[cambalache]

> Is it obscene to buy a thousand dollar laptop when 500 dollar laptops are fine for most users?

It probably is.

> $500 for headphones seems like a very arbitrary standard for what is excessive.

You could say that about any number. "Raise the minimum wage to 100 USD/h" "That's excessive" "100 for an hourly minimum wage seems like a very arbitrary standard for what is excessive" There is 0 insight there.

> They would consider spending $50 -- or even $15 -- on a restaurant meal to be obscene.

Yes those dumb poor people cannot see the difference between a 15 USD meal satisfying a human unavoidable necessity and a +500 luxury item.

> It's all relative.

So Einstenian of you.