How much money would you need to not care about paying full retail price?

[trajan]

I am willing to pay full-retail on the items that I like. However, there are really very few that I do. Because of my physic, there's no way I can find retail shirts that fit, and trousers are very difficult. So, I end up saving for less items of high quality that I really like -- like bespoke shirts.

--trajan

 

[Financier]

I also save my money for MTM shirts and suits, which are difficult to get a good discount on. You can avoid the 20% MTM markup by getting measured a trunk sale, or get a 6 for the cost of 5 from some shirt makers, but that is about it. OTR just doesn't fit.

I do buy Allen Edmonds over Alden and Crockett and Jones not because of preference, but because the AE's are so much earlier to find at a discount.

If my income were to double, I have no doubt I'd be less worried about bargains, and more about exactly what I want. Despite my love of fine clothing, I hate shopping, so a quick, pleasant shopping experience with a trusted retailer would take precedence over price quicker for me than for many others.

 

[Crane's]

Retail is the price someone who doesn't care about money pays.

That being said it doesn't matter how much money I have. I look for and expect a deal on whatever I buy.

 

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by Financier

I also save my money for MTM ***** and suits,
I can never get the perfect ****, it's always coming out wrong. Better call Jantzen again.

 

[EasyGoing]

Originally Posted by Crane's

Retail is the price someone who doesn't care about money pays.

That being said it doesn't matter how much money I have. I look for and expect a deal on whatever I buy.

So because I bought things full retail I don't care about money? That's pretty absurd.

 

[Loose On The Lead]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

AT the current tax bracket, a $500K income gets you into the 40% bracket. You end up with $300K only.
Assuming you're in the US, that's not how tax brackets work. Some of your income would be taxed at 15%, some at 20% (or whatever), and so forth. Only the last part of it would be taxed at 40%. As someone else pointed out, there isn't a 40% bracket to begin with, but that's beside the point. Your marginal rate might be 40%, but your effective rate would likely be much less than that.

I would also expect that the wealthier one is, the more of one's income--on average, anyway--comes from capital gains and qualified dividends, which would tend to suppress the effective rate even further. To some extent, this would be counterbalanced by deductions that get phased out...okay, I'll shut up now.

 

[nicad2000]

Originally Posted by Loose On The Lead

Assuming you're in the US, that's not how tax brackets work. Some of your income would be taxed at 15%, some at 20% (or whatever), and so forth. Only the last part of it would be taxed at 40%. As someone else pointed out, there isn't a 40% bracket to begin with, but that's beside the point. Your marginal rate might be 40%, but your effective rate would likely be much less than that.

I would also expect that the wealthier one is, the more of one's income--on average, anyway--comes from capital gains and qualified dividends, which would tend to suppress the effective rate even further. To some extent, this would be counterbalanced by deductions that get phased out...okay, I'll shut up now.

Do I sense another accountant in the house? So few people know anything about their personal taxes these days...

 

[warlok1965]

Originally Posted by Loose On The Lead

Assuming you're in the US, that's not how tax brackets work. SNIP.
Yeah but factor in Soc sec, state taxes, etc. An effective tax rate of 40% on 500K sounds ballpark to me. Not federal tax "bracket" but the overall effective rate. As for the original question, it all depends on what I'm buying. I still want to feel like I'm getting a reasonable value for my money no matter how much my income increases. I just find myself buying more expensive stuff.

 

[sjg284]

Originally Posted by warlok1965

As for the original question, it all depends on what I'm buying. I still want to feel like I'm getting a reasonable value for my money no matter how much my income increases. I just find myself buying more expensive stuff.

I agree, I find that the more I am willing to spend as the years go by, I still don't pay full retail.

Whenever I see a full retail price of $XX, I look at it and think "why would I pay XX here, when i can get something on sale at better-brand-store for the same XX".

