This post is a question to the group that came to mind after reading the updates to the Acura NSX thread. What is the difference between luxury and quality?

To me, they are both expensive, but quality has some justification for its higher price where luxury is just for the enjoyment of it. Ask anyone, I'm cheap. But I do buy expensive items. I wear vibram five fingers. I have a tempurpedic mattress. These are both expensive within their categories (shoes and mattresses), but their lifecycle value is very high. They last a long time. In economics terms, their marginal costs are low.

Luxury items on the other hand are expensive because of the psychological satisfaction obtained from their purchase or use. $3,000 purses do not really accomplish the primary function of purses any more than $3 purses do. They both hold stuff. Maybe the $3,000 purse will last longer, I don't really know. I am not an expert in purses. But I think it is safe to assume that it won't last 1,000 times longer. The expensive purse does however seem to give the user an immense amount of pyschological satisfaction. That's really what is being for.

So what's your take on luxury vs quality? Is luxury worth the price?

Yeah, they are definitely intertwined. The tempurpedic has a better value for me because I sleep better on it compared to regular mattresses. Of course, this is a subjective evaluation.

This might be a first!

I think of the term “luxury” as being applied to items or enjoyments that we don’t really need for survival (food, shelter, clothing), kind of the “extras” or perks of life.  Things we buy if we have disposable income.  I think jewelry, I think "luxury cruise", etc.

Quality, I associate with how well something is made, or how well something is written.  I think of it more of a measure of how good something is, and how much care was taken to produce it.