The UBC SUB typically has a row of booths lined down the middle of the ground floor, selling gloves, scarves, simple jewelry and phone accessories. However, last week, I noticed a booth I had never seen before, selling very elaborate statement necklaces.
A friend I was with was particularly captivated by the elaborate attention-grabbing display so we stopped to take a look. After browsing for a bit, we enquired about the prices of a few pieces. The price range of these necklaces were from about $100 to $ 180. I couldn’t help but comment how pricey the necklaces were to the owner of the booth who simply smiled and replied, “Yes, they are a little on the pricey side”. Needless to say, both my friend and I left without making a purchase.
I wonder if the business owner would have been more successful if she had taken a class in marketing.
Though not particularly attracted to these elaborate necklaces myself, my more fashion-forward friend remarked to me later on that these necklaces were extremely trendy right now. While not suitable for everyday campus fashion, she remarked that she would definitely have use for a similar necklace on a night out, or even at a nice dinner with friends. Thus, although I did not see this at first, the product probably had value to the many fashion-savvy female students on campus.
However, the prices of these necklaces were far too exorbitant for the average university student. The average student would be able to buy a textbook or have at least ten meals for that same amount of money. Even if the prices of these necklaces were justified, say if they were hand-made, exclusively imported or one-of-a-kind, the booth owner failed to communicate any of this information even when directly questioned to convince her customers that these necklaces were worth their hefty price tag. A quick check on the internet on popular fashion sites revealed that similar necklaces could be purchased for much cheaper at less than $10 at Forever 21.
Lastly, while retailing these necklaces at the SUB made some sense due to high volumes of female students passing through, the SUB is definitely not the place to be retailing expensive merchandise. I might have been more attracted to these necklaces if they were retailed at boutique store in Gastown, especially given the price. The fact that they were on display at the SUB made me feel like the business owner was just looking to make a quick buck of naïve students since the set up of the retail location was all quite modest for an item so extravagant.
I’m interested in spinfile-studies.dat, spinfile-hobbies.dat and spinfile-languages.dat art. I like travelling and reading fantasy.