Discount brands, such as Payless, sell items that usually cost much less than other brands. Luxury brands, on the other hand, always offer their items at much higher prices.

Luxury items are products that are not necessary for daily use, but make life more convenient or enjoyable. People buy them because of the belief that they are of higher quality, or because they are image-conscious and want to be associated with wealthy people. Some examples of luxury brands are Chanel, Gucci, and CK.

Payless shoe store is an American retail chain that sells discount shoes. These shoes are usually sold in the 20 to 40 dollar price range. The store claims that it’s quality and styles of shoes are just as good as those of more expensive brands.

To prove their point, Payless created a fake store with an Italian sounding name, “Palessi.” The company temporarily rented an old Armani store, to get that high-class look of a luxury store, and stocked the store with only Payless shoes. However, it priced the discount shoes in the range of 200 to 600 dollars.

Payless invited sixty fashion experts to the grand opening of it’s “Palessi” store. The store was located in an upscale mall between Tiffany and Louis Vuitton (LV).

In this high class atmosphere, the fashion experts were asked to give their opinions about the shoes. They also had the option to buy any shoes in the store that caught their eye.

"It's just stunning. elegant, sophisticated," one shopper said of a stiletto heel.

"I can tell it was made with high-quality material," said a man holding a pair of leather sneakers.

After several thousand dollars worth of merchandise were sold to the fashion experts, the Palessi manager came out to tell the experts that this was just a prank.

When he told the experts that the store was fake and that all the shoes in the store were Payless shoes, they were very surprised.

“Wow. Payless. We were completely fooled,” said one of the experts. The manager refunded all the money to the experts, but let them all have a free pair of shoes for their troubles.

When one expert asked what he would do with the shoes she said, “Wear them, of course!” Said another, “I loved them when I thought they were $600, I certainly love them at only $60.”

A business professor observed, “People don’t buy on reality, they buy on perception. In other words, they buy things based on what they think or feel about a product, whether it’s true or not.”