Would you buy branded goods ?

hermitwin

Would you buy branded goods ?

Citta

Why not ?

On reflection I am not sure that I understand the question...

ThailandTom

I design brands, is that worse?

Nevermind

You can't actually design a brand, because a brand is a core value of some kind. Like religion it's essentially meaning. The mere appearance of something meaningful can be designed of course, but it will be short lived.

jae

@hermitwin ... I bought a superdry coat the other day...... it cost me £12.95 from the red cross shop!! Perfect condition... love a bargain. I wouldn't pay over the top prices to advertise someone elses goods if I could get the same thing for half the price, but that's just me being me

federica

Is the point of this question 'sweat shops' and 'exploitation of the vulnerable in 3rd world countries' or are you selling something?

I L-o-o-o-ve 'Angel' by Thierry Mugler.....

ThailandTom

Nevermind said:

You can't actually design a brand, because a brand is a core value of some kind. Like religion it's essentially meaning. The mere appearance of something meaningful can be designed of course, but it will be short lived.

You cannot design a brand yet there is an entire sector of design aptly named 'brand design'? I think you may be thinking a little too deeply about something quite simple, a company needs to sell their product and to make it appeal to the right market they need to brand it so that it has an identity and is easily recognized.

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/resources-and-events/business-and-public-sector/guides/the-power-of-branding/brand-management-techniques/

vinlyn

I assume the question is about buying counterfeit goods.

My experiences in Thailand make that a much bigger issue than what we see here in the States. My ex is mid-level Thai government, and one responsibility was sorting through which software and hardware corporations to buy from. He came home very frustrated one night after a couple of days of meeting with American and European sales reps and asked, "Why don't American companies really want to sell to us?" I hesitated to answer, but since I was asked directly, I did. I told him that Thailand and Thais cheat on intellectual properties to such an extent, that American hardware and software companies think that as soon as they sell to the Thais, the software will be illegally copied and mass distributed. I reminded him of what happened when we went to the major computer mall in Bangkok to buy my computer -- I bought HP, but had to obtain proof that the guts of the computer were really HP, and had to confirm that the software that was on the hard disc was really HP approved software...and that to buy the "real" product (which would be under warranty) we had to pay more. I asked him if he really believed that I could buy Windows Office for the equivalent of US$4. I asked him what he thought the morality aspect was of pirated hardware and software. And when I was done, his response was, "You don't love Thailand." Sigh.

Unless the "real" product was not available, I never bought anything pirated that I was aware of. I paid more for honest products (and in the long run had better results). I had no desire to support cheats.

genkaku

"Buddhism" has its uses.

matthewmartin

I buy only http://www.buddhabrand.com/ Buddha Brand Lip Balm.

And the portable shrine-to-go & candybar-in-1 http://www.perpetualkid.com/buddha-bar.aspx

Seriously, brands cut both ways. Fungible, bulk cocoa powder is just as likely to be slave origin as it is to be from free labor. Bulk flour is just as likely to be from jurisdictions with no consumer or worker protections as it is to be from somewhere with such protections. Organic, fair trade and so on sometimes are lies or certify that something that wasn't a problems to begin with, but bulk, unbranded products are just pure ignorance.

vinlyn

You often get what you pay for, and brand company products are often more reliable.

cvalue

@matthewmartin, what do you do with Buddha's pictures on these products after you finish using them? I hope you burn them instead of tearing them into pieces and throw them in the garbage or recycle bin. It's sad to see Buddha's face dirty and torn in the garbage! It's only for the Buddhists like us, Buddha doesn't have any ego so he wouldn't mind.

jae

@hermitwin... hi, why do you ask? As you work in that field is it from a marketing perspective?

David

It really depends on what is being bought. Often times with brand names you're paying a big mark up to cover ad space. Pharmaceuticals are a perfect example. Why would I pay more for Advil than just a bottle of small name ibuprofen pills? The ingredients are 100% exactly the same but Advil is almost 3 dollars more for 25 or 30 pills.

vinlyn

There's a different from an "off brand" and a "rip off brand".

David

vinlyn said:

There's a different from an "off brand" and a "rip off brand".

Oh for sure... If there is anything worse than a branded product it would have to be that which tries to copy it.

Trying to improve it is what makes it fun, I'm guessing.

matthewmartin

@cvalue Interesting question. I've read about the ritual for dedicating a new statue, the rules for disposing of certain tantric ritual implements (throw them in a river! not legal in my jurisdiction).

