[rconti]

I agree with you, rationally, that a $60k car driver should be happy to spend $350 for a proper fitting of something you wear every single day.

But leaving aside where on the bell curve of society a $60k car driver fits, I don't think rationality comes into play here. People have price points for various products, and even though $350 is a miniscule fraction of that $60k, if you're used to paying (say) $40, it can be hard to overcome that hurdle.

The example I used to make, back when computers were expensive, was that people didn't think twice about dropping $2k on a new desktop computer every 3 years, but expected the same $400 TV to last 20 years. There must be a term for this that I don't know, but there's some psychological bias in terms of what people spend money on based on perceived value, perceived use, and perceived market cost, and very little of it seems to have to do with what they can technically 'afford'.

[cooperadymas]

A whole lot more goes into it than this, but a big part of what you're talking about has to do with price anchoring. (Which is in itself a subset of anchoring[0], as theorized by Daniel Kahneman).

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchoring

[rconti]

Thanks. I'll go to my local brewery and have a $6 beer and enjoy it. And not think twice about trying a few, then going home with a growler full, and suddenly I just paid $50.

But then I go to the grocery store and the $20 bottle of wine seems expensive.

I notice things like this every day.

[Spooky23]

I’m not a woman so it’s difficult to describe why, but I know that if you are a difficult to fit size, being able to reliably source a bra is worth a lot.

I’ll tell you from my perspective, I wear a size 14 shoe that is wide but not wide enough for a wide size. My dress shoes cost about $500, which is completely out of character for me.

When I find a sneaker/hiking boot that fits well, I’ll buy as many as I can find.