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Shopkeeper in Zurich tells Oprah she can't afford a $38,000 handbag

Wiseone said:
I can't get the article to load, but what exactly makes people think its a racial thing?

Also who the hell buys a 38,000 dollar hand bag?
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All the 1 percenters.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
While the store clerk may have, indeed, made a very poor business decision, calling that "comsumer advice" racism is a stretch. Very rich folks often do not dress up for casual strolls about town, but deciding not to help any customer make a major purchase may get that clerk a place in the unemployment line. ;)
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I agree with this. Why, in Pretty Woman, did the sales clerk make assumptions? That wasn't racism. She made assumptions based upon how Julia Roberts was dressed.

I had lunch with Ed Asner a while back. (He bought, by the way. Ha!) On our way out, we'd both valeted our cars. Mine was a rental. His was a beat-up hoopty, I swear to God. Dents...unpainted areas...older than dirt like Ed...

I said, "What the HELL???" He said something to the effect, "That car is filled with "new" -- it's as reliable as a brand new car. When you're famous in L.A., and don't want to be noticed, you don't drive limousines."
 
If I want to look at things I can't afford, I just go to a strip club.
 
Fisher said:
I think Oprah is wrong that it was racism. They were willing to show her other purses. She admitted that she was dressed casually and some of the photos I have seen of Oprah dressed casually would make me not want to hand a $38K item to her or anybody else dressed like that.

On the other note, why the hell would someone spend $38K on a freaking purse?
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Serves her right..I hope that bought her right back down to earth..

Her face is bloated..she is fat, and looked really badly dressed..

Unfortunately for Oprah, she is not held in the same esteem in Europe as in the US..and of course ''racism'' had to come into it...Maybe a white bag lady should try it..

Oprah is the biggest racist in the world..
 
I hope you feel better now.
 
MaggieD said:
I agree with this. Why, in Pretty Woman, did the sales clerk make assumptions? That wasn't racism. She made assumptions based upon how Julia Roberts was dressed.
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Exactly. And I've experienced this myself depending on how I was dressed.
 
Sykes said:
Zurich Shopkeeper Tells Oprah $38,000 Handbag ‘Too Expensive’ For Her | News One

People and their preconceived silly notions. Did the clerk NOT see "Pretty Woman"?!
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I agree - preconceived notions are silly - just like the one that assumes that the clerk's actions where racially motivated and not class motivated. If you've seen some of these "Hollywood" types when they're out shopping incognito they look and act like bums. I'd like to see how Oprah was dressed before I consider it a racially motivated move. If anyone goes into a store and appears to be less than able to purchase a $38,000 purse, the clerk has likely been trained not to let that purse get into their hands.

I've never shopped for outrageously expensive items so I don't know what standard protocol is, especially if the store doesn't have highly visible security. But then I'm not easily offended either.
 
In the photo I saw, Oprah was dressed extremely casually and looked like just about every middle-aged lady you see at the grocery store.
 
CanadaJohn said:
I agree - preconceived notions are silly - just like the one that assumes that the clerk's actions where racially motivated and not class motivated. If you've seen some of these "Hollywood" types when they're out shopping incognito they look and act like bums. I'd like to see how Oprah was dressed before I consider it a racially motivated move. If anyone goes into a store and appears to be less than able to purchase a $38,000 purse, the clerk has likely been trained not to let that purse get into their hands.

I've never shopped for outrageously expensive items so I don't know what standard protocol is, especially if the store doesn't have highly visible security. But then I'm not easily offended either.
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And just like in Pretty Woman? "Big mistake. Huge." :lamo
 
Superfly said:
Honestly? Because she's one of the kind of people of color who turn everything into race if they don't get their way. If I were to walk in there and the woman not deal with me, I'd think it was because I was dressed slouchy or something. Not because of color. Not everything is about race, but some people will always think that it is. That's why we will always have racism. It will never go away. Ever.
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Yeah, that's why. if we would just ignore it for long enough, it should go away.
 
