A Sunk Cost Is A Sunk Cost
If you currently look on Amazon for eclipse glasses you will see them priced from $30 to over $100. The market pushed them in the rush to get them in time to experience the eclipse at the last minute.
However, there is no market now. It is gone. You can't resale the glasses you purchased. You can't even really use them for anything else. They were made for one purpose that happened at one event at a specific time.
We do the same thing with career skills that become obsolete or items we have purchases at a high value and feel that we are due that return. It seem like the idea of a sunk cost is hard for us as humans to internalize.
We Don't Set The Market
I remember my wife selling one of her professional DSL cameras 📸 as the digital revolution in the photography world was changing daily. She had listed it for thousands below what she had purchased it for years ago. Someone messaged her to ask why in the world she would sell it that low. How could this be the market rate for something that cost so much just a short time ago. They owned the same camera and just couldn't get past how they felt.
Just last week we were looking at refinished furniture and someone had posted a dresser that looked like something we would want. However she had priced way higher then we felt it was worth or what we wanted to pay. So we kindly offered a lower price and the person came back offended. It wasn't a stab at their character. It wasn't a stab at the sweat and tears they put into refinishing the piece. It was simply a number. A value that we came to at what we were willing to give for that item.
The Market Is A Mover And Shaker
I am definitely not an expert in commerce and industry trends. I am not an economist or financial guru. However, it isn't hard to see that the market does not care about your feelings or thoughts in a product, the time you spent developing that specific skill or the years you spent climbing the corporate ladder. It does sound a little harsh but when you remove the emotional aspect of it then you are left with the facts.
Supply. Demand. Value.
All these things are interesting and the events leading up to the eclipse just made me think about it. I am sure my eclipse glasses will just sit my car for a few months before clean it out and toss them. Maybe I will keep them to remember the event, who knows.
Either way it was an amazing event and I am glad I got to experience it.
I will leave you with Nolen and Dawson moments before the "Great Eclipse Glasses Market Crash of 2017". 😎
