Response to Kerri Hinkle's Post

Do you think these new groups are an invasion of privacy or beneficial to Facebook users?
Why or why not?

I believe that it is not an invasion of privacy because anything you put on the internet is basically out there for the world to see. Facebook is, for the most part, a public social media site. It will be beneficial for companies to better understand their customers and be beneficial to the customer, however, it may also be negative in that it may lead to the customer to feel pestered or molested by the company that is trying to market their product to them. Overall though, it is up to the Facebook user to decide what they would like everyone to know about them and as soon as they post, like, or join a group they are telling everyone what they think about it. As long as all the company is doing is reading or analyzing what the user posted then they are not invading their privacy. 

The Fashion Industry

In an article by WellHeeled, an investigation into the markups and discounts of clothing are explored. The initial question is how is it possible for a company to make a profit if they are selling below the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price). What they discovered is that  the price gets marked up several times by the time it gets to the retailer from the manufacturer. That means that an item sold at a store may only cost them an eighth of the MSRP price to make. That is why a product that that starts out at an expensive designer, such as Ralph Lauren, at high price can eventually be found later at a discount store or wholesaler for half the price and that store is still capable of making a profit. It is interesting to note that the article does not answer it's own question and only gives a vague hypothesis.


Do you believe that the initial price of clothing is established with the belief that the clothing will not be sold at that price so that the store may offer discounts to make the customer believe they are getting a better value? Do you believe, as a customer, that you would be getting as good a value or as good a quality product if they started at the lowest discount price?



http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2009/08/22/profit-margins-in-fashion-industry-banana-republic/