May 18, 2026
Not everyone is trying to save money
Fellow list member Raimy Rubin replied to my email about the $39 pruning shears with an anecdote of his own (shared with permission):
Love it.
My dad owned a suit store. It wasn’t designer, but it was nicer (and more expensive) than your standard warehouse store.
One season during the early days, my dad bought a particular brand of belts to sell. He went through his standard calculation and priced them accordingly.
They did not sell.
He dropped the price.
They did not sell.
He decided to sell them at cost.
They did not sell.
He dropped them below cost just to get rid of the inventory.
They did not sell.
Then, with nothing to lose, he doubled the original price.
Needless to say... they sold, and they sold fast.
People did not shop at his store to save money. Was a lesson he took with him the rest of his 30 years in business.
Yup.
Not everyone is trying to save money on a belt.
Or maybe more accurately...
Sometimes when someone purchases a belt, what they’re really buying is a story.
Yours,
—J