what’s the price tag say?
We’ve become a society dependent on price tags. We can’t judge value for ourselves. Everything comes out of a box that was shipped over from China and there’s no personal connection to value, time or materials.
Perhaps price tags give people a sense of security. $75 for a salt and pepper shaker may seem high, but it can’t be a lie.
The bartering process, one that involves talking, offers, counter offers and explanations is where we can lie. Be lied to. So price tags evolved.
When a sale comes up and the sign in the window proclaims “20% off”, we don’t drive by and feel lied to for the 20% more we paid last week, instead we consider going back and spending more money at the store.
A rewards program for frequent shoppers is much the same method for training a cat. Give us a treat for our “good” behavior and watch us perform.
Place a 5 cent value on used aluminum cans and watch as the cans are rounded up and herded to a recycling facility. That’s a price tag my friend.
The flea market has no price tags. There are invisible guidelines and common knowledge and eBay searches, but nothing is set down on paper for all to pass by and understand. The playing field is not level.
A lot of people, shoppers, don’t like this aspect because they don’t know how to judge value. They’ve lost the skill due to a lifetime at the mall making choices based on advertising image.
The flea market goods have very little to promote them. The vendor may know more than you but he may be lying to you as well. You have to know what you want, and you have to create a value personal to you.
It’s amazing really. Coming from the conformity of price gun world to the true wild west of retail out in a parking lot with stuff laid on folding tables and agreements reached by work – this freedom is frightening and therefore thrilling.
So it’s Sunday morning. Are you going to the flea market?