Seth Smith
Mr. Rueter
Economics
3 March 2017
Fidget Cube
Fidget cubes have been very popular over the last few weeks, the fidget cube has 6 sides with something different on each side of the cube. One side has a switch, another with buttons, a indent which you rube to reduce anxiety. The demand for fidget cubes has shot up in the past few months. With only $15,000 to create this strange little cube, their ended their campaign with $6.4 million. Each cube costs $19, but it has many qualities that will have you say, “It’s money well spent.” After a close study of students at PHS who have fidget cubes, I asked them on a scale from 1-to-10, 1 being worst thing ever created, 10 being very useful, I got an answer of a solid 8. It’s a brilliantly useless toy for nervous fiddling.
As the amount of sales of fidget cubes go up, the price increases causing inflation. This little cube will surely affect the microeconomics. Some customers that have a fidget cube want to follow trend. They don’t actually have a problem, they just “want” a fidget cube. When others who do have a nervous fiddling problem, they “need” a fidget cube. When the company, “Kickstarter,” started their campaign, within a week, they blew past their goal of raising $15,000 and settled with 1.4 million.
In the above picture, it explains all the features of the fidget cube and how it helps the consumer relax. Many people wonder why people fidget, They think that it’s a coping mechanism for people with ADD. But according to Roland Rotz and Sarah D. Wright, “If something we are engaged in is not interesting enough to sustain our focus, the additional sensory-motor input that is mildly stimulating, interesting, or entertaining allows our brains to become fully engaged and allows us to sustain focus on the primary activity in which we are participating.” In other words, the authors think that fidgeting distracts the parts of the brain that become bored so that the other parts can pay attention to what their reading, hearing, or seeing. 
The above picture shows a table of what each of the normal fidget items that are used do and how the fidget cube fits all the factors of those items into one. “Pens were a huge inspiration in the design process of Fidget Cube. They are probably one of the most commonly used fidget "tools". We like to see Fidget Cube as more of a fidget ‘toolbox’. You don't have to be constrained to simple clicking, you can pick your poison based on your mood.”(Kickstarter) The fidget cube licks are rolls like a pen would do, it as a indent on one wide to rub your thumb on, just like you would on a worry stone. It has two sides that spin, just like a key ring and it feels cool in your hand.
"Fidget Cube: A Vinyl Desk Toy" Kickstarter. Matthew and Mark McLachlan, n.d. Web. 07 Mar.
2017.
Hullinger, Jessica. "The Science Of Why We Fidget While We Work | Fast Company | The Future
Of Business." Fast Company. Fast Company, 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
Wong, Joon Ian. "A toy for fidgety office workers has outraised its goal by millions of dollars on
Kickstarter." Quartz. Quartz, 16 Sept. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
This is a fascinating product! I'm surprised I've never heard of it, as I need one of these. This little blog post helped microeconomics by convincing me to purchase on of these cubes, helping to increase the demand for this product.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very cool product and I may buy one for myself. I often find myself playing with my pen or keys during class because I always have to be doing something to stay concentrated. This is clearly a booming industry that adds money to our economy. This could also be used in replacement for medication that could save people money. With improved concentration in schools and in the workplace, production and efficiency would be increased.
ReplyDeleteHowever, like many popular products, there are companies trying to gain profit from the fidget cubes popularity. When I searched for fidget cubes I had found a site using the Orginal creator Antsy lab's video to try to get people to purchase their cubes instead. Although this is a wonderful product there still is the greed that comes with creating such a product
ReplyDeleteFidget cubes are actually something I have wanted to try because my sister actually owns one. I think this was a very interesting topic to discuss, as a lot of people struggle with maintaining focus in some of their classes and every day life. This is a handy, pocket sized way to cope with ADD and anxiety. I think it is interesting how many people bought them and how quickly they were sold. I think that this is a genius idea that can help anyone in their day to day life that has struggles with ADD and anxiety of any age.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense as a supplier to raise prices as demand goes up. As price increases, I think the quantity of fidget cubes demanded will decrease. Nonetheless, this seems like an interesting and useful product many people would still purchase if they feel the marginal benefit is worth the marginal cost. Their advertising strategy and using Kickstarter should increase sales even though the price would rise. As a consumer, I would be interested in purchasing one. However, I feel the price is a little high for me, but if it was more like $15 or so, I would purchase one. There’s nothing else like it on the market, so consumers are forced to buy from the Fidget Cube company. Whether or not people are willing to pay, that’s their choice.
ReplyDeleteThis item seems like it could grow more than just what it is now. However this item could burn out buy other competitors making items like this and selling them for a much cheaper price. Besides that point this item or items is a gold mine. It's new and has multiple uses with it. I found it interesting that this small fidget toy was compared to the daily items we use. I guess you never really think about it until you see it in a different way. Hopefully this turns into something bigger to serve as a toy and a reliever
ReplyDeleteBut the product is very help to us.
ReplyDeleteI have been used near about 3 years and Really I relaxed when I used that.