We Don't Spend to Help Sellers

[talon]

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1938367,00.html


First of all, the economy consists of buyers and sellers. You think about why we spend in the first place. We spend in order to produce satisfaction for buyers. We don't spend in order to help sellers. It's fine if we do help sellers, but we're trying to produce satisfaction. If the spending we engage in doesn't produce any satisfaction, then it's hardly a measure of well-being. I'm not against the spending. But whatever amount of spending we do, we should get as much satisfaction out of it as we possibly can. - Joel Waldfogel, author of Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays


What a marvelously succinct way of describing the buyer/seller relationship! I've written before about how immune I am to sales techniques, and this is exactly why. Most sellers try to convince me to buy things because it makes them look good and lines their pockets. That doesn't fly with my boss - he's not paying me to make me look good or to help me out or to give me money; he's paying me because what I do helps him, his job, and the company. The money he gives me is compensation for the benefits I bring.

And that's how I shop - do I need it? Will it make me happy next week, next year, 10 years from now? Will it last long enough to be worth my money? If I'm buying it as a gift for someone else, will they be happy with it? The bottom line truly is "Will it make me happy?" and not "Am I buying it out of guilt or pressure from the salesperson?"

Very few salespeople care about the quality of the product, its usefulness to me, or even if I can afford it. My satisfaction with the product isn't important to them; only getting my money so they can get their share. This is particularly evident when trying to buy a car - the salesman only cares about his commission. He trots out his copious number of children, his medical needs, his elderly parents - as if I don't have any of those considerations myself. He pleads with me to buy a car, any car, so he can make a little money to support all his dependents. He doesn't care if he's going to impoverish me, if I'll be happy with the models he shows me - he doesn't even listen to my modest list of needs. He just wants my money.

I encounter this in high school and college kids going door-to-door wanting me to buy this piece of junk or that so they can earn a trip to Europe - I don't care if they go to Europe or not; I care if the product they are trying to guilt me into buying is something I actually need and will use. Sadly, it's the same thing from various youth organizations - over-priced and consistently lower quality fundraiser items. I'd rather give the money outright to the organizations I prefer to support than to buy the things they are selling. More of the money I donate goes to the organization and none of it goes to the fundraiser product company. That makes me happy.

I encounter this in a lot of Pagan shops - "buy my stuff because you are supposed to support the Pagan community and as a Pagan shopkeeper, I am the community." They are selling their products on a platform of greed and guilt and few are actually active participants in the community - the ones that are truly part of the community tend to stay in business. The ones that aren't - well, they don't last long and they whine the loudest.

We don't spend in order to help sellers. If more salespeople and shopkeepers got that, maybe their business would pick up.


What about the person who says, "My in-laws would go insane if I didn't get them gifts"?
Yes, that's the problem. So what do you do? There are a few possible answers. One answer is gift certificates or gift cards. Another solution that we see increasingly and that I advocate is giving gifts to charity. If you look at data, as people get richer, they give a higher fraction of their income to charity. So if you think that luxuries in that sense are things people would like to do, if only they had more money, then holiday giving - giving someone the ability to give to charity - is a way to allow them to experience a luxury.

Those are good suggestions. So, too, are gifts that bring memories - tickets to a play or concert or sporting event or museum, a night or two in a hotel, a trip, a tour somewhere, a party, a movie night.

And then there are consumables. Food and drink, of course, whether homemade or gift certificates to fine restaurants, are always welcome. Writer friends appreciate pens, paper, and flash drives. Art friends appreciate supplies related to their art. Flowers are also sometimes acceptable, but some people get upset at "wasting money" on flowers, so make sure the person you're gifting approves of cut flowers! I have a strong German heritage and flowers are an important part of our gifting culture.


I'm not the only person who sees some madness in our behavior.

Heh - he's talking about Giftmas! And he's right. He's not the only person who sees madness in the frenzy of Christmas gifting. I prefer a more spread-out gifting tradition, giving gifts as needed or deserved or on a whim than all crammed into one obligatory day.