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Comment by deadeye | Hacker News Reader

Serious question, if you inherited tens of millions of dollars and wanted to spend it on premium things, where can you buy insanly luxurious every day items?

Like: An apple corer? A Yeti (like) cup? A mobile phone? Kids toys?

I've always wondered this. I live in a world of throw away quality every day items. Do the ultra wealthy have luxury options for these things?

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There's a whole industry catering to that niche. Magazines like Luxury Launches [1] or Robb Report [2] and retailers like James Edition [3]. You can tell them apart from normal retailers because the menu will have categories for jewelry and helicopters.

For example, here's a $990 100mL bottle of Balsamic vinegar I found on Robb Report that's aged for a century [4].

Most of these are for private concierges and assistants, though, as very rich people don't usually bother with this stuff themselves. They get their staff to source it online or find someone to hand craft a custom piece to spec. "Personal shopper" is the generic term

[1] https://luxurylaunches.com/

[2] https://robbreport.com/

[3] https://www.jamesedition.com/

[4] https://giusti.it/en/prodotto/giusti-100-100ml/

Well, that's not it.

The OP's not asking about luxury, exclusive stuff, of which there's plenty. Just ordinary things that just aren't cheaply made.

I mean the wirecutter is pretty good.

Hermes makes some outrageously tacky "normal thing but it's the price of my car" products. Like a backgammon set for £6k: https://www.hermes.com/uk/en/product/palio-backgammon-game-H...

And they may also pretend that it's so scarce you have to apply to a waiting list for the right to buy things so you feel extra special (cynically I suspect this also weeds out riff-raff rich enough to afford the item's sticker price but not also the PA to faff about with the process).

It's very silly. And profitable, evidently.

I wondered this too until I saw a YouTube video [1] of Steve Jobs going to Japan to meet an artisan he admired who makes Japanese pottery. I guess you globe-trot to find the actual craftspeople.

[1] https://youtu.be/1_qcvhXdzXg?t=2472

I've been rich twice, now broke again. I can confirm purchase of ridiculous items, although in fairness of lot of high-end items do a better job at their given task, but it is absolutely an area of exponentially diminishing returns.

How did you lose your riches?

First time I just spent it all on crazy shit until I was broke. I made my first million selling Beanie Babies on eBay in 1997-1998. I knew it was a fad, but like a sports star I decided not to put any aside and just shit it all away.

Second time I made the money through a torrent tracker I built for TV shows. Then I went to jail for an unrelated charge and everything I had was gone when I got out.

Thank you for sharing.

I use https://old.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/ as a starting point, but it can be hit or miss depending on what you search.

I'm afraid using a real celebrity's name as your HN username falls into the sort of thing we don't allow here - see https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme....

I've temporarily banned the account but if you want us to rename it for you to something untrollish, we can do that and unban it.

Sorry! I thought it was in good fun but I guess it's a little too soon.

Can you rename me to EscapeFromNewYork? (in reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_from_New_York)

The limit is 17 chars (edit: doh! I meant the limit is 15 chars and that one was 17.)

We could do EscapeFromNY if you like. Or pick something else?

But that is 17 chars. If it's too long EscapeFromNY is fine

I am idiot; the limit is 15 and I said 17 because I had just evaluated

  > (len "EscapeFromNewYork")
  17

Ok, you're now EscapeFromNY and are unbanned.

Thanks and sorry for the trouble!

I don't think there are many truly luxurious options in the category of everyday items. The ultra wealthy have the same options as the middle class in terms of apple corer, mobile phones, tablets, toilets, or streaming services.

Luxuries would be things like hiring personal assistants, hand-made/customized items, art collections, etc. An emperor wouldn't have a golden hoe, because he doesn't farm.

Funny you mention toilets. I've seen a $8k toilet. I think it was from kolher.

Found it: https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/kohler-numi-20-...

Michael Bloomberg had a $13,000 bespoke bathtub made of hammered copper by French artisans in Villedieu-les-Poëles near Mont Saint Michel, the only place with the skills to make such a thing. Copper conducts heat very well so it takes the temperature of water immediately. No cold bathtub walls for Michael. Compared to the $8K mass-produced toilet, it almost seems like a bargain now.

By the way, Japan emperor does rice farm because it's a symbol of country

Mark Zuckerberg practicing jiu-jitsu is an example. Gym participation is a luxury display of leisure time. I wonder why he didn't take up golf. There seems to be a trendy desire to leisure train physical fighting ability as opposed to other recreational activities.

I can't think of any store that caters to this specific type of thing. And now that you mention it, it's a real shame. Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom sell a lot of Veblen goods, not necessarily actual high-end anything.

Costco sells actual high-end products, but they're very limited in their selection. For various products, people in the know don't use them. However, for example, flashlights they sell from Duracell are stronger than anything you can pickup from Home Depot, curiously.

Isn't this what SkyMall used to be?

SkyMall was the cheapest shit hahaha

I wish I could find this link I found a while back - it was a furtniture store that sold one of a kind pieces made by legit artists. End tables were like 70k, etc.

It was so interesting. Like peering into a whole different world

Meanwhile your local amish communities probably make better quality stuff for pretty good prices.

If you want to be new rich, just hand someone a million dollars for a normal product, your peers only care about the sticker price anyway.

I will say, on this particular website, the furniture was literally artwork - By that I mean, it was clearly made by artists with great mastery of their craft. For example there were mirrors which were cut and framed in very unusual shapes. There upholstered pieces with atypical material/construction. So yes, amish people probably make more functional stuff, but this stuff was showcasing the skill of the builder, which is what brings the price. That said I don't care if you brought me and end table made out of moon rock, I aint payin' 70 grand for it, lmfao

When you're that rich, your "every day items" do not include yeti cups or apple corers.

I doubt people with tens of millions of dollars have a cook to slice up their kid's apple, but I wouldn't know.

Though, I'm sure Elon isn't doing something so mundane.

$10M is well above where you start seeing people have full time live in childcare.

Why not? It's not like I'm going to summon Jeeves every time I want to eat an apple. Not every rich person is a snobby aristocrat who faints at a thought of any manual labor.

Can always play craftsman or artist to make something custom

The most expensive things you can buy are bought at auction.

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