Consumerism Targets Women Unfairly

Pink is female - but why? Are girls any more pink than boys? Are boys any more blue than girls? It's something that has been sold to us, mostly so other things can be sold to us.
David Levithan

This quote is the perfect illustration of exactly of how women are unfairly targeted by unscrupulous marketing practices. On Sunday I went into a large sporting goods retailer to buy a snorkel and mask for my upcoming trip to the Bahamas. There were two identical sets hanging side by side. They were made by the same manufacturer and packaged exactly the same way. However, one was “one size fits all” and it had blue trim. The price was $29.99. The other was “for women” and it had pink trim. This one was priced at $49.99. There was absolutely no difference in product or size between the two sets of snorkels and masks. The only difference was the colour of the trim. I’m sure you already know that I bought the set with the blue trim. Come to think of it, I don’t own anything pink.

I supposed I should be used to women getting ripped off by now, but it never ceases to make my blood boil. As women, have we become blind to getting ripped off, or just turned a blind eye? Ladies, let’s stop buying “pink” products. It’s time we became savvy consumers who get good value for our money and not let the marketing machine victimize us.

Marketing is what you do when your product is no good.
Edwin H. Land

Make someone smile today.

Geri

The Great Watch Ripoff

I collect watches because I'm always late, and I need to know exactly how late I'm going to be - in order to come up with a good excuse.

Colin Hanks

I bought a diving watch a few years back from a major department store in Toronto. Recently, it needed a battery so I took it back to the store’s jewelry repair. The fellow in jewelry repair told me that to have the battery changed they'd have to send it back to the company because the watch would have to be resealed to ensure that it remained waterproof. This process would take 6 weeks and cost $35 dollars. There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell I’m ever going to pay $35 dollars for a battery and lose my watch for 6 weeks.

There’s a wonderful local jeweller that I’ve done business with before who as it happens, sells and services this brand of watch. I went to see Jose with my watch and this is how the conversation went:

Me: Jose, my watch needs a battery.

Jose: No problem.

Me: But can you reseal the watch because I’m going to the Bahamas in a few weeks and I need to make sure that the watch is waterproof.

Jose: LAUGHS OUT LOUD (as he looks at me like I’m the biggest idiot in the world). There is no such thing as resealing a watch. That’s how companies grab money. And another way they grab money is by charging you more for a battery for an expensive watch.

Jose took the back off my watch and asked me to look for a seal. Of course there wasn’t one. He changed the battery, replaced the back, tightened it and handed me back the watch. I asked what owed and Jose said $7 for the battery and $40 for resealing the watch.

Dictionaries are like watches, the worst is better than none and the best cannot be expected to go quite true.

Samuel Johnson

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Every Woman’s Greatest Fear – Bathing Suit Shopping!

I’m going bathing suit shopping this morning which means I’ll be having Xanax for lunch.

Hippo Quotes

Women are born to shop. We shop in person; we shop online. The bottom line is that we love to shop. It’s in our DNA. Shopping is an activity we do solo or share with friends. We swap shopping stories and spread the news about a great sale faster than any social media platform. Women return like homing pigeons to favourite stores or malls. And we sign up for flash sale news in case God forbid we miss something. As women, a love of shopping, or retail therapy, is something that we almost all share with one exception. No one wants to shop for bathing suits.

No matter how a woman feels about her body, nothing is more discouraging than bathing suit shopping. It’s not about how we look in a bathing suit; it’s about how bathing suit shopping makes us feel. Finding an attractive bathing suit that fits well is like a lottery win. And you can try on hundreds of suits until you hit the jackpot. Of course the message we get is that there is nothing wrong with bathing suit manufacturers; our bodies must be the problem. The clever manufacturers market to our “problem bodies” and have lines of bathing suits with names like “The Miracle Suit” because without such a miracle we have no chance of finding a bathing suit. These so called Miracle Suits retail for over $200 so the only miracle would be if I would spend that kind of money on a bathing suit; and that will never happen.

I’ve been on a hunt for bathing suits for several months now in anticipation of a sailing holiday with friends in the Bahamas. My friend Teresa is a savvy online shopper and she suggested that I buy my bathing suits online. In truth, the thought had never crossed my mind. As my trip drew nearer and desperation set in. I had a look online. Low and behold I found exactly the style of bathing suit that I was looking for online at Simons – a Quebec based department store. The bathing suit was $40 and came in black and plum. Simons was offering free shipping and free returns so what did I have to lose? All I can say is that these are my miracle suits. They couldn’t fit any better if I had them made for me. And from now on I will only buy my bathing suits online. Who knows, I may learn to like shopping for bathing suits - or at least not dread it.

Best of luck on your transition from Seasonal Affective Disorder to Swimsuit Shopping Despair.

someecards

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Why Can’t the Weatherman Get it Right?

Among modern occupations, only cult leaders and TV weathermen rival the technological visionary's ability to retain credibility despite all evidence to the contrary.

Nathan Myhrvold

Two weeks ago the weather forecast called for 10 – 15 cms of snow. Toronto doesn’t deal well with a few flakes let alone 10 – 15 cms so the city hunkered down. Everyone who had the option to work from home exercised that option. Parents waited impatiently by the radio to find out if the school buses would be cancelled. I opted to go into the office. The subway platform was eerily still with only two other people waiting. When the subway arrived the cars were virtually empty. It was almost like being in an episode of the Twilight Zone. As you may have guessed we didn’t have a snow storm. In fact we didn’t have any snow at all – not a single flake. A week later we had the same prediction. This time we had light snow that turned into rain and got washed away. Again, no storm or any snow to speak of.

Years ago I remember my grandmother leaving the house on a beautiful, warm, sunny summer day with an umbrella. I thought she was quite mad to be schlepping an umbrella when there was no rain in the forecast. I asked her why and her response was, “I don’t know how the weatherman makes a living”. Clearly not much has changed since then and more often than not I have an umbrella with my computer bag, regardless of the forecast. We have what is reported to be the most sophisticated weather tracking equipment in the world yet it seems that we still can’t forecast the weather with any degree of accuracy. How is it that massive floods, earthquakes and tsunamis still take us by surprise? And snow storms two weeks in a row never happen?

Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. Fool me 350,000 times, you are a weatherman.

Prikolov

Make someone smile today and don't leave the house without your umbrella.

Geri