A couple months ago, I brought you the story of the $260 purse that looks like a paper lunch bag. I’m always on the lookout for ridiculous examples of consumerism gone nuts, but I really didn’t think that I’d be able to top the lunch bag purse. Sadly, I was mistaken. Less than 2 months later, I stumbled across an item that puts the lunch bag purse in the discount bin. Ladies and gentleman, I bring you the $450 men’s bathing suit.
First and foremost, the price-tag is just staggering. I am probably a bit below average, but I don’t spend anywhere near $450 on clothes in a year. I’d be surprised if I even spent $100. Why on earth would anyone pay $450 for a bathing suit?!? If these things could cook me delicious waffles, increase my IQ by 25 points or bring my body fat down to 5%, I’m on board! Call me when they can do any one of those things.
Second, these things are flat out foul. They look like a terrible decoration you’d see on your grandmother’s Christmas tree. Has a man ever woken up and thought to himself, “When I hit the beach today, I want to look like an ugly Christmas ornament! Oh yeah, that will really get the attention of the ladies!”
Perhaps I just can’t relate. I don’t even own a bathing suit. If I’m at a place that happens to have a pool, my bathing suit is whatever pair of shorts I have at the time. If I don’t have a pair of shorts… well never mind, this is a family blog*.
Stories like these are like car accidents. You know that you shouldn’t look, but you just can’t help it. The lunch bag purse and this bathing suit make me question the sanity of our society. People wouldn’t make this stuff if there wasn’t a market for it. Someone is actually buying the lunch bag purse and the ugly-ass ornament bathing suit (I’m thinking it’s the same person).
Can’t beat em, join em!
Another thought I had is that we’re all in the wrong business. Readers, maybe it’s time we band together and produce our own line of products for people with “exquisite” tastes and high credit limits. Here are some ideas off the top of my head:
- The Golden Can** ($2,599): Ladies and gentleman, you’ll be the envy of your neighbors on trash day when you put these gold covered beauties out to the curb. When you bring out the trash and Neighbor Bob asks how you’re doing today, with a wink, let him know you’re golden.
- The Ultimate Throne Topper ($799): Your tender backside deserves nothing but the best. It’s time to upgrade that plastic toilet seat. The Ultimate Throne Topper contains memory foam that gently contours to your rump for a magical experience. You’ll have no idea how you pooped without it.
- The Rolls Royce of Wheelbarrows ($3,499): Your mulch and manure deserve so much more than the standard fair from Home Depot. For those with discerning taste, this beauty features a 20′ rim, dual cup-holders and optional gold package ($999).
Some people will pay for anything. The possibilities are as large as these people’s credit card limits. Readers, can you think of any products to add to our catalog?
*I am probably permanently banned from the PoPs’ pool.
**After writing this post I discovered that the gold garbage can actually does exist. Really?
That bathing suit is horrible! I can only guess that the maker is trying to appeal to the super rich and create value for people looking for things others can’t afford. Its an unspoken status symbol for many. I think that is the target buyer for Neiman-Marcus anyway. It must be nice, look how much it costs.
Zach @ Dividend Ladder recently posted…What’s Happening – Dividend Edition
I have never been in a Neiman-Marcus. This story will make sure it stays that way.
That bathing suit is the equivalent of the Gucci handbag. No real improvement on design, no added value to ones life, just expensive crap that only a whack job would consider purchasing!
Jacob@CashCowCouple recently posted…5 Warning Signs That You Might Be Financially Illiterate
Those swim trunks are hideous!
There’s also the app, I think just for the iPhone, that costs like $99 and does absolutely nothing other than for you to show off that you have the money to buy it. It actually might be $999, I can’t remember. At least there is a use for the bathing suit or the gold trash can, the app has no practical purpose whatsoever.
JC @ Passive Income Pursuit recently posted…Proctor & Gamble Dividend Stock Analysis
I remember that app! It was called “I am rich” and had a picture of a diamond. The crazy thing is that people actually bought it.
That’s BRILLIANT. WTF has society come to?
eemusings recently posted…Giveaway: transitioning to Life After Teaching
No idea. I hate to get all serious, but I always contrast people buying stuff like this with parts of the world where people love in incredible poverty. Sad.
“Your tender backside deserves nothing but the best. It’s time to upgrade that plastic toilet seat. The Ultimate Throne Topper contains memory foam that gently contours to your rump for a magical experience. You’ll have no idea how you pooped without it.” Lol! I nearly spit out my coffee from laughing so hard. As for the swim suit, I’d have to buy a couple of pairs. 😉
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted…The Cost of a Bad Credit Score
I’m glad I made you laugh! It’s OK to spit out your coffee, as long as you don’t stain that new swimsuit.
