The rich are rich because they’ve worked harder, saved diligently, made wiser investments and managed money more assiduously than the majority. Lying behind these principles are five psychological reasons which can be found in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. You can read about these here.

Every human has these needs, but not everyone achieves all five, with the majority only fulfilling the first three of them. In addition, there are two other reasons the rich are prepared to pay more.

So, let’s look at the five reasons in a little more detail, as this is a fascinating insight into the mind of a high-end buyer and why they are prepared to pay more for superior products.

  1. The first reason is ‘esteem’ needs. As Maslow teaches, this is the feeling of prestige, respect from others and accomplishment. When you can afford a product that the majority can’t, you tick the fourth ‘need’ on Maslow’s list of needs. It’s not a necessity for life, as are the first three, but its certainly nice to possess!
  2. The second reason is called ‘self-actualisation’. It’s at the top of Maslow’s triangle and that’s because even less people fulfill this need than the ‘esteem’ need. Self-actualisation is when one fulfills one’s full potential including activities, goals and aspirations. Few people do this, but some do and as a result, nothing but the best will do. This does not mean that they are extravagant, far from it. However, the rich don’t buy junk, because they know its not good financial sense.
  3. They prefer to pay more as they know that the bitterness of poor-quality lasts long after the sweet feeling of a cheap price has evaporated. As John Ruskin puts it ‘What is the cheapest to you now is likely to be the dearest to you in the end’. You can read more about this principle here. He went on to say that “There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person’s lawful prey. It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money — that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot — it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.” John Ruskin – 19th century English poet and fervent art critic. See here to learn more on this
  4. They also know that poor quality will bite them, and they don’t have time to waste on remodeling their space or replacing a poor-quality product. The rich work on the principle of ‘do it once, do it right’. They know that time wasted on replacement, refitting or repairing is not only time but money.
  5. Finally, the rich, in order to fully experience the power of these psychological needs fulfilled, understand that any product they purchase will have an unconscious effect. Be it the house they live in, the car they drive or the view they see when looking out their window. It’s called the unconscious effect of everyday things. You can read more about this here.

Take the handle pictured in this article. Psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, think and feel. It may seem strange that psychology could apply to an item as common as the door handle. However, it is precisely because of the door handle’s commonality that it is so. Like our phones, computers and cars and many often-used items, the door or cabinet handles in our lives get touched just as much or more.

Therefore, it is the sub conscious effect they have rather than the conscious awareness of them that affects us. That is why it is important to understand how this works. There are several evidenced based reasons why this is so. As mentioned above the starting point is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Zanda is a high-end company and we cater to the needs of mostly top-quality designers, architects and builders. Go to our gallery to see more of the salubrious work that has made our brand a household name. it’s our mission to create wow at every touch point!