New World Of Shopping

This new 21st century is littered with opportunities to buy. And that was a literal statement. The internet has become a wasteland of merchants and they're selling everything from cheap replica fashion jewelry to one of a kind custom fenders for your Ferrari. Aside from the dark web, most of the normal internet is filled with scammers too. These scams range from drop-shipping companies to  data collection marketing scams. All of which are technically legal, but still scam-like.

The internet has enabled companies to become scammers by using advanced economic theories on unsophisticated consumers. In finance you'd lose any of your series license for this under the penalty of being unethical. It's actually against FINRA and SIPC regulations to sell sophisticated investments to unsophisticated investors; or in other words, people who don't understand what you're selling them or how it works or who can't afford it. As far as the marketing goes, companies like StockX tells their customers that they're using a sort of stock exchange that matches orders for you. Then you try to sell something you get this funny response that says "Buyers have the option to Bid on your sneakers or buy them immediately" followed by "StockX is not an auction so sneakers are not automatically sold to the highest bidder; they're basically telling you they're front running your order.

Side Note: Front running is what big stock trading brokerage firms got in trouble for just 10 years ago. The firms discovered they could out trade people sitting at home by using super computers to watch their own customers' every move so they could jump in front of their stock purchases buying the shares at a lower price than their customers; then they'd sell the shares to their customers who were already attempting to buy because the firm knew the customers were coming to buy. All before you even knew it was happening it was already done; they called it High Frequency Trading (HFT).

In the past industries like Aviation have dealt with the internet of things by creating reservation systems that absolutely f*** their customers by using aggressive pricing and sales strategies called first degree, second and third degree price discrimination as well as misleading marketing and products that come with customer failure guarantees. Most people are used to being scammed in these ways and the scams seem so well thought out and hard to figure out that people simply accept them. For fear of not understanding e-commerce enough to stand-up for themselves the average consumer sees these scam-like pricing scenarios but they buy anyway because usually, these types of scams are reserved for rigged markets; Or markets that have participants who receive preferential treatment and prices compared to the public.

The aviation world there are airline consolidators, who act as wholesalers of airline tickets. They could be referred to as a broker and they usually sell tickets directly to the public alongside the airline. They don't have to buy the tickets because the seats are contracted out at a set rate. All the consolidator has to do is sell the tickets at a price profitable to their business. Now at this point you're asking yourself, "WTF does this have to do with the new world of shopping"?

The answer can be found at your local shopping mall. Nothing in the malls sells out. Hyped sneakers rarely make appearances at malls anymore and when they do they quantity is so low it doesn't even draw a major crowd (Nothing the mall cops can't handle). Nothing in the mall is rare and nothing in the mall is limited. You can assume that whatever is on sale right now will be on super sale tomorrow and then mega sale the day after that. We've all grown accustomed to the American sale cycles. With the emergence of e-commerce a new level of rarity is upon us.

Consumers no longer have the opportunity to decide if they really want those Off-White (If you don't know what Off-White is please keep reading this article is for you) bed-sheets. You have to buy them because you know you'll never get a chance to buy them off the shelf ever again. Yes, you heard that correctly, you will never be able to buy those bed sheets off the shelf ever again. They will be burned before they're ever sold again. The funny thing about these bed sheets is that they were sold at Ikea stores on 1 day for only 5 hours; not online and not in the Ikea catalog. It took 5 hours because store employees were moderating the lines and purchasing process. Without their hard work that time would be chopped down to 1 hour max. These sales dynamics so far from the internet are whats driving people to the internet. No one wants to stand in an Ikea line at 6:00AM in the freezing cold. But if you want the items and only want to pay their MSRP then you have to.

While this is going on, millions of people are buying cheap bed sheets from Walmart.com or Amazon most likely. Most people are addicted to cheap materials at this point (Now I understand what The Greats were talking about). Because of this now we have to fight for the quality. Manufacturers are now holding their best goods for the Internet's major wars; the drop date.

