I was at Lowe's the other day and found several things remarkable. In the center isle as I walked in I saw skids of insect spray and weed-killer. One was $21 a bottle and the other was $31 a bottle. I just cruised on past both of them. What was the old saying? Charge what the traffic will bear. They keep going up on things and making things thinner, cheaper, lower quality.
Everyone here in America wants their lawn to look like Augusta National. When I was young, things like grass seed was sold in huge paper bags for a dollar or so. Now they want to sell it for $20 or more for a one pound bag. How about Scott's fertilizer? It is so high, I'm amazed. The other day I got a thing in the mail from Scott's. They wanted to sample my ground, for free, and see what chemicals would help it.
Years ago, no one weed-eated. (Not a word, I know.) It does make your place look nicer and well cared for. Well, my hands got to the point where I needed to quit using chain saws and weedeaters. Due to the vibration, which is not good for the nerves in your hands. So, I used a lighter weight trimmer. Then they started making them to malfunction, on purpose. They last about a summer now. So I bought an electric one that runs on big batteries. A little heavier, but little vibration. It has lasted 4 years, so far.
But the yard is not the only venue for corporate manipulation. When everyone got used to using fabric sheets in their dryer, the sheets went up in price again and again. We quit using them. No real difference. Plus, the fabric sheets were putting a layer of film on the dish towels so that they wouldn't even dry dishes. Not to mention the very strong scent imparted to the clothes, which may bother some folks.
Recently, chocolate went up and up in price. We quit buying it. On the rib-eye steaks they started trimming off the tender section and selling it elsewhere, and went up on price. We quit buying steak altogether. Recently meat has been going back down and surprise! They re-found (Not a word.) the tender part of the rib-eyes. It is a miracle!
The other day, there was a big stink about a company putting wood chips, pulp, into bags of cheese sold at Wal-Mart and elsewhere. Cheaper than having real cheese, I suppose. Plus more fiber in your diet, I guess. Ha,ha.
The interesting thing about charging what the traffic will bear is this. All those folks may discover that they can do without your product. So, when that marketing guy stands up in your board meeting and says we can make millions more by shaving another millimeter off this or that, or cause it to fail every year, or make it so cheap it won't perform its function, he may be slitting your company's throat, in a figure of speech.
But hey, its a pretty day and I
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