Really random vent about rising costs

[EconDiva]

I've moved from a warm to a colder climate and have just started looking for a good winter coat and boots.

I log on to Nine West's website and am seeing boots for $300 & $400

Same thing on Steve Madden's website.

I swear that 10 years ago, you wouldn't find a $300 boot in Nine West, of all places. It seems like most of the tall boots on their website right now at least start out around the low 100's. Now, I know that might not seem like much to many people, but it just got me to thinking...I don't really consider Nine West to be a high end kinda store. $130 is more than many people allot themselves for discretionary income in an entire month.

Now, I've been an Ebay and Goodwill shopper for so long now that maybe I'm really out of touch with how much it really costs to pay retail for something, particularly clothing/shoes. I make a pretty average income. And I'm coming to the conclusion that I can't afford to pay retail for most average brand clothing and shoe items. And I know most people probaby shop sales, but if we take the case of a $130 Nine West Boot for example....even a 25% discount still makes the boot around $100.

Am I out of touch with reality here, or is this just an example of the rising cost of all goods? If so, is it not becoming harder for the average American to maintain the standard of living they used to have 10 or 20 years ago?

[humandraydel]

Well, first of all I know absolutely nothing about shoes/clothing, but is there a chance Nine West is trying to reinvent itself as a higher end store? I went to Kohl's website and boots there seem to be more reasonable - $40-60.

During the recession the stores that got hit hardest were the ones in the middle of luxury. People shopping at Wal-mart never had enough money to spend on luxuries anyway, so they keep buying the necessities at Wal-mart. People shopping at Tiffany's are rich enough that the recession doesn't hurt them much. It's the people in the middle that started cutting out "middle of the road" luxuries and started shopping at Wal-mart. So, companies in the middle had to pick - either go up and attract the rich people, or go down and appeal to everyone's new found sense of frugality.

[greenskeeper]

don't know about $100+ for boots, but we all can thank QE1, QE2, QEinfinity for the devalue of our dollars.

[rj.phila]

don't know about $100+ for boots, but we all can thank QE1, QE2, QEinfinity for the devalue of our dollars.

here's a chart showing inflation and QE's:

Annual Inflation Chart

here's an article about inflation and devaluation:

Will The Falling Dollar Cause Inflation? - Amateur Asset Allocator

its convenient to blame inflation on a boogeyman and/or a thing like QE, just not very accurate. remember-lots of things also got really cheap over the last 10 years. laptops, LCD tv's, cell phones, etc. your designer boots may have gotten more expensive. whatever you wish to blame that on, you should alternately give it credit for making the computer that gets you on the internet much cheaper.

[elessar78]

I'm finicky about shoes and try not to spend more than $100/pair much less if it can be helped. Last two pairs of dress shoes I bought were like $40 (from Zappos). I think it's just where you buy from. I think retail markup for dept stores is like 400% for clothing items. So when things go on the clearance rack at half off—they're still making a substantial profit.

I have flat feet, so a good pair is necessary for my state of mind.

It's gotta be harder for women if you're trying to stay current with trends. I (male) just tend to buy classic styles so they're in-style for the time period I own them.

Is everything more expensive? Not really. Like the poster above said, computer equipment is much cheaper. I just bought a 1TB hard drive for less than $100. The price point for computers has been about $1000-$2500 depending on specs since 1991 and they've gotten 50x faster.

[chrisburke21]

Rising Prices

I agree retail prices are ridiculous. What I like to do is use the Redlaser app with my smart phone then scan the item that I like, try it on, then find it cheaper online. There are other apps and sites out there to help the consumer find a bargain. I hope this helps a little.

[Goldy1]

I live in Michigan. I like it. It doesnt get crazy Anartica cold but we get snow. We have nice summers. we have fall and spring. we have to buy clothing for ALL seasons. it costs more fo rkids too this way. i'm putting away summer clothes that fit my son. he'sll never wear them again.
we have cots, boot, flip flops.

Cleanrance at end of seasons is how I do it. I get $75 boots for 10 bucks. used shoes is kinda not my thing. clothes I could do, not footwear.

[brandicrl]

retail can be very high. i look at it from the value standpoint these days..particularly with shoes or boots..how will they hold up? i have wide feet so finding something comfortable, reasonably attractive and stable is a challenge..for me..

even more so because i have been unemployed with a child still in high school for the past year and more.

i try not to skimp on shoes..but what i have been skimping on with a lot of sucess..is clothes and household items...truth be told..the Goodwill Outlet has been the guardian angel in my life and their 'buy by the pound' pricing..true there's crap and sometimes broken glass in the imfamous blue bins..but there has also been clothes, often new with the tags on, christmas tree decorations and LED lights..books, cds, pots and pans, glassware, working small appliances....and a myriad other stuff..i needed when my marriage was in the midst of desolving and half of everything and then some was walking out the front door..including my favorite cast iron skillet..i was able to replace it with 3 perfectly servicable others..that i reseasoned and are stacked on my stove right now..can't beat great cast iron and a peaceful household.

there has even been coins..sometimes lots of them... in bins of purses..(and for some reason..in the bins of stuffed animals..) one time 8 dollars in the pocket of a purse..and that purse..along with 3 others..were coach bags and dooney and burke..not quite new but very clean and servicable..

i learned to look for the donation bags with high end store names..on them..or stuff tucked under stuff..

what looked suspect in cleanliness but that i wanted..i sucked it up and had it drycleaned before i brought in in the house..

but what is has done is put me off retail..because i know what this stuff sells for..and what someone somewhere paid for it..and now im getting it for between 99 cent and $1.59 per pound.

