Thankfully, toasters don’t often burn houses down, and so this cost is low (under 1%) for most products. (I’m interested in examples of physical goods for which this is not the case.)
The first example that I thought of is the “wedding tax”—that is, anything that’s purchased specifically for a wedding is significantly more expensive than the same item purchased for a different event. This includes both services (e.g., photography) and physical items (e.g., a cake).
But my wife and I both cared very little for most of those things. If we had known better, we wouldn’t have hired as many vendors as we did. We concluded after our wedding that most of the money we spent wasn’t worth it.
Of course, I don’t mean to judge those who do spend extravagantly on their wedding, if that’s what they truly want. But I think part of the reason people spend so much is because of social expectations, not because it actually makes them happy.
It’s not a physical good, but I had also been thinking that most of the price of renting a venue on the open market is trust (that you won’t mess up their space; whether they can give you the keys vs. needing someone to let you in), followed by coordination. Hence, why having a friend let you use their office’s conference room on a weekend to do an event might cost $0, while renting such a space might cost $1000.
The first example that I thought of is the “wedding tax”—that is, anything that’s purchased specifically for a wedding is significantly more expensive than the same item purchased for a different event. This includes both services (e.g., photography) and physical items (e.g., a cake).
This site validates that this is a real thing, and provides several reasons: Why are weddings so expensive? [The WEDDING TAX explained] (zoelarkin.com). Of course, it’s written by a wedding photographer, so she suggests many benefits of hiring professionals.
But my wife and I both cared very little for most of those things. If we had known better, we wouldn’t have hired as many vendors as we did. We concluded after our wedding that most of the money we spent wasn’t worth it.
Of course, I don’t mean to judge those who do spend extravagantly on their wedding, if that’s what they truly want. But I think part of the reason people spend so much is because of social expectations, not because it actually makes them happy.
To clarify: You’re not saying the wedding tax is because of insurance costs, as the article is asking about, right?
Wedding tax is, in fact, mostly insurance costs. Not liability insurance, but having to charge more because
Weddings get canceled, or have significant scope changes, much more than, say bar mitzvas.
Equipment failures are way more serious at a wedding than a birthday party.
Thanks! This is good.
It’s not a physical good, but I had also been thinking that most of the price of renting a venue on the open market is trust (that you won’t mess up their space; whether they can give you the keys vs. needing someone to let you in), followed by coordination. Hence, why having a friend let you use their office’s conference room on a weekend to do an event might cost $0, while renting such a space might cost $1000.