[erimir]

As Veblen goods, part of the point is having the price be higher, so that it is unaffordable for some consumers, which makes it more exclusive. And Apple is, I'm sure, aware of the way their products are used as status symbols by some purchasers and, I'm also sure, incorporate that into their pricing schemes. So they may have higher prices partly because they know that will increase the status symbol aspect of their products.

It is entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that Apple does not sincerely hold an attitude of "you ought to feel privileged to pay more." They may privately hold an attitude of "some people will feel privileged to pay more, because consumers aren't totally rational and because of the way status works in society, so we can afford to raise the price because of this, and that will increase our profit margins."

However, marketers of Veblen goods cannot admit this publicly without potentially damaging the value of their brand. Louis Vitton will not likely publicly say "Our bags are not really any better in practical quality or aesthetics than [insert high-quality but more affordable brand] but people just feel special because they know other people can't afford them." Yet I'm sure that many (most?) people who work at Louis Vitton realize that's what the brand is based on. But that doesn't mean that their marketing doesn't indirectly try to feed the perception of "you should feel privileged to pay more." Emphasizing "exclusivity", for example, is the more positive spin a brand would put on that. Creating artificial scarcity is another way of doing that. Some of these luxury brands would also prefer to destroy excess product than allow them to be sold at a discount, because if poor people are seen using their products, it will damage their brand. One might say that the walled garden/proprietary cords/etc. aspect of Apple, which makes it so that you need other Apple products probably fuels a perception of exclusivity as well.

But like I said, Apple is not a "pure" Veblen good, certainly not to the extent that a brand like Louis Vitton or Supreme is. They do, in fact, make a quality product, one of the best on the market. So they don't engage in all of those tactics nor to the same extent. But I don't think it's weird to pick up that Apple promotes the "status symbol" aspect of their products to some extent.

Basset Hound may be describing that in a more negative fashion, but it's not like it comes out of nowhere. What would you describe their attitude as? Why do you think their prices are higher than you might expect based on the technical specs of their products?