Friday, May 7

"The Poor People Buy What The Rich People Sell"

Reading jack's blog, there is a quotation there that says "The poor people buy what the rich people sell" which made me think twice. I mean, that's quite understandable. Although rich people do buy things more often than poor people, they definitely are not buying from them... except when poor people are selling real properties like land. What really stunned me is that the quote sounds so simple and yet, so true. It's a capitalist's world indeed!

Years ago, I tried selling but my venture didn't last long. A friend told me that I won't get rich selling products to poor people. What he said sounded true and so I quit. (I was living in a town belonging to class D category then). In comparison to the quote mentioned above, I was not among the rich people who sell.

Talking about rich people, here in the city where I live, they are the businessmen who cater mainly to the poor. (The rich people shop somewhere else!) Why do I say that? Well, here's the scenario:

RP - rich person who sells
PP - poor person who buys
PO - purchase order
CC - credit card

RP owns a big shopping mall that sells products more than a bit higher than the public market prices. But RP's mall is air-coditioned. PP goes there for three reasons: to buy something, to be entertained and to cool off. Now, to the actual buying scene: PP enters the mall. After the sweltering heat, he gradually cools off and now more relaxed and ready to be enticed into buying something...anything. No matter if PP doesn't have cash. He has credit cards. Or a P O (purchase order) which is payable in three months. Now he can afford to have that Levi's pants or that Nike shoes he'd been eyeing for days!! Sure he's aware that there's what the mall terms as P O add-on of 10% but that isn't much because it's divided into 6 payments. So no sweat as long as he's not a shopaholic. If he is, then that's his problem and if I might add, another topic...

Now, let's sneak a peek to the grocery section. PP has barely enough money for his family's basic needs but RP who owns this mall knows his customers. So he sells grocery items in small packs. For example, brown sugar. RP buys in bulk, repacks it, sells it. So even if PP doesn't have budget for a 2-kilo pack, he now can buy half or smaller yet, 1/4 kilo. And he can swipe card again or sign a P O. Sad to say, but more than 70% of PP's income goes to food expenses. I'm not saying it's the case of all people here. I'm talking about the PP who earns the minimum salary...which is just not enough..So the quotation, the poor people buy what the rich people sell, is true after all.


What Rich People Know & Desperately Want to Keep Secret

What Rich People Know & Desperately Want to Keep Secret

GRAPE(Get Rich And People Envy)

GRAPE(Get Rich And People Envy)

3 comments:

Jack said...

Original ideas are valuable. People hardly find original ideas

Prateek said...

Unfortunately, that's true.

spc said...

nice blog format, but I disagree-

Rich person can afford to set up shop (despite government regulation and associated costs).

Rich person can afford to buy in bulk, and thus cut us a lower price.

Rich person can expand business, and subsequently give us jobs.

Rich people help eliminate poor people by moving them into the middle class, where we poor people can afford many of the same luxuries rich people have.

It's not all black and white, with others' success comes the opportunity for the "underclass" to have and to prosper.

Good luck- enjoyed reading.