Research on Logos

The October 2014 issue of The Atlantic has an interesting article titled “Status Anxiety.”  It briefly summarizes eight recent studies of logos.  To me, the most interesting study argued that people with resources but no great desire to display their status (e.g., those with old money) prefer understated logos from companies like Gucci.  Another study found that people of lower status were more willing to pay a logo premium, “presumably to compensate for lower status.”

It’s short but interesting.

Abercrombie Drops the Logos

The Wall Street Journal of 29 August 2014 reports that Abercrombie and Fitch is dropping logos from its North American clothing. “The move follows a change in teen behavior that caught Abercrombie & Fitch Co. on the wrong side of a trend.  Teens who once sought brand names have shifted to cheaper, unmarked gear that they can use to put together their own individual styles. The change had undermined Abercrombie’s pricing power and hurt its sales.”  Abercrombie chief executive Mike Jeffries says: “In the spring season, we’re looking to take the North American logo business to practically nothing.” However, logos still seem acceptable in Europe, and Abercrombie is not reducing its logos on clothing sold there.

The article also notes that Louis Vutton and Coach are also reducing logos.

Getting “Paid” for Displaying a Logo

A car dealer in Michigan is rewarding people for displaying its logo.  Fox, which has a range of outlets, offers $1 car washes to people who both have their license plate holder and their discrete logo of a fox.  That’s a $5 savings from the regular price.

That’s not quite enough to lure me, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Publishers Distribution Services Scams Again

Those incorrigible scammers, the scoundrels with almost a thousand names, are at at again, this time offering me a subscription to a magazine for $59.95, as always “the lowest available rate we can offer.”   As always, their mailing is intended to look like a bill to a careless recipient.

This time, they are “Publishers Distribution Services.” Going to the website for the magazine, I find the standard subscription is $29.95.

Although they go by many names, the mailing address always seems to be White City, Oregon.  Never subscribe to anything through them.

Beware of Ciprian Pahoni

I recently fell afoul of a clever scam that involved wiring money to one Ciprian Pahoni.  Should you have any dealings with a person by that name, be very, very dubious. Further details here.

Avoid Publishers Billing Center

The hydra-headed scoundrels in Oregon who send out mailings intended to look like bills now offer me a subscription to Forbes at significantly greater cost than Forbes charges  me.  This time, the name is “Publishers Billing Center.”  They use dozens of various names.

As I’ve said before, avoid anything asking you to subscribe to something with an address in White City, Oregon.

Bill Bryson on Logos

Bill Bryson’s essay “Rules for Living” includes the following:

“People who wear articles of clothing on which the manufacturer’s name or logo is prominently displayed must also wear a badge saying: ‘Yes, I am an Idiot.’”

As usual Bryson is on the mark.

Avoid Circulation Billing Services

The whack-a-mole scammers in Oregon who offer overpriced magazine subscriptions in mailings designed to look like bills are still at it.  Today I got one from “Circulation Billing Services.”

They probably use at least two-dozen names, all using the same phone number (707-266-6673) and the same Oregon mailing address.

What they are doing is legal — just unethical.  Avoid them, and anything that asks you to pay through publisherspayment.com.

Avoid Publishers Payment

“United Publishers Exchange” or “unitedpubex.com” used to be the schlocky payment service for Associated Publishers Network and its dozens of misleadingly named aliases.  See my earlier posts for more details.

Bad publicity seems to have forced them to a new name.  They now use “Publishers Payment,” which continues to offer outrageously priced magazine subscriptions.  Reputable magazine publishers regularly warn against such operations.

Avoid any offer that asks you to pay through “publisherspayment.com”