April 9, 2006
What are you treasure hunting for?
The books begins powerfully, with serveral "a-ha" moments, which led me to notice the areas where I "trade down" (like buying economy cars) in order to "trade up" in other spots (like fabulous restaurant dinners). I'm willing to bet most readers will have the same kind of epiphany of recognition in the first few chapters. This instant identification with the patterns Michael Silverstein describes had me hooked for a marathon four-hour reading session in which I finished the book.
Detailed -- and sometimes intimate -- narratives about actual consumers clarifies how Silverstein's business models translate into real-world situations. And though personal stories illustrate the concrete concepts, the book never slips into being merely a collection of vague anecdotal evidence. There are enough real numbers associated with each example -- household budgets, charts allocating and indexing spending, and survey data -- to lend validity to each profile.
The intertwined story/principle structure seemed to lose focus toward the end; the chapters on McDonald's and FleetBank meandered a bit more than the first two-thirds of the book. Yet this is still a valuable read for both businessperson trying to make sense of a changing market, as well as the savvy consumer who is interested in why she justifies $400 shoes while leaving the heat off in her apartment.
Comments
Guess the book defines what Mom & I did in 1972 when we opted for a house instead of a pricey honymoon, or fixer upper houses to save for 4 college educations.
Dosen't help much to explain why I still have my Members Only jacket though. Where is that book on being cheap and having negative numbers in terms of fashion sense?