-
Website
http://www.tofugu.com/ -
Original page
http://www.tofugu.com/2008/08/15/japanese-face-shaped-watermelon-and-other-weird-shapes/ -
Subscribe
All Comments -
Community
-
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
All Comments
her: omg! that's so funny!
me: i know! i read it on this blog called 'tofugu'
her: tofugu? omg! i watch koichis' vidoes all the time!
me: are you serious? that is so cool
me and her at the same time: dont' you love his panda hat?
. . . no lie, that was the exact conversation. everyone around us was totally confused, but i personally thought that it was cool . . . keep up the good work
i had no idea she came here too! xD
(Haley, if your reading this... HI! =P )
and ill get a a picture of a heart watermelon and send it to my gf and tell her when im rich ill get her one of them lol
and i like ur photoshop skillz haha it looks good with the rest of the picture
I love the heart and sqaure shaped watermelons. wee!
those bulging eyes/glasses don't look very tasty!!
"I'm afraid I cant spare you any change but come...come...look how I've wasted it"
$750 more for one extra side on my 3-d triangle is pretty tough on the wallet.
The price difference for the watermelons isn't something I can answer. It could be the method of production justify the pricing. The environment that it takes to achieve the shape is another factor. Do you need equipment to build the ideal environment? There is also the question on what is the success rate of achieving the shape. How many watermelons do you need to grow before you get one that is in the shape you want? Growing specialize watermelons extra cost money, so what do you do with all the duds that you wasted money on? The land you are growing in isn't cheap also. Would you trade off growing 20 regular shape watermelons (and price it at regular price) to take the risk and grow 1 pyramid shape (and price it higher) and throw out the 5/10/15 defects? For a country that values the shape of the watermelon, I think it'll be hard to fetch a decent return on ugly, defected watermelon. Then you have to consider the demand for such a shape. Just saying something simple such as "just having one extra side" to explain the cost increase, is well... isn't that simple. The cost increase is beyond geometry, it is all economics, from production to consumer demand. You say it isn't justified. I say it is. It is because the market is WILLING to pay for it. Why pay more for a Mercedes than a Toyota Camry? It is just car, correct? Why pay more for that Mercedes logo? Mercedes are a novelty, status symbol, are better engineered, etc. And the market is willing to pay for that. The same can be said about these novelty shaped fruit.
Having said all of that, I think it is fairly obvious that the watermelon shapes are a novelty and this plays a big role in the price.
And kids... This is what college does to you.
Here's what it says on the site about the pyramid watermelon:
1. The pyramids are made to order, and only 10-20 get ordered every year. (low supply? High demand? Hard to say, since they are made to order). Tetrahedral watermelon ARE on a supply basis, yet they are less expensive. Even if some watermelon did get deformed and weren't perfect in the process, I think the $1000 fee for a pyramid shaped watermelon will offset the cost of however many watermelon don't make it past a "perfection inspection." How much does it cost to grow a watermelon? Considering most watermelon are sold for under $10 (I'm guessing, here), you'd have to mess up a lot of watermelon.
2. They don't taste good and are only for looks. Basically, it's a temporary decoration that lasts 1-3 months. I really feel like the pyramid watermelon are like the "I am rich" app on the iPhone (ha! Same price!). There might be a tiny market of people willing to pay for it (though, for "I am rich" it's mostly people who accidentally bought it), but I still don't think the price properly conveys it's actual value. Sure, they put a price on it, and that can be considered the market value - but how do you come up with it's real value when you can't calculate supply and demand? I feel like the profit on one of these watermelon is tremendous. It's tough because they do it only by order, and there doesn't seem to be a limit on the orders - though there *is* a limit on tetrahedral watermelon, and the price is much much lower. I don't get it. Oh wait, I do, it's Japan, and they do this all the time. This watermelon is just a status symbol, and I suppose that has value (or rather, the price dictates that it is a status symbol), but I doubt that one of these watermelons takes even half the selling price to make. I'm sure they tap their Mr. Burns fingers together when they get an order for one of these, and wonder how many more people out there are willing to order one of their prize watermelons. It's not that hard to make these ones - the face ones, yes, those mess up sometimes - but the pyramids? Much easier to make. Face ones are the hardest, they say, which makes even less sense, since it's half the price.
