AMERICANS AND PRICE CONSCIOUSNESS

I was amused to read about Americans caring for prices! It is a joke. An illusion created by the great advertising companies. A system glorified as 'transparent and competitive' but which is in fact systematized cheating of gullible citizens. In the so called developing countries like India, a reputable manufacturer sells to all the wholesalers with hardly any difference in price. Products are priced differently depending upon their quality - but not in the States. So much of product information is given, so many different varieties, prices, discounts, etc. are advertised which keep on changing almost every season that the poor consumer is never sure whether he ever bought a product at a reasonable price. The same product is sold to the first buyers at an astronomical price and within days or even at a different outlet it is available at a lesser price and within a short time, it is discounted to a price which would have been unbelievable initially. The effect of promotion is so great that a product costing a hundred times at a fancy shop more than at a cheaper outlet is considered worth buying for its 'quality'. Brand is the king; damn with the quality. In India good shop keepers selling quality products display a board 'Fixed Prices' and their customers depend on them for quality at the offered price. But with the credit card culture so much ingrained in the mind of people, who cares about the quality or price as long as the 'discount' is more!