I think I saw a full page ad for something similar in the Sunday newspaper awhile ago :/ Ack.
eemusings recently posted…Giveaway: transitioning to Life After Teaching
We’d let you in the pool. Mr. PoP is colorblind and most of our neighbors are old enough that they’re mostly blind, too – so you wouldn’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s eyes with those.
You know who is banned, though? The guy who was wearing what looked to be a white terry cloth g-string thong this morning. Eep! It looked like a gym sock with some strategically placed shoelaces sewn on! Heck, for all I know it could be the latest in Gucci or whatever.
Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies recently posted…Actual Cost of Owning A Pool – Part 2
Oh wow, I have a horrific picture in my head now. Is there such thing as a palette cleanser for the brain?
Wow! This stuff never ceases to amaze me. I’m with you though- maybe we’re in the wrong business?! We should just try to come up with the most ridiculous fancy things and sell them. Geez!
Mrs. Herb recently posted…Butterscotch Pie with Meringue
Mrs. Herb, about about a $700 fry pan or a diamond encrusted crock pot?!
Yeah! Gold and/or diamond encrusting on any handle of a kitchen tool will do!
Mrs. Herb recently posted…Butterscotch Pie with Meringue
It was a story on USAtoday.com. I think that there are a lot of suckers born every minute!
Thanks Erin! With the recent drop in gold prices, I’ll bet you could get one of the golden cans at a steal too!
Partial flush toilets are awesome and not too expensive. I was eyeballing them this past weekend at Costco and they had one model there for $84.
I have heard that Japan has awesome potties including one that can analyze your stuff. Crazy! Is there some cultural reason for it?
I want a variable flow toilet because my community now charges per drop of water and I want to save wherever I can.
Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle recently posted…Credit Card Rejection Part 3
Next time I’m in your neck of the woods, I’ll install the toilet AND window for you.
WTS (what the shirt)?!? You have topped them all.
LOL! I didn’t even realize that, but I’ll take full credit.
$6,653?!?!? Come on people! Most of my cars I have owned in my life have cost 1/3 of that!
Yes, me too! I’ll bet its not financially independent people buying this junk. It’s people putting it on credit cards and paying it off over the next 12 months at 23% interest.
I surely thought the direction of this week’s rant was going to head toward “the most expensive shirt” ever made that has been circling the news recently.
$250K for a shirt?
Buck, that thing is ridiculous. How many turkeys did they have to kill to come up with that thing? Similarly, how many turkeys will buy it?
Erin from #BrokeMillennial turned me on to the documentary The Queen of Versailles. I watched it last night, and if you decide to do the same I hope you have a strong stomach. These people wanted to have the biggest house in America, a 90,000 sqft replica of a Versailles palace. The woman (“The Queen”) said at one point that if she didn’t have nannies she would have only had one or two kids, but since she had nannies to take care of her kids she had EIGHT! They had 19 maids/nannies at one point. Then they lost pretty much all of their money in the recession. Before that you could have sold them all of the gold-package wheelbarrows and trash cans you could get your hands on!
Johnny Moneyseed recently posted…Financial illiteracy breeds financial idiocy
Oh man, I have to see that. What a pathetic and shallow goal.
I always wondered why people want children if they can’t or don’t want to spend time with them. Really, what is the point?
How’s your Apple doing? I generally love when people think they are great investors when they are overinvested in a stock with a big run-up and then they just watch it all go back down.
I’m doing really well actually since most of my shares were purchased in January of 2007 at a price of around $90. Even with the downturn, I have still quadrupled my money.
I never said I was a great investor. Actually, I called myself out as a fool in an earlier post on this very topic.
Plus, who cares how AAPL is doing in the short-term? I’m pretty sure Mr. 1500 isn’t a day-trader, so why would short-term losses affect anything? I look at it like the stock market is having a sale. He could go in and continue his normal investing pattern and walk away with AAPL stock on the cheap. They’ve been paying decent dividends per share as well, so it’s definitely worth holding on to.
Johnny Moneyseed recently posted…Financial illiteracy breeds financial idiocy
Yep, right on JM. Most of the stocks I’ve had in my portfolio have been there for 5 years or more. It is completely ridiculous to trade on short term swings. Anyone who disagrees needs to meet someone named Warren Buffett.
Haha! I would be surprised if the ultimate throne topper actually existed. I like it.
CashRebel recently posted…I Told My Friend To Finance A Brand New Car
If not, let’s invent it! I could totally see this on QVC!
For that price, it better be a levitation device of sorts. Does paying these ridiculous prices help their self-esteem? It doesn’t make sense.
I remember Tony Bourdain’s Medium Raw, where he relates an account of his experience in St. Barths. He writes about the uber-rich who happily pay those kinds of prices. He proposes that these people suffer the shared illusion. And none of them will admit that some of these things are simply worthless.