It's not so much the allusion of "its on sale its a better value" to me, or a stigma about spending full retail. To me its just maximizing the quality of the item I can buy for a set price. Usually that set price gets me more quality if I buy a better brand on sale, than if I buy a lesser brand at full retail.

 

[samurai]

To not mind paying full retail I would have to have a hundred trillion million quadrillion zillion, plus social security. What tax bracket would that put me in?????

 

[slipperywhenwet]

Two things are required for me to pay full retail:

1. The item must be exactly what I wanted/wanted but didn't know I wanted/what the attractive saleslady said was what I wanted.

2. Great customer service.

If it fails either of those two, I won't even wait for a sale, I just won't buy.

Sadly, because I'm a slim and short male, it's all but impossible to find things that fit properly. When I do find something, I usually buy it right away because I've burned too many times waiting for it to go on sale and then having the last one sold before the sale starts. The only place where this doesn't apply is in Japan, because everything there fits me.

As for money. I think that my needs are pretty modest. If I was making around $120000 after tax, then I wouldn't really care about the price of clothing. Cars are a completely other matter though.

 

[Crane's]

Originally Posted by EasyGoing

So because I bought things full retail I don't care about money? That's pretty absurd.

Far from absurd. In this day and age it is easy to comparison shop for just about anything out there. Yes there are situations where you are forced to buy at retail because of a closed system of marketing. That situation is rare and if you wait or look a little deeper a deal can still be found. And yes there are "costs" involved in finding deals. Some are actual and others are perceived. If these "costs" make doing the deal more expensive than retail then buying retail is the smart thing to do. This too is an uncommon scenario given the ease of comparison shopping these days. Most times retail is paid to satisify instant gratification, laziness, impulse buying, or status.

 

[LA Guy]

I will buy things at retail when there is no other acceptable alternative. In terms of clothing and accessories, this includes circumstances when I need something very specific within a very narrow timeframe, when there is a piece that I think may not go to discount, or when it is a piece that I am unlikely to find elsewhere at a lower price. The first is the most subjective, and I take into account the time that that item will be enjoyed. For example, if I can afford it, I am not adverse to paying retail for a piece of outerwear at the beginning of the fall season, even if I know full well that it may on on sale after Christmas, because I know that I will get plenty of enjoyment out of the piece in the months before the sale season. This is even moreso for spring outerwear. Something bought at full price in March will be enjoyed much longer than something bought at discount in June...

 

[epa]

I may have replied to this question earlier in this thread, but I don't remember so here you have my answer: I do not mind paying full retail when I see an item that I really like. I may save a couple of bucks waiting for the sales, but then it may not be available any more, at least not in my size. For example, when I see a pair of shoes that I like and if I find the price "reasonable" (for me, that means not much more than EUR 500 for a pair of dress shoes), then I buy them. If a wait for the sales, I may not find this specific model in my size. And as shoes last for many years, I really want the ones I like, and not only the ones I find "not too ugly". Recently, for example, I was trying on a pair of Santoni double monks and they did not come in mi size, and the salesperson told me that they had a similar shoe in my size and at half the price, and I looked at it and yes, it was similar and the size was right but the shoe was not as nice as the first one, and I thought about it and decided that saving say EUR 250 was not sufficient: I knew that for the next decade, everytime I put these shoes on, I would remember that the Santonis were nicer. So the next time I saw a pair of nice Santonis that I really liked I paid the retail price for them. And I am very happy with that.
Actually, nowadays, I have ended up paying full retail for most of my stuff, but this is largely due to the fact that shirts and suits are MTM or bespoke, mainly for fit reasons.

 

[trajan]

Originally Posted by slipperywhenwet

Sadly, because I'm a slim and short male, it's all but impossible to find things that fit properly. When I do find something, I usually buy it right away because I've burned too many times waiting for it to go on sale and then having the last one sold before the sale starts. The only place where this doesn't apply is in Japan, because everything there fits me.
Have you tried the boys' department? --trajan