does it really cost them 30-40% more to make a stainless steel appliance?

[actuarial]

It's also the academic perspective to assume there is this perpetual undercutting going on, which is ridiculous. Like I said earlier, if this were true, everyones profit margins would be below 1%. Companies can (and do) go into business and sell nothing but products twice as expensive as the competition, with nothing better quality wise, and get by just fine. Marketing alone can create a demand for an inferior product over a superior one.

Undercutting everyone does not necessarily mean margins would be below 1%. We've already gone over this. It means the price converges to acceptable profit. If I could make $10,000/hour at an easy menial job, someone else would certainly be willing to do it for $9,000/hour and so on. That doesn't mean the end game is someone willing to do it for 1c/hour, because that's not an acceptable wage for any job.

 

[silverpig]

I've debated this with you in the past, but it's not 1950 anymore. Wives aren't locked up in the kitchen all day making full course breakfast and dinners for their husbands. "Open" kitchens allow families to still socialize and "gather" while dinner is being prepared and the subsequent cleanup.

I love to cook and love to have people over. I don't have a breakfast bar, but whenever I go to someone's house that has one, I love to sit at it and chat. IMO, the best place to socialize is there. Someone cooks, everyone hangs out with a drink and eats as things come up ready.

For me, the kitchen is the center of the house.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I've debated this with you in the past, but it's not 1950 anymore. Wives aren't locked up in the kitchen all day making full course breakfast and dinners for their husbands. "Open" kitchens allow families to still socialize and "gather" while dinner is being prepared and the subsequent cleanup.

I love to cook and love to have people over. I don't have a breakfast bar, but whenever I go to someone's house that has one, I love to sit at it and chat. IMO, the best place to socialize is there. Someone cooks, everyone hangs out with a drink and eats as things come up ready.

For me, the kitchen is the center of the house.

The kitchen IS the default location to socialize and it IS the "center of the house." What I want to know is on what God forsaken planet was it decided that the kitchen has to be part of the living/great room? There's nothing wrong with having a table in the kitchen.

Architecture, "design" and, fashion belong in the rest of the house, not the kitchen. Utility is beautiful! People worry more these days about how a kitchen looks than how well it works.

I just get pissed off that the 90% of people who'd rather take the blue pill than eat, decide what's "trendy" for those of us who actually cook.

 

[Acanthus]

OP immediately reminded me of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmun8GK6o2c

 

[silverpig]

The kitchen IS the default location to socialize and it IS the "center of the house." What I want to know is on what God forsaken planet was it decided that the kitchen has to be part of the living/great room? There's nothing wrong with having a table in the kitchen.

Architecture, "design" and, fashion belong in the rest of the house, not the kitchen. Utility is beautiful! People worry more these days about how a kitchen looks than how well it works.

I just get pissed off that the 90% of people who'd rather take the blue pill than eat, decide what's "trendy" for those of us who actually cook.

I agree that some kitchens sacrifice usability for fashion, but I don't really see how a breakfast bar does that.

 

[Sureshot324]

I actually proposed the same scenario on the last page, except I used $20 for a final price, same idea though.

I was summarily dismissed.

Yeah but your scenario is temporary, mine is permanent. If the market for fridges drops to $20 overnight, yeah they'll sell off what they have for $20, but they're not going to keep making them if they cost $300 to make. If the production costs drop to $20 permanently, the sale price WILL drop permanently, probably to around $25 eventually.

Who is "us" ? Do you mean every fridge manufacturer would all instantly have access to this technology at the same time? Probably not. I guess one of the main points I am trying to make is that all buyers and sellers are autonomous. From an academic perspective, they don't usually take autonomy into it at all.

It's also the academic perspective to assume there is this perpetual undercutting going on, which is ridiculous. Like I said earlier, if this were true, everyones profit margins would be below 1%. Companies can (and do) go into business and sell nothing but products twice as expensive as the competition, with nothing better quality wise, and get by just fine. Marketing alone can create a demand for an inferior product over a superior one.

Profit margins will only go so low because if they're below 1%, your business is probably losing money due to the fixed costs. The vast majority of products are sold with a profit margin under 15%, meaning the sale price is closely related to the production cost, much more so than consumer willingness to pay.

It's true some companies can get away with huge margins (usually because of a brand name), but these are exceptional cases. $200 Diesel Jeans probably don't cost any more to make than $40 Levi's, but this is a rare case and not many people buy $200 Diesel jeans anyway.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I agree that some kitchens sacrifice usability for fashion, but I don't really see how a breakfast bar does that.

Breakfast bars change the eating dynamic. It turns one side into the focus and creates barriers to how people relate. Given that it's more unusual for families/friends to sit down together at a table today than grab and go, it's probably not a huge deal.

As a Chef, I view the dining experience as a dieing art and I hate the fact that our fast food culture is reflected in our homes. In my opinion, kitchens hit their peak in the 20's and 30's. Kitchens were separate, often had butler pantries, upper class houses had walk ins, multiple story homes had dumbwaiters, tile everywhere and guess what? They had tables that became focal points for casual talk and visiting while formal meals were served in a formal dining room.