[disneysteve]

I don't think any of us - me, my wife or our daughter - have ever spent over $100 on any pair of footwear. Not sneakers, not dress shoes, not boots - nothing. The most I've ever spent personally is probably in the $60 neighborhood. My wife may have spent more than that on some special occasion dress shoes but I'm not really sure.

I think spending $300 for a pair of shoes is nuts. It is purchases like that that explain why a great many people are broke all the time. I see it at my office where I hear one woman talk about buying her teen daughter $200 Uggs for her birthday and I know from prior conversations that she owns more than one pair of them. Keep in mind that this woman earns about a third of what I earn and there's no way in hell my kid would ever get $200 shoes.

So I don't think you are out of touch with what things cost as much as you may be out of touch with what a lot of people choose to spend. Those are two different things. It is still perfectly easy to spend what you and I consider to be a reasonable price. You just need to ignore the hordes of financially destructive Americans out there.

[dawnwes]

Just keep looking, there are far better deals to be had.

[elessar78]

Also, in today's world, with a little bit of hunting you can find the knockoffs or name brand ones that didn't make the grade. I go to TJ Maxx or Ross for my dress shirts and I get $70 ones for $15. I just bought a $100 suit at JC Penney off the rack, looks just as nice as any suit I've seen.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Are you totally new to cold winter? I would not consider those boots with spikey heels for snow and ice. If it is just for dry cold weather, I guess they could be okay.

I still can find shoes at reasonable cost and quality. I wouldn't say I've noticed remarkable inflation lately. Have never shopped at Nine West, so I don't know if their prices have gone up. My best shoes tend to come from department store clearance, places like Marshall's, and LL Bean. The first two are hit and miss, and at the latter I buy the same style time after time.

[EconDiva]

Are you totally new to cold winter? I would not consider those boots with spikey heels for snow and ice. If it is just for dry cold weather, I guess they could be okay.

I still can find shoes at reasonable cost and quality. I wouldn't say I've noticed remarkable inflation lately. Have never shopped at Nine West, so I don't know if their prices have gone up. My best shoes tend to come from department store clearance, places like Marshall's, and LL Bean. The first two are hit and miss, and at the latter I buy the same style time after time.

Yes, I'm completely new to cold weather. I'd been eyeing these boots for a few months:

The North Face Brianna Black/Black - 6pm.com

Brianna by The North Face. $117 at Your Outlet for Finding Shoes, Clothing, Great Sales, and More | 6pm.com (marked down from $195)





The reason I'd been eyeing them is because they're flat, weather-proof, but still cute "enough" to maybe wear with a sweater dress on the weekends. I'd primarily wear them daily to work and probably change into other shoes or ankle boots once I got to work.

However, I still think $117 is too much...am I being unreasonable? Or is that a good price considering the brand and the amount of wear I'd probably get out of them?

[EconDiva]

Well, first of all I know absolutely nothing about shoes/clothing, but is there a chance Nine West is trying to reinvent itself as a higher end store? I went to Kohl's website and boots there seem to be more reasonable - $40-60.

During the recession the stores that got hit hardest were the ones in the middle of luxury. People shopping at Wal-mart never had enough money to spend on luxuries anyway, so they keep buying the necessities at Wal-mart. People shopping at Tiffany's are rich enough that the recession doesn't hurt them much. It's the people in the middle that started cutting out "middle of the road" luxuries and started shopping at Wal-mart. So, companies in the middle had to pick - either go up and attract the rich people, or go down and appeal to everyone's new found sense of frugality.

You know, I hadn't thought about it this way. But you make an excellent point. Maybe Nine West is trying to appeal to higher end market now...?

It's just that when I saw that, I thought to myself, wow, we're in a recession and there are enough people who can afford to buy $300+ boots in a store like Nine West?

[EconDiva]

I'm finicky about shoes and try not to spend more than $100/pair much less if it can be helped. Last two pairs of dress shoes I bought were like $40 (from Zappos). I think it's just where you buy from. I think retail markup for dept stores is like 400% for clothing items. So when things go on the clearance rack at half off—they're still making a substantial profit.

I have flat feet, so a good pair is necessary for my state of mind.

It's gotta be harder for women if you're trying to stay current with trends. I (male) just tend to buy classic styles so they're in-style for the time period I own them.

Is everything more expensive? Not really. Like the poster above said, computer equipment is much cheaper. I just bought a 1TB hard drive for less than $100. The price point for computers has been about $1000-$2500 depending on specs since 1991 and they've gotten 50x faster.

In regards to the bolded, I am a woman, and I am doing better at buying classic styles now with brands that will last, so I have quality clothing that I can wear for a long time....as opposed to trendier stuff that goes out of style and wears out quicker.

HHmmm...maybe since my focus on brands (quality) has shifted somewhat is part of the reason I'm noticing higher prices.