Why do you treasure a pair of $300 plastic sunglasses — but toss aside the free ones from a goody bag without a second thought?

Why is lobster, once fed to prisoners and farm animals, now a delicacy served with white wine and white tablecloths?

And why are you expected to spend two, even three months’ salary on a diamond ring… when you know the whole thing is a marketing stunt?

Welcome to the strange world of Veblen goods — things that become more desirable because they are expensive. The more they cost, the more you want them. Not in spite of the price, but because of it.

Diamonds are not rare. But the story sells.

Take De Beers diamonds. You already know they’re not rare. The idea of scarcity is something the company created. But the grip diamonds have on your emotions — and your wallet — is still going strong.

That is the brilliance of De Beers. With the tagline “a diamond is forever”, they were not just selling jewellery. They were selling love. Commitment. Status. Then they quietly slipped in the rule: a man should spend at least one month’s salary on an engagement ring. Over time, that number grew. First to two months. Then three. Conveniently, this meant you were spending more — and believing you were just doing what everyone else did.

I am not even in a relationship and yet De Beers already has me mentally budgeting for a diamond. That’s how good the marketing is — they got to me before romance did.

And you know it too. You know it is just clever marketing.

And yet... you still shell out the money.

Because price, in the world of Veblen goods, does not repel — it seduces.

Lobster laws and luxury dinners

Food plays the game too.

Lobster, the star of upscale dining today, was once everywhere in early America. So common it washed up on shore. So unwanted it was:

● Fed to pigs

● Served to prisoners daily

● And even banned from being served to servants more than twice a week — because it was seen as cruel

But today? Lobster is a luxury. Served in upscale restaurants, measured by the ounce and carefully plated. That is the irony of Veblen goods: what used to be a sign of poverty can — with the right story and just enough scarcity — become a badge of wealth.

Lobster was once so unwanted it was fed to pigs. Now it is fed to Instagram.

Ray-Bans and the value of a good backstory

Google Ray-Ban and you are not hit with specs and lens types — you are hit with origin stories, fighter pilots, and Hollywood icons. You are not just buying sunglasses. You are buying into an identity.

Because features are facts. But facts tell — and stories sell.

And when the story is good enough, a $200 price tag feels less like eyewear and more like a passport into a tribe.

Ray-Bans do not block UV as much as they block your sense of financial restraint.

Payless, Palessi, and the power of perception

One of the greatest stunts in marketing history came from Payless Shoes. They set up a fake designer boutique called Palessi, filled it with their usual $20 shoes and invited influencers to shop.

And it worked. People paid up to $600 for shoes they could have grabbed off a discount shelf. Why? Because they believed they were exclusive.

The shoes did not change. But the story around them did. Just like Beanie Babies in the Nineties — stuffed toys that sold for thousands, not because of what they were, but because everyone else wanted them too.

Turns out the only thing separating $20 shoes from $600 ones is a French-sounding name and lighting with just the right amount of moody shadows.

So why do you still fall for it?

Because Veblen goods do not follow logic. They follow emotion. They tap into something deeper — your desire to be seen, to belong, to feel like you have made it.

What links a Rolex, a Ray-Ban, a ribeye, and a rare oyster?

● Scarcity — real or made up

● A good story

● A high price tag that makes it feel important

● The emotional hit of owning “the best”

As Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of LVMH, once said:

“Luxury goods are the only area in which it is possible to make luxury margins.”

They are not selling you a product — they are selling you a way to say: “Look what I can afford.”

So what? Why does any of this matter?

Because once you see how status shapes your desires, you can make better choices — or at least laugh at how predictable we all are. You do not need to reject every luxury item. But when price becomes the story, you should at least ask: whose story is this really?

You like to think you’re a smart shopper. That you don’t fall for the hype.

But when the price goes up, your curiosity rises with it.

Because maybe you are not just buying a product — maybe you are buying the feeling that comes with it.

As Warren Buffett put it:

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

But when it comes to Veblen goods?

Price becomes the value.

And you know it.

You know it is all part of the game.

And still... you shell out the money.

Because in this world, price does not repel — it seduces.

Christian Chin-Gurret is a writer with a Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a Bachelor of Science in Product Design, who offers a unique perspective on shaping the future of business through innovation, disruption and technology