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RE: consumerism - 11/6/2007 8:17:47 PM

Durus

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Joined: 7/9/2007
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Owner59

We`ve had a global economy for hundreds of years.
Consumerism ,is a good thing,when managed right.It`s as natural as breathing.

It`s only lately,that we`re having these problems.In the past,we made trade agreements that were truly fair and had real balance, in terms of costs and benefits to both parties.

We all want lower prices but selling out to the Chinese,via Walmart,Costco,etc.,is not the way to do it.

Credit where credit is due...I couldn't agree more.

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RE: consumerism - 11/6/2007 8:23:49 PM

MissMagnolia

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I am a salespersons nightmare!! We were all brought up to be frugal, and it never goes away.

I pretty much buy whatever is the cheapest. In clothing, because I won't have it long enough for it to wear out. I get most of it on ebay, because I can get "name" brands at a fraction of the cost and some really unusual stuff that I haven't seen in Oz shops.
In food and groceries, because I buy in season foods (meat, veg, fruit) which tend to be cheaper, groceries because the generic brands are made by big "name" companies, for a fraction of the cost.

Larger items, I wait until they are on sale. I don't care if the design of the dishwasher is last seasons, as long as it works, and will for a long time. I have bought many items at warehouses that have slight damage (small scratches, etc) or ex floor stock without packaging. I make substantial savings that way.

Really, I don't give a crap what name anything has on it, as long as I like it. I refuse to pay $300 for a jumper I'll wear one or two seasons, when I can get almost the same item for $45.

Advertising is a good thing, it tells me whats available out there, new cleaning clothes that work like magic, etc. But I guarantee that someone will make a copy of the item at a lower price pretty quickly. THEN I pounce!!

I do think that advertisers of kids products should be shot though. Anyone who has kids, or has had them, knows that in the lead up to Christmas, the TV is a spawning ground for the "I WANT" masses.

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RE: consumerism - 11/6/2007 10:43:20 PM

Archer

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Joined: 3/11/2005
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There are things I will pay a premium for because I percieve the quality is better. But beyond that brands mean very little to me. I'll admit there are a very few things that I play the keeping up with the Joneses game. I live in a suburb of Atlanta where the housing cost is higher than average. But that price tag comes with the ammenity of a school district that is significantly better than the surounding area. Soon as the kidlettes graduate I'll likely move somewhere else.

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RE: consumerism - 11/7/2007 7:27:25 AM

seeksfemslave

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Joined: 6/16/2006
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I do not consider myself an advertising driven consumer. I just buy what appeals to me. Which actually is not a lot.
I have just bought a new new car and I love it. Makes me happy it does.

I do not understand why hair shirts get so pissed off with those who consume for its own sake.
After all planned obsolescence or fashion help to provide paid employment for millions.

Which is worse, millions unemployed or a silly little threat to the environment ?
If needs be the earth is probably quite capable of dealing with mere humans.
Kommisars of the Western World, consume you have nothing to lose but your inhibitions.

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RE: consumerism - 11/7/2007 10:59:30 AM

brightspot

Posts: 3052
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quote:

ORIGINAL: angeldustx

Global Capitalism....... the question is how much value do you attach to items that you own? do you buy them because of advertising, or how you think you will appear to your peers? by owning a 'new car' or having designer label clothes and other consumables. Do we allow advertisers to dictate to us what we should own? and do you think advertising is is moving us towards a homogonized world? (where everything is the same!)

i have posted here as it is an international forum and will be particularly interested to hear views from all over the world!

thankyou for reading :)

~FR to OP

When I was younger these things meant a lot to me, it probably included all of wanting to impress peers and fitting in.
I think a lot of the consuming public are enticeded by advertising to own and/or purchase things out of need to "Keep up with the Jones'" I think that advertising can get all those people who need to following the trends to want to be the same or look the same but I also think there are a lot of people that never feel comfortable moving from the look they had in High School , so no I don't think it would ever be an all across the boards type thing, too many indiviualistic and artistic people running around.

I have to say since I have matured these things are not that important to me, I am one of those artistic people who would rather be different.

Another interesting thing I have been learning about things since I am presently recovering from a house fire is I have changing feelings about "things and possessions" than I used to have.

I was a pretty serious collector and had some outstanding collections of things. I restored vintage dolls. I am a Artist that had a lot of my own Art and Photography displayed in my home and all of it brought me great pleasure to me to have surrounding me. I was also very attached to the land as it had been in my family for sometime.

Now today as I sit in a different home, that isn't mine. With a lot of my collections, dolls, and artwork destroyed, I am being enlightened to the attachment I had put on my "things" and that I now want to change the ways in which I allow attachment to develope and how deep I want to allow those attachments in my heart.

This is a process I am going through and trying to figure out right now as I am also in the process of my Mother dying. One thing I do know right now that this whole lesson is about letting go and that things really just touch our lives, they aren't things we can hold onto forever because all of us leave this earth with nothing but whats on our backs, "our" things move on to other places and other people.

One of the things I collected was unusal rocks or rocks that drew me to them. My rocks of course did survive the fire and as I was going about the house and putting them in boxes, I found a rather big one that I call the "Face Rock" because no matter which way you turn it there is a face looking back at you. I love this rock and many people also have admired it. I realized that this rock will most likely survive hundreds of years past my present lifetime and I began to imagine all the different possibility and that made me really aware of how fleeting the time is that we really "own" something. The other stuff that was destroyrd is teaching me just how quickly "our things" can vanish, be gone, in no time at all.

Right now in the present I am processing the whole things and attachment values I will allow myself to have. Needless to say with a lot happening at once it is a very daunting task and I will have a very different outlook once I move through this. Things are just that, things, and we can only enjoy them for a short time, until they are no longer or move on to another, so do we truly "own" these things?

Same with people, we can attach ourselves as close as we feel the need, but in reality that attachment can be taken away at a moments notice. I have lost some really tight friends in the past few years and now my mother is going to leave(we are very, very close) so the people lesson is much, much more difficult but I feel that too will change for me, how I will allow attachment to become emeshed in my life and how in the past I struggled to try and find my security and safety involving and depending on other people. This is going to be really a tough one for me to keep in a healthy balance for a while down the road. But I do hope to find the answers that are wise for me.

Missy.

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