[helen___keller]

> The bigger problem here is that Allbirds ISNT a luxury brand.

Sure, perhaps I should have said they price themselves like a luxury brand (or something above commodity pricing but below luxury? I'm not an expert on this stuff)

From their marketing on sustainability, and their prices, it seems to follow to me that they probably have a high markup and don't ruthlessly cut corners to survive on a tiny margin at brutally low prices.

> By the way, your analogy of sunglasses is flawed - those cheap sunglasses look, feel, and function cheaply.

Admittedly I wrote my post under the assumption that Amazon's generic wool runners probably feel cheap in one way or another from having cut some corners to lower production costs. I wouldn't know, though.

[dfcagency]

Luxury isn't necessarily about price (although it's a common component) - it's an ephemeral combination of prestige, exclusivity, quality, and wealth/taste projection.