The internet seems to think either donation to a temple (make it their problem!) or burning it (few places where I can legally burn stuff in my town) or throw it in the ocean (like the fish need more trash)

I would like to think the Buddha's statue and paper images would like to be reincarnated as a newspaper or something.

cvalue

@matthewmartin, I just cut them until the Buddha's face is no longer recognizable or I feel guilty just like I tear the picture of my father! But it's only me! I have too much imagination!

Nevermind

ThailandTom said:

Nevermind said:

You can't actually design a brand, because a brand is a core value of some kind. Like religion it's essentially meaning. The mere appearance of something meaningful can be designed of course, but it will be short lived.

You cannot design a brand yet there is an entire sector of design aptly named 'brand design'? I think you may be thinking a little too deeply about something quite simple, a company needs to sell their product and to make it appeal to the right market they need to brand it so that it has an identity and is easily recognized.

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/resources-and-events/business-and-public-sector/guides/the-power-of-branding/brand-management-techniques/

Say someone started a shoe business. They started it because they love well made and well designed shoes. And for this example, lets say they are also dedicated to sustainability.

So this person hires a respected and talented shoe designer, and engineers who can manufacture the shoes sustainably. No one puts any effort into "branding," beyond simply naming the company Green Shoe. They market the shoes for nothing more than what they are: well made, stylish, and sustainable shoes.

Eventually they pickup some celebrity endorsements and the shoes take off. Green Shoes becomes a well known and valuable brand.

So who created the brand? Was it the shoe designer? The engineers who figured out how to make them sustainably? The celebrities who endorsed the shoes? The person who started the company? The consumers who value sustainability and fine shoes?

robot

As far as shoes go, I've found that I need to buy the brand names to get the quality that fits and lasts.
I'm positive that the good ones and the cheap ones are made for next to nothing by children in sweatshops, but the brand names are better.
Here in Asia, I haven't wasted my time trying to figure out which are the copies and assume that they all are.

vinlyn

Actually, In Thailand the Central Department Store chain, and others, do carry real brand name shoes. And it's interesting, the various shoe departments are run by the shoe companies, which rent space from the department store.

robot

vinlyn said:

Actually, In Thailand the Central Department Store chain, and others, do carry real brand name shoes. And it's interesting, the various shoe departments are run by the shoe companies, which rent space from the department store.

I haven't been in any larger stores this year so most of what I have seen are sold by street vendors, which I would imagine are all counterfeit.
I wonder if there are any savings to be had by buying shoes here? I noticed that name brand sunglasses are at least as expensive here as at home.

Barra

robot said:

As far as shoes go, I've found that I need to buy the brand names to get the quality that fits and lasts.
I'm positive that the good ones and the cheap ones are made for next to nothing by children in sweatshops, but the brand names are better.
Here in Asia, I haven't wasted my time trying to figure out which are the copies and assume that they all are.

On the other hand, there is a company in my city that hand makes shoes and you can customize the kind of leather and the colours. Nobody outside of town has heard of them and they are really well made. And I am tempted to pay $250 for a pair. But I probably won't.

vinlyn

robot said:

I haven't been in any larger stores this year so most of what I have seen are sold by street vendors, which I would imagine are all counterfeit.
I wonder if there are any savings to be had by buying shoes here? I noticed that name brand sunglasses are at least as expensive here as at home.

Name brand shoes are significantly more expensive than here in the States. But, I did find some pretty decent Thai shoes in the department stores.

ThailandTom

vinlyn said:

robot said:

I haven't been in any larger stores this year so most of what I have seen are sold by street vendors, which I would imagine are all counterfeit.
I wonder if there are any savings to be had by buying shoes here? I noticed that name brand sunglasses are at least as expensive here as at home.

Name brand shoes are significantly more expensive than here in the States. But, I did find some pretty decent Thai shoes in the department stores.

In Hua Hin shopping mall you can find legit stuff everywhere, there is a sports shop where I bought a Nike basketball jersey (not NBA just Nike) for about $25. I have a few fake NBA Jerseys though, also you can get fake iphones and ipads in the shopping mall which seems crazy but it's just the norm, also legit ones as well though. My coopy of Windows only cost me 400baht. For the most part though do you get what you pay for that is for sure, especially when it comes to clothing and gadgets. In the markets though the amount of stuff you can buy is madness, insane weapons and stupid knocks offs everywhere.

lobster

As we all know most Dharma is either knock off, past it's sell by date or overprized and over there.
Can we DIY?

What is that Mr Cushion?
OK OK No more hard selling . . . Just coming to brand you with my buttock imprint . . .

:wave:

Kundo

federica said:

I L-o-o-o-ve 'Angel' by Thierry Mugler.....

Oh me too.

footiam

hermitwin said:

Would you buy branded goods ?

Yes. If I have the Money. Yes, if I like the product. Is there anything wrong with that?