At any given time during the work while everyone else is concerned about putting food on their tables, the biggest brands and smallest all decide to release to the public some of their most sought after designs. From Nike to Supreme, all brands seem to have adopted an approach that requires their customers to have free time during the day. If you want a an Adidas sweatshirt that no one has and possibly never have seen. then you might have to buy it at 2:00PM on a Tuesday using PayPal only from a website you've never heard of. And if you make it past the product page to the checkout window you'd be considered one of the lucky ones. The sad truth is that more often than not the item will sell out before you even 

Typically customers are put in digital waiting lines called payment queues. This is a unique feature that allows e-commerce stores to put  customers in virtual queues that essentially turn their internet browser into a submissive to the website. During this time you can't refresh your browser or even open too many other windows leading to the same page; why? Because the merchant might ban you.

So now let's imagine that we live in a world where the majority of the merchandise on the racks at the box stores are 10 or even 20 years old; and let's also imagine that the same brands don't send those same stores any of their up-to-date cataloged merchandise. And lastly let's imagine you live in world where you have less than 30 seconds to buy what you want. Sadly enough, that's the world you live in. A world where brands only want to sell us trash in-store and force us to play their games online just to get a decent product with some design elements included. Now the only question I have  is, Why?

The New Age

It's been some time but finally we have some drip for you to pick up. 

The last time you were speaking to you people we were serving up the latest in music, fashion, art, and finance. It's time we take it to another level. Culture Trap will be getting a makeover soon but don't worry, we won't change. New lashes, new wig, but the same Culture Trap.

In addition to the topics we've always covered we will now have pages dedicated to current events, shopping and beauty.That means more content, better content and more engagement. At any time we could be posting a Culture Trap exclusive discount to your favorite make-up brand;and at the same time, on another page, we may be providing sneaker-heads with important shoe drop information. 

Either way, stay locked in to Culture Trap to catch all the vibes.

Culture Trap's objective is to bring all the latest topics of interest to the culture oriented consumer. Please don't forget to sign-up for updates to receive emails and notifications about new posts.

 

2015 Summer Travel Destinations

Thinking of doing some traveling this summer? Here's a list of some of the most interesting summer travel destinations of 2015, some of which were not available to travel to before this year.

Cuba:
This beautiful island was once off limits for US travelers unless they acquired special permission from the federal government. In 2015 this retro-country is a realistic vacation spot for regular people like you. The US has lifted their embargo against Cuba and travelers can actually bring limited things back from their trip.

 

Philadelphia:

Maybe you didn't know this but Philly has actually been names one of the top restaurant cities in the world. The city is filled with a plethora of historical sites and has a booming night life scene. Although the people are shitty it doesn't take away from the beauty of the city and the cultural melting pot that is Philadelphia.



Denver:

I think everyone knows why they should visit Colorado. LoL, legal weed, beautiful scenery, and fun in the snow. While visiting Denver one must experience buying, consuming, and being high on legal recreational marijuana. They have pot restaurants, pot stores and pot bars so you could literally spend all day chasing weed in one form or another. Denver has a backdrop of beautiful mountains that the sun sets over which creates an alluring visual. These mountains are home to some awesome ski resorts and even in the summer offer skiing and snowboarding.

















Las Vegas:
So if you've never been to Vegas and you think it's all about gambling you'll be happy to hear that the oasis is actually more about food and drinks these days. Paradise as its known to locals is a mecca for night clubs and restaurants.

They have it all, the best Djs, chefs and bartenders. Visit Nevada for an unbelievable night life experience and endless consumption of the best food and drinks from the hundreds of pools, bars and nightclubs.

This is a video from when I went to Hakkasan nightclub at MGM Grand. 

San Francisco:
Home of the most innovative people and companies in America and arguable the world, San Francisco has an awesome vibe. Visitors can experience a local phenom known as the Google Bus. The city is also home to some amazing chefs who have a sea port that gives them access to the best and exotic sea food to cook with. If you didn't know, San Fran is home to the best food trucks in the country which vary from Asian-Mexican fusion to BBQ.

