Because there are always enough idiots with disposable income who’ll pay for it.
I’ll have the regular $16 Trader Vic Mai Tai and save $784. Thank you very much.
…and a sucker born every minute!
Bat
Shit
Nutz
Oh, well. Like Natascha and MTS say, suckers with too much dispo income (and too little sense, perhaps).
Too much disposable income and too little sense often leads to too little disposable income. But I get your drift. I, who adore Mai Tais, would never spring for this - even though, in theory, I could. I like wasting my money for something a bit more tangible 
That’s the thing that I HOPE i’ve gotten through to my kids. Can I afford it vs. should I afford it?
I think that number 1 and 2 daughters have it loud and clear (unfortunately in the case of #1, maybe too clear) and daughter 3 is still getting there. My son, kid 4, was until just a few months ago still in the phase of looking at and ordering the most expensive meal on the menu, thinking (I suppose) that it must be “the best”. The last 2 times I’ve had him out, though, he’s actually given some thought to cost and asked about it. So there’s some hope for him, too,.
It must have sunk in early with me - when I was in college, my dad was buying me a car (yeah, I know) I had 2 models of the same make to choose from - one was all tricked with out ‘70s bling white sidewalls, and a vinyl trim roof, probably an FM radio, and the other was totally stripped down -no interior carpet, black sidewalls, 3 speed manual transmission, slow engine. I insisted on the cheaper one. There was another factor - I didn’t want to come out in the morning and see my car on blocks. So low key.
I can think of at least one acquaintance who will always, always order the most expensive thing on the menu. Especially when someone else is paying. 
You do sound like my D1 (although I recognize the generational gap). She kept insisting she wanted School A for engineering, although my wife really thought she wanted School B.
It took us a month or more to get her to admit she was only saying school A b/c it was free plus some stipend money, while school B (a much better ranked engineering school) would cost us about 20k out of pocket, per semester.
But that’s the cost of having a kid go to a school ranked in the top 100 engineering (barely) vs the schools in the top 10 engineering.
Your 36 ACT means an awful lot to a 100-ish engineering school, but not much to the top 10. They’ve got plenty just like you.
Our kids used to think money grew on trees. We were so frugal and careful, I have no idea where they got the idea. Now, one still thinks that way, although he’s the one cultivating the trees. The other one is very thrifty and finds a way to get everyone else to pay for her way.
