabily get an all gold Rolex, or IWC (International Watch Co.) or even Patek watch...and a nice Montegrappa Fountain pen.

Well those and a new S351 Mustang
But that is just me

Sometimes people are just interested in High end stuff....I know people that spend retarded amounts of money on computer equipment, even though it is outdated the second it gets to their house...and I think that is very silly and a waste, but I guess it depends on your priorities.

 

[StageLeft]

bozack You're right of course - sometimes though it is difficult between telling the line between somebody's healthy hobby and an asinine purchase. I suppose in this case $250 isn't really that bad.

 

[bozack]

" What makes a Rolex watch cost $10,000? The name."

I would like to respond to these two as they are not entirely true.....

In regards to the First Quote....

Yes, part of the cost of a Rolex can be attributed to marketing and the brand name, however that can be said for any consumer procuct on the market....is the Material Value of a Rolex really worth the cost?..Not even Close, material value of a basic SS Rolex is about $300, where as the MSRP on that model is $2900, quite the markup....

However you must remember that the company has to pay to employee its technicians, support overhead costs, pay for marketing etc.....

In the High end Watch Market Rolex is seen as a very good buy for a few reasons....

1. the Company does not allow for Dealer Discounting via gustapo tactics...they keep their dealers on a tight leash so to speak

2. the appearence really does not change all that much, thus there is continuity and even old models look like the newer ones and vice versa...
.
3. They are one of the Most inexpensive watches in the high end sector to use their own In house movements...which means they make the whole watch, not buy a movement from Swatch group like many other high end brands do (Tag, IWC, Omega...etc)

4. All of these points add up so that the watches retain their initial value quite well, thus you spend 3,000 on one now, and in 5 years you can sell it for almost the same price if not more....in one instance they had one that was just released that had a MSRP of 2800, however people were paying upwards of 3700 for it, quite like the PS2 phenomina of last year....

"Well, that and they are the best wrist watches made by man. Go look at one and ask to try it on. You will see what I mean."

In regards to the second, this couldn't be further from the truth, and this is coming from someone who owns one.....

There are much finer watches made, some at even lesser prices. Patek Phillipe, Vacheron and Constantatin, Blancpain, Breguet, and JLC just to name a few...but Rolex is Far from the being the "best" in the watch world in terms of the actual watch...however they are the Best when your talking about Brand Name Recognition, Resale value, and after sales service.....

I would most definatley buy one of the aformentioned brands could I afford it over a Rolex, however their cost just does not justify ownership in my mind (Cheapest Patek is like 10,000 dollars, Cheapest Rolex is just under 3 grand....pretty big difference, not to mention Service Costs are much more for Most other high end brands, Rolex is somewhat reasonable)....

Oh well just thought I would share

 

[Koing]

I consider $250 on a pair of sunglasses to be good.

I paid £120 for my Oakleys as they look good and fit really well. Then I paid a further £150 JUST for the prescription Oakley sunglass lenses. TO me I can DEFINATELY tell the difference. They are Ice Blue Iridium lenses and with other coats. They are easily worth it to me. I can see in the which makes a change from just normal sunglasses as I need them prescripted. MY sight is worth more then to me then most things.

I also have a pair of Armani frames. They were £120, they look good and other more expensive and cheaper ones didn't look so good. I chose them as they suited me

 

[Snuffaluffaguss]

Speaking as a college student and a owner of $ 220 Maui Jims...

How many sets of eyes do you have? One, How many will you have for your whole life? One. How much is your vision worth? Priceless. Cheap sunglass don't protect your eyes as well as expensives ones do. If you shell out the cash, you won't treat them crap. I dare, no double dare anyone to try one a pair of Maui Jim's or Revos on a bright sunny day and even cloudy days. You will be amazed at the difference between the nice stuph and the cheap ones. My vision is priceless to me, I would definatly pay a lot for nice glasses. I guess some people don't value their eye sight.

 

[dullard]

<< Cheap sunglass don't protect your eyes as well as expensives ones do. >>



Oh please enlighten me with a scientific study that proves the more you spend on glasses the more they protect your eyes. Some cheapo glasses don't have much protection, but so do some very expensive glasses. The amount you spend has nothing to do with the level of protection. Instead, the materials used affect the level of protection. Well built $25 sunglasses protect just as well as the $250 sunglasses.

 

[SWScorch]

I like to waste money on my computers. You know, like, hey, a GeForce3 Ti500! Even though I already get 150fps in Quake3 at 1024x768, I need this card so I can get 190!

 

[SidewaysN2second]

i spent almost 300$ canadian on a pair of Oakley A wire 2.0's, with blue irridium lenses and an x metal frame. I love these shades to death

 

[Lars]

Paid $200 for my sunglasses and $300 for my regular glasses.

 

[eakers]

i am addicted to buying flo sport clothes and underwear.

i go to the mall for a dress i come home with a hoodie with cool thumb things and 5 new pairs of underwear.

im horrible for it.

*kat. <-- known to say "i need that text book but these pants are so good and that text is on course reserve in the library...maybe it can wait a few weeks"

 

[chansen]

Paid $900CDN for a pair of skis last week. Best use for money I've found yet.

Atomic Beta Race 9.16 (170cm) with the 412 binding - yellow bananas. Though they're meant for slalom, I find them great for turny GS courses. Tenacious edge hold on ice, and wicked acceleration out of the turn. If you're an experienced skier and get the chance to demo a pair, try them. If you're learning, try something else (these things kick, literally).

Atomic <-- cool flash presentation

Oh, and I have a 3 year old pair of Oakleys. M Frame with blue iridium lenses. I broke the frame last year (put them in my inside chest pocket while slalom training - stupid), and Oakley replaced them for $20 or so. These, and the trip to Whister in 99 when I bought the glasses, are my three most self-indulgent splurges.

But really, all expenses related to skiing are necessities. Like rent or computers.

 

[Scarpozzi]

The only things I blow money on is Beer, Hotel Rooms, and Find Dining. They are by far the most expensive, but I have a lot of fun enjoying the experience. I have memories of this New Year's sitting in the hot tub of a hotel suite with a cute girl and a bottle of champange.

 

[Speedy3D!]

spent a little over $100 for some oakley e-wres

 

[SinNisTeR]

<< Don't really enjoy blowing money. >>




HE'S GONE FROM SUCK TO BLOW!!!!

 

[Deleted member 4644]

I personally do. I have expensive Armani sunglasses in my hand (~200), and Ive never actually worn them more than... 10 times? One of the worst decisions Ive ever made in my life.

 

[wyvrn]

I bought a pair of Oakleys for $99 once. Sat on them and that was the end of that. I think the most I will spend now is $40-50, if they are a really good looking pair. I break mine waaay to quick to spend that much money on a single pair.

 

[chansen]

Geesh, people. Send broken Oakleys back to the distributor (with a cheque for a fraction of their cost) and they'll fix or replace them. That's half the value of them right there.