> At 12:20 PM 6/30/2010, Jordan Hayes wrote:
>
>
>>I think Doug was tut-tut'ing people who were unemployed doing
>>something that arguably should be classified as "labor" (that is:
>>the other side is acting as a business) for renumeration that was
>>other-than-cash, and in fact was fueling their hobby.
>>
>>*shrug*
>>
>>People are funny.
>
>
> Imagine paying a card dealer in chips though. Is there a problem of
> helping turn a hobby into a habit?
>
I imagine there's already a habit going on or they wouldn't be willing to work for less than minimum wage in some cases.
I had written a reply to Alan, but forget to send. Reading the article reminded me of the way people become Avon or Tupperware sales reps: to fuel a habit or finance the purchase of a set of Tupperware. in the office right now, there's a guy shilling for Pampered Chef, telling people that they may be able to Get.Rich.Fast!!!!! but also that they can get kewlo neato pots, pans and dishes for reduced cost.
If it wasn't for that "people are funny" thing going on, I doubt Avon ever would have taken off. It also took off, initially, due to an army of white middle class women, staying home to raise children, and looking for a way to either earn a little extra cash, earn the money to buy extras, or to just get discounts on what they were going to buy anyway. They could do that because their main source of income came in the form of a breadwinner's paycheck.
I remember spending a couple of hours picking berries or many many hours vegetable gardening. I'd sell berries by the pint for a $1. This hardly paid me. It was gravy money. I was going to pick the wild berries for my family anyway, the extra pint or two earned me two bucks - or a new pair of shoes or shorts at Sally's Boutique. The produce earned me the money for seeds the next year. Etc.
Funded my hobbies at much lower than the minimum wage, but I could only do that because I was a SAHM, doing so because, at a salary of $160/week, it was more expensive to work than it was to stay home.
shag
-- http://cleandraws.com Wear Clean Draws ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)