Anyways, that was a really long round-about way of me saying that yes, you're right, but I still don't think the price of it is justified. On one hand, some people pay for it, yes, but I still don't think the profit margin properly represents the actual value of the pyramid watermelon. But, you're right, there are some people out there willing to pay for the novelty...dirty filthy rich people. It's so much like Japan to do something like this though, and charge ridiculous amounts of money on it AND get away with it without anyone noticing. There are so many times in Japan where something is bought for wayyy more than it's actual value - I suppose that's just how things work over there sometimes - Always someone who's willing to pay for something, ESPECIALLY if it's ridiculous. I still don't buy that the actual value of the watermelon is anywhere near the selling price of it, though, no matter how much they mess up (and I don't think they mess up all that much, though I'm sure there are 5-10 screw ups for every 1 good one).
They should be giving me the watermelon money instead - I'll even dance. I feel like investing in that is just as poor of a decision as investing in a watermelon.
I think we were arguing two different things. I don't think the actual value parallels the price of the watermelon, and you think the price of the watermelon is justified because people are willing to buy it...so, I suppose I agree with you on that? God, the 10-20 people a year who buy them...I'd like to meet these people. They seem...rich...and willing to part with their money quickly :)
I don't disagree on the assertion that actual value and the going price don't parallel with each other.
Why do we even care how people spend the money they earn/have? Who dictates whats is waste and what isn't? (Communists?) It may be a waste of money in the eyes of you and myself, but to others it holds value. We may think the value is superficial, but again, it's their money. So what is the problem?
I never said that difficulty in production is the majority of costs, as per your argument that the face watermelon is harder to make, but goes for less. I said that production is a factor, along with the demand for the shape.
This phenomenon isn't unique to Japan. Westerners pay way above costs for liquor and wine. Some alcohol are only made in certain quantities, just like these watermelons. How about $200+ jeans? The materials certainly don't justify the cost. And certainly the third world workers that put it together don't justify it. A small population consume these goods, and this is exactly the same case with Japan.
Comments are getting skinny.
yeah, I'll go with what you said. I'm only arguing actual price - everything else is, like you said, just my opinion on the matter. Like, for example, this guy's an idiot for spending money on these grapes:
http://www.jamaipanese.com/index.php?itemid=709
Mostly, I Just want his money instead...
I wonder how much skinnier these will get, or if this is the max skinny
we're
shaping the
T
E
X
T
should it
also be
expensive
now?
Interesting story about the soybeans! Makes me want to have soy bean soup.
money on it, there will be people willing to spend it for that much
money. It doesn't really make sense, perse, but it also makes perfect
sense. Japan seems to do this more than most places, though, I could
be crazy.
I am quite surprised that the Pyramid ones (Which looks more like a Hersheys Kiss to me) cost more than the Face one. I mean if you go by coolness, the face owns, why is it cheaper lol?
Man~ I would never pay that much for watermelon. Paying $15 for a watermelon much bigger than those is bad enough XD.
or was this an obvious thing? and im really late!? lol
I think the square one looks the coolest, besides the whole convenience part. Why aren't there any square fruits/veggies anyways?
Just another example of how the Japanese use their brilliant minds to bring us something useful... but way too expensive.
it was back in May or so.
^-^
Really love the idea of listing the vocab from the article. Fun AND educational, rock on, Koichi!
Expensive as it is, the heart shaped watermelon would be a nice touch to a romantic dinner. Then again, you can always buy a regular watermelon and cut it into a shape of a heart (-_-)'
With all this talk about watermelons, here's something that a few Japanese are taking up as a hobby, watermelon carving: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=HGoppZawRcc
Two words... Penis Watermelon!
Somebody had to go there so I did! XD
But seriously S100 to $1000 for a cube or triangle shaped watermelon -_- that is so silly, but you got people buying shirts and pants that cost $150 to $200 a pair (coughbapecough)
kool process, but you have to fairly rich to buy one of them to EAT.
UFO Pants
Hosting
Yahoo
laptop batteries