Houston:
Everything is bigger in Texas is a true statements, especially when you consider a city like Houston which has grown in size considerably in that last 10 years. Not only has the city grown it is home to a diverse population which gives the city a multi-cultural infrastructure not like any other place. The food is amazing, the people are awesome and everything is new.
The population is mostly made up of 20-something-year-olds with college degrees and lots of disposable income so the city has a market for anything you could possibly be looking to do or buy. Not to mention Houston is less than a 2 hour drive from the Beach city Galveston.

Tallahassee:
Little do most people know, Tally is the capital of Florida and is home to FSU (Florida State University) the 2013 NCAA Football Champions and 2014 NCAA Football Championship contenders.

The city has a laid back feel but filled with buzzing college kids which give it a colorful stripe. All around the city are huge gorgeous parks, lakes and wild life reservations that give visitors the chance to decompress among some of the most beautiful landscapes.




Puerto Rico:
Basically the US territory is an island paradise with so much history and not to mention the people are wonderful. The island is made up of a group of smaller islands and they all feature beautiful resorts and spectacular beaches. Puerto Rico is a fairly inexpensive place to visit and not to mention, Bacardi has their head quarters and factory on the main island. You can spend your days soaking up the tropical sun and your evenings soaking up the local rum.

Perfect Last Minute Valentines Day Gifts

So Valentine's Day is drawing nearer and I know some of  you might be new at this holiday and you've procrastinated about buying your Valentine a gift. For those of you who have actually planned ahead you might see something you like so you should read it too.

If you plan on going out to a movie or dinner on Valentine's Day these Christian Dior Loafers might be the perfect gift to give to your guy.

They can be found at select Christian Dior Boutiques. Check their website for more details. 

If your guy isn't in to fashion then at least buy him something that makes him smell like he is. Why not go to dinner and a movie with a guy that smells like a french hotel? Prada has the perfect cologne for that.

 Prada's Luna Rossa Extreme is the way to go. This fragrance can be found at most major fashion retailers and on the Prada website.  

Now we all know that Valentine's Day is really about girls so let's talk about them for a minute. 

If you want to look like you actually spent time on getting your Valentine a present try buying her some clothes. This shirt could get you lucky if its her style and she likes the color blue. 

This is the "Ejustere" Viscose Blouse by BOSS Orange of Hugo Boss. The sheer blouse has mesh shoulders and opaque pleated chest pockets. Perfect for a Valentine's Day Date or just a nice day out. This shirt is available on the Hugo Boss website. 

If you want to get your lucky lady a gift that will make almost any girl eat your Valentine's chocolate then try this new Perfect Zip Hoodie from Pink of Victoria's Secret.

 This super comfy hoodie is must-have length and cute slim fit. Made of super soft fleece this will be sure to keep her warm enough for cuddling. You can find this hoodie on the Victoria Secret website.

Good luck to you if you haven't already bought your 50 Shades of Grey tickets and your Steak House reservations.

Chic Shoes That Won't Hurt

So This week I clocked some dollars and manage to pull profits out of my NZDUSD trade and now I want to go shopping. But here's the problem. I can't decide on what I want to buy but the good news is that I've kind of narrowed it down. So I know I want sneakers and some polo shirts. Now I only wear Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren shirts but my shoes can generally come from anywhere. SO I've piecked out a few different pairs of shoes and shirts and I want you all to tell which you like best of the options. Be sure to leave a comment on what you think and suggest!!
First up are shirts:
Hugo Boss Long Sleeved

Ralph Lauren Long Sleeved 

I personally like color in the colder months but the chicness of neutral colors sings to me in the most beautiful depressing voice. 

Ralph Lauren  Short Sleeved                                          

Hugo Boss Short Sleeved 

Again, I can't decide from the sleek neutral European look or the colorful American Style. Well next up we have sneakers. This should be Fun!! 

Buscemi  

Bottega Veneta

Bally

I can't even start to choose between these sneakers as they are all my favorite. Please help =( lol.