Logically, she was looking for existing literature on the topic, but calls to the supplier's association and to industry periodicals had left her high and dry. I'm afraid I wasn't much help either. And the answers weren't on the tip of my tongue. After our conversation, I began to wonder if a fundamental understanding of why people buy art glass products had somehow been overlooked, or even ignored by an entire industry. I decided that neither were true, but instead, that these simplicities, because they are largely abstract, are easily taken for granted.
Most products provide benefits that are both concrete and abstract.
Instead they sell us the less tangible benefits of comfort, safety and economy. And they sell us distinction, tapping our undying need to be different. Cosmetics are possibly an example of a product whose benefits are solely abstract. In the store we sell hope. There are both concrete and abstract benefits provided by decorative glass in the home.