Via the OrangeCoat Blog, I followed a link to ADynammic’s post about Tom’s Shoes and their “amazing” business model.
I think Tom’s is great because they are more than just a shoe company (they aren’t even a pretty shoe company). They are a company who set out to do good, and they’ve done that. Mr. Mycoskie says the shoes sell themselves because almost everyone who buys a pair and hears the story tells someone else the story and it goes on and on. He rarely pays for any traditional advertising because the story sells it’s self. Now people like Ralph Lauren and other big designers are signing on to design special additions because they love the story as well. This is capitalism at it’s best. So check out the embedded video and maybe you’ll want to get a pair as well.
In other words, he collects a premium from gullible, probably guilt-ridden, customers, gives them a shitty pair of shoes in return (that no one even pretends are worth wearing), convinces some of them to work for him as free interns, sends a pair of shoes abroad to some poor kids, and then pockets the tidy profits.
This is not capitalism at its best. A fine case of charlatanism, perhaps. Or maybe charity at its worst.
Not that “best” capitalism is easily defined. But were I to venture a definition, Tom’s would sell shoes that were worth buying and that competed in the marketplace based on their own merits as shoes. He would also put his production plants in these poor countries (he may do so, but the video doesn’t say) so that he could provide jobs instead of handouts. But this is obviously just me being silly.
“Not that “best” capitalism is easily defined. But were I to venture a definition, Tom’s would sell shoes that were worth buying and that competed in the marketplace based on their own merits as shoes.”
The only way anything should compete on the market is by the value that the consumer places on that good consumed. If a person believes there is value in buying a different type of shoe and giving the same pair of shoes to someone in another country then so be it. Three parties win by entering into the trade: the consumer of the good(they can now act morally superior for buying shoes that help someone), the person who receives the free pair of shoes, and the producer of the shoes. I’d say that is capitalism at its finest. Obviously for you this is a bad deal, so don’t enter into the trade, but don’t bash others who think it is a good deal. You have to remember value is subjective.
It is capitalism. It is free trade. That’s great.
I still fail to see how it is that fine, let alone so fine as to be finer than all other.
Additionally, I will definitely continue to bash people who think that Tom’s is a good deal. Although I will most certainly fail, I hope that my free product of commentary helps people realize the stupidity of Tom’s and that they then die a quick death in the marketplace. The company is basically just collecting rents on the feelings of moral superiority. Woohoo. At least when Toyota sells a Prius at a premium, they’re selling an improved car. At least when GE sells a compact fluorescent light bulb they’re selling an improved light bulb (not that GE is capitalism at its finest since they try to use government regulation to cement their business position).