Ms. D recently posted…Lending Club Week 16: An Ethical Dilemma
Yes, levitation or maybe even one of those transporter thingys on Star Trek. Apparently, the uber-rich are also uber-stupid.
I may be the odd Girl out but I not so secretly think a bathing suit like that would look kinda hot on a guy 😛
Girl Meets Debt recently posted…Canadian Medicare: Not So Free After All
Ha, I hope that J accepts my apologies! 🙂
Yes, this is dumb, super dumb, to dumbfinity and beyond!
For $450, that bathing suit had better come with a 100% gaurantee that it will
attract womencause women to fall madly in love with the wearer at first sight. Or deflect bullets. Actually, I’d expect both for that price.My Financial Independence Journey recently posted…A Brief Primer on Options: Part 3 (Two ways to enhance your dividend growth portfolio with cash-secured puts)
No doubt! For that kind of money, it better also really do what all of those pills in the back of men’s magazines promise to do!
$450 for a men’s bathing suit is outrageous! I wonder what would be the added benefit of wearing that bathing suit? Will it make the fat, slimmer or vice versa? It’s like the banned app from AppStore (I am rich sold for $999.99), in which according to wikipedia:
“When launched, the screen only contains a glowing red gem, and an icon that when pressed, displays the following mantra in large text:
I am rich
I deserv [sic] it
I am good,
healthy &
successful”
Elvin @ Journey To Millions recently posted…Fourth Step to Your Journey to Millions: Spend Money The Right Way (Create a Spending Plan)
That app is ridiculous. I want to come out with one called “I am a Tool” and charge the same. People would buy it.
Laughs. Also, based on wikipedia, there are 8 people who bought the app (6 from US and 2 from Europe). Can you imagine that? Perhaps if you’re going to create that app, you’ll also generate that amount..
I just realized if I do the same for the bathing suit (get one from thrift shop) and sell it for $450. I’ll be making a lot of bucks! 🙂
Elvin @ Journey To Millions recently posted…Fourth Step to Your Journey to Millions: Spend Money The Right Way (Create a Spending Plan)
I had one of my dogs at the vet today and the vet said that switching my dog to a diet of kangaroo might help his allergies. Kangaroo and oat kibble that is $95 per bag and a bag would last about 3 weeks.
I live in Canada and kangaroos do not so that could explain the rather high cost.
Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle recently posted…Credit Card Rejection Part 3
Whoah, $95/bag. I’m a human (I think) and I don’t think I go through $95 worth of food in 3 weeks.
I told my vet that I could not afford the dog food and she told me it probably wouldn’t make much difference anyway. My vet is good that way. There is always another option at my vet.
An older couple came in to the vet and said they were there to pick up their dog Sam. Sam was handed to them in a nice urn. Having your dog cremated is $367.
Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle recently posted…Credit Card Rejection Part 3
I grew up with pets, but don’t have them now. They are just too much of an expense, especially because we travel often and would have to pay for frequent boarding.
$367 for dog cremation, whoah! That sounds like a bit much.
OMG, you put my post about stupid crap to shame! These are hilarious!!
Pretired Nick recently posted…Ten awesome ways to look like a total idiot
I don’t know about that Nick, your writing is pretty great.
Not sure if I should laugh or cry. Sometimes I’ll see profiles on Lending Club of people with really high incomes who are totally mired in debt, but it’s all probably the types of folks who need expensive stuff like this 🙂
Simon Cunningham recently posted…Filtering Loans – Part 1: Risk
Hi Simon-
YES! Just last week, I saw a listing on LendingClub where the borrower had $18,000 per month in VERIFIED income. What is wrong with people?!?
Like you, I don’t even spend that much on all of my clothes for an entire year. I can’t imagine spending that much for one piece of clothing. For some reason I have this urge to pick up some old clothes from the thrift store and put them on eBay for hundreds of dollars each. You never know, someone might just buy one of the items. After all there are people willing to pay for that swimsuit.
Um, Jen, honey – hate to break the news to you – but that’s EXACTLY how I’m bringing home the beer money!! I buy things at thrift and flip them on Ebay to the tune of about $1,000/mo. And that’s just say 6 hrs time a week. And since you are on the subject of bathing suits here – last month I purchased a “designer” men’s swim suit at GW. Cost me $3. Put it up on Ebay for $250 or best offer – got an offer of $175. So I look at my husband and ask “should I take this offer????” 😉 I like to pull his chain like that!! We then both just look at each other shaking our heads. People are just freaking stupid with money – but hey, if they’re gonna be stupid with money – and I have the gift of thrift – I’ll take their money any day! It’s truly amazing to me the money people pay for things. I always say “it’s no wonder people have so much damn debt in this country!!”