Arcana XV said:
I saw that today and laughed. No way this was racism. First of all, you'll be hard pressed to find more than a handful of people here who actually know who Oprah is. Second, this is a shop on one of the most expensive streets in the world. Third, Oprah was shown a whole bunch of other expensive bags and was invited to the shop's first floor to see some more. Then she noticed the one behind the security screen and said she wanted to take a look at it. That was the 38K purse. The shopgirl, thinking that Oprah is just a regular well-to do person and having no idea she's actually a multi-millionaire, naturally assumes the bag would be too expensive for her. I don't see anything racist here.
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molten_dragon said:
I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume it had anything to do with race. It probably had more to do with the fact that she wasn't dressed like she could afford a $40,000 purse. Which is still a stupid assumption on the saleswoman's part, but I don't know that it's a racial thing.
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It's behind a security screen so nobody can shoplift. And I am quite sure the shop carries insurance for situations like the one the clerk feared.

No matter the reason, she pre-judged. Sucks to be her.
 
This thread is so sad. Kind of ashamed to be a white guy posting here after reading most of the comments.
 
Holy crap. This is the bag? This is it? $38,000 dollars.


switzerland-trois-pommes-oprah-winfrey[1].jpg

Am I suppose to care about someone not getting the right to buy this or am I suppose to care about the shopowner? People are having hard times finding jobs in this country and we have the super elite buying $38,000 dollar bags.

I could care less if the shop burned to the ground and every single bag purse melted into the ground.
 
Jack Hays said:
Many Euros are quietly quite racist. Swiss are high on the list.:peace
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Somebody said that earlier on the thread, but having it validated by you is appreciated.
 
Wiseone said:
I can't get the article to load, but what exactly makes people think its a racial thing?

Also who the hell buys a 38,000 dollar hand bag?
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I saw a photo of the bag and am not at all impressed. Who the hell would spend $38,000 on that bag? The cost of the material and labour in no way comes close to justifying the cost of the bag.
 
a $38k accessory? ****, i would have trouble paying that for Jim Morrison's leather jacket and Bob Dylan's Wayfarers from the 1960s.

in other news, though, this shopkeeper done ****ed up.

addendum : i do want Jim Morrison's leather jacket and Bob Dylan's Wayfarers. i just don't know if i $38k want them. i got some Foster Grant look alikes for like $25. they're awesome, BTW.
 
Oprah was probably more upset not to be recognised. You would think her entourage would have given the shop owner a clue to the wealth of the customer in front of her.
 
Sykes said:
It's behind a security screen so nobody can shoplift. And I am quite sure the shop carries insurance for situations like the one the clerk feared.

No matter the reason, she pre-judged. Sucks to be her.
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High value goods like that are not kept above the fray simply because of shoplifting. Those who are willing to pay that sort of money for an item want it in pristine condition. Letting some sweaty and unkempt old woman handle the thing tends to subtract greatly from the value. Btw, there is no floor model insurance. :mrgreen:
 
Crosscheck said:
Holy crap. This is the bag? This is it? $38,000 dollars.


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Am I suppose to care about someone not getting the right to buy this or am I suppose to care about the shopowner? People are having hard times finding jobs in this country and we have the super elite buying $38,000 dollar bags.

I could care less if the shop burned to the ground and every single bag purse melted into the ground.
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Well, didn't happen in this country and the "super elite" claiming racism here is about to receive our country's highest civilian medal simply because she's a black woman who made a lot of money and has influence.
 
Sykes said:
****, she'll probably give one to every person in the audience on her Christmas show. :)
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If she still had a show, maybe she would. But that doesn't mean she was actually going to buy the purse at the store in Switzerland. If you can show me any source that claims Winfrey actually bought the purse somewhere else, I'll accept your claim that the clerk made a stupid move costing her commissions.
 
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