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When I lived in Vietnam, getting the latest iPhone (or really any product), as soon as someone smuggled it into the country (usually from Australia or Singapore), was a national pastime for people there. That logo is everywhere.

I concur. My mom sometimes talked about how her friends / coworkers just got the latest iPhone and that made her want to get one herself. I guess part of it is just FOMO but there's also something about the brand that drove people to do "unusual" things (like you said, smuggling phones from other countries just to be the first)

Where I grew up, $100 sneakers were a signal of wealth. Nothing new under the sun.

> It really boggles my mind that this works on anyone.

I’m wondering whether you have to live through in world of plenty during formative years before you have that realization.