On Shopping
BY KARDELEN KALA (TRIN/PREP)
kala@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
“If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time”
Lefty Frizzell (1950)
Sometimes life works in mysterious ways. Or rather people do. Or maybe I am the one who is strange, because everybody but me seems to enjoy shopping, especially during times when it is just a given that stores and streets will be unbelievably crowded.
The event that got me thinking about this was the opening of the first H&M branch in Istanbul. I watched the news in astonishment, being unable to feel anything but utter disbelief about the endless queue of shoppers just dying to get into the store. There were interviews with some of the people who had been waiting for over three hours (three hours, I tell you, three hours spent just standing there, without anything to amuse themselves or any refreshments! And the wait was not even close to being over.) and most of them did not even know what they wanted to buy. They were just there because H&M, a British clothing chain famous for its inexpensive everyday wear, was now in Turkey (Yeah!) and for all they knew, it was also about to pull a Marks & Spencer on us (Marks & Spencer, a British retailer chain of middle-class level clothes, upscale food and other convenience items, has been presented as a luxury brand store in Turkey since its opening. It is, needless to mention, priced accordingly). This is a strange phenomenon, the dangling carrot in front of the modern consumer, and it is definitely not isolated to our country.
Thinking back, I can remember the opening of a Louis Vuitton store somewhere in the Far East, it could be China or Japan, I am not sure. The major roads leading up to the place were blocked for hours as people flocked to the giant, multi-storey building, racing against time and each other to get hold of a LV brand pen or belt. Could everyone in that group of thousands afford to spend money on anything Louis Vuitton? I highly doubt it. But they were still there anyway. Same thing happened at the opening of McDonald's in Moscow, but this time at least people knew what they were getting (mildly satisfying pseudo-food which leaves one hungry in a couple of hours), and they probably had enough money for it. But it again demonstrates the extremes our brand awareness and loyalty have reached.
Having said all this, I have no illusions about being immune to the temptation. I am just too lazy to do all it takes to obtain all the material traps that I would like to have. Would I want to own a Hermès Birkin bag, quite possibly my favorite purse design in the world? You can bet I would. Would I consider spending more than ten thousand dollars on it if I had that much money to waste on frivolous things? As embarrassing as it is to admit, yes, I probably would. But now comes the most important question. Would I be willing to stay on a waiting list for over two years, or possibly wait in line outside a shop in New York City hoping for a canceled order? I think the fact that I've been known to postpone buying groceries because of a scary looking line at the register should be enough for an answer!
I guess what I mean to say is that I value time I would have spent waiting in lines for things that have nothing going for them except a fancy logo more than I care about the money that is being spent. This becomes important especially around major holidays, as we are experiencing this year in November and December. In times like this, my advice to myself on shopping is this: Buy something if you can afford it, but don't spend a minute of your time waiting in front of a clothing rack, a changing room, or a cash register. You may have the money for it, but you certainly don't have the time.