Your Options
You need a new #phonecase. Amazon or eBay offers - many of - them for pennies or you can go to e.g. an Apple Store and easily spend 10 times more on a similar product. I bet this sounds familiar.
These two options are quite extreme. But what is the difference between them (apart from the $$$ you will be paying)? Well...hmm...?? Chances are that whichever way you go your new phone case will be mass manufactured in the same region of our world. The cheap one may or may not have a brand, packaging will likely be questionable to say the least and there is really not much to know about that phone case. If you go with the in-store more expensive option you will definitely get a #brand. A brand you can trace. You will most definitely get a decent - maybe even amazing - #packaging. And you can touch it right there before you buy it. And of course no waiting for the #delivery.
In terms of #quality is there any real difference? Speaking from my own experience and experience of those around me the quality scale will most likely tip towards the more expensive one...but...not by much. The extra you will end up paying will most likely not result in matching quality improvement.
Both these options seem quite bleak, don't they?
Any Other?
Is there a true 3rd option? I believe there is. Bear with me.
In our globalized local economy (see HERE) there is an increasing number of (small) businesses who are able to offer a true alternative to our bleak options above.
Jan makes phone cases in his family run business. He designs them with a small team of local contributors. Then they go ahead and select a range of natural, traceable and #sustainable #organic materials, such as leaves, grass, flowers. All these come from sources where not a living thing is hurt by harvesting any part of the raw resource. They prep the raw material for production and press their phone cases. Next they list them online in their web-shop, both for the public and those who wish to resell the phone cases. Jan's operational expenses are fairly low. The materials they are working with are mostly easily accessible. Their manufacturing process is being #outsourced to a local company. These expenses are reasonable as they are able to sustain a relatively high volume of production. Consequently, Jan can offer these products for a reasonable price while maintaining a good margin. To get back to our cheap vs expensive bleak options above, Jan's prices will fall somewhere in-between, probably closer to our expensive options.
What do you do now?
Suddenly you have a player who offers you a phone case made locally of traceable organic materials, following green and sustainable manufacturing process in their own community. These cases had been designed with care and attention and every effort had been made to make them truly outstanding. You will still be paying a lot more than the cheap eBay or Amazon options. But you will likely pay less than the branded alternative that offers no significant gain of any kind. And the quality. Well the quality is just there. Exactly what you would expect and probably even more.
Now you get a unique product of great quality. Jan makes a decent margin, and he can support his family and grow his business. You win. Jan wins. Anyone losing? Only the lackluster dull mass made junk. I can live with that loss
This is where global economy is shattered into globalized local economy. A viable true alternative where we all stand a real chance of renewal and going back to all the good basics.