Comment on Tesla Reportedly Has $800 Million Worth of Cybertrucks That Nobody Wants

• MangoCats@feddit.it ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Try appraising real estate for a while, it’s a strong lesson in: something is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. Can be higher than cost, can be lower than cost, but the willing buyer is the key to the whole valuation equation.

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  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    something is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it

    That’s a naive short-term approach to valuation.

    Real value has to be measured in some kind of revenue generation, or - at least - cost mitigation. Otherwise what you’re describing isn’t value but expense.

    the willing buyer is the key to the whole valuation equation

    The willing buyer is the key to perceived value. But suckering someone doesn’t increase the utility of what you sold them.

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    • MangoCats@feddit.it ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      But suckering someone doesn’t increase the utility of what you sold them.

      No, but what someone is willing to pay is the sum total of what a business gets income from. Whether a business is delivering tangible value (say: food) or nothing of substance (say: Bitcoin) the viability of a business, it’s ability to survive and thrive in the capitalist marketplace, is 100% correlated to income willingly given vs cost of obtaining that income, and 0% correlated to “actual value delivered.”

      What shocks me about much of the U.S. economy is how much is spent on marketing, promotion, advertising, and sales. 0% value derived from such activity, but frequently over half the cost of things that are purchased in the U.S. is sunk in promotion.

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      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        someone is willing to pay is the sum total of what a business gets income from

        Except credit changes the math on that significantly. You aren’t constrained by your income, but by your risk of default (and even then… glances 2008-ward) Then you can afford to buy more by paying a higher interest rate.

        the capitalist marketplace, is 100% correlated to income willingly given vs cost of obtaining that income

        “Willingly” is doing a lot of lifting, given the degree to which fraud, extortion, and price gouging play a roll in the national economy.

        What shocks me about much of the U.S. economy is how much is spent on marketing, promotion, advertising, and sales. 0% value derived from such activity, but frequently over half the cost of things that are purchased in the U.S. is sunk in promotion.

        Promotion (and deception and intimidation) drives sales. They create the illusion of scarcity and transform luxury into necessity.

        They add perceived value among the unwitting and create implicit value through absence of harm.

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