The little white boxes and ear-bud headphones are ubiquitous devices on college campuses, but the iPod, like other fad gizmos, is an accessory that often demands its own accessories.
Although there are other MP3 players on the market, the faddy nature of the iPod has spawned an entire aftermarket of products designed to make it run longer, work better and appear slicker. This accessorizing is emblematic of the trend toward marketing and selling products to consumers that promote the individualization of mass-produced goods.
Assistant Professor of marketing Simona Stan said that there is a tension, especially when it comes to young consumers, between the desire to conform and the desire to be an individual that is epitomized by accessories.
“This generation of young consumers is different,” Stan said. “Baby boomers fell for the mass brands; the Nike shoes, the Levi’s jeans. Generation Y grew up with the Internet and personalization; you buy a Dell computer, but it’s made just as you want it.”
Stan said that people use accessories to invest themselves in the product.
“You belong to a group at a brand level, but you’re different at the product level,” she said. “For example, we all have Apple computers so we belong to a group … but we each have our own colors and styles that makes us an individual. That is very appealing.”
According to Angie Reinhart, who works in the electronics department at Target on West 11th Avenue, Apple products have such a variety of options because of their trendy nature.
“There is a lot of advertising right now,” Reinhart said. “They’ve been pushing their product and they want those accessories available right when you buy the player.”
Target offers both iPods and other MP3 players, with Sony and Philips being among the alternative brands. Less expensive MP3 players, often equal to or better in quality than iPods, don’t have the same options for accessorizing, Reinhart said.
IPod accessories run the gamut, from cases with belt clips to car-chargers, remote controls, portable speakers and FM radio transmitters — all designed to turn the stock iPod into a hot-rod of digital music.
There is even a company that offers to paint your iPod like a hot rod. Colorwarepc.com paints players in a variety of candy-colored hues for $49. Consumers can also buy brand-new pre-painted iPods directly from the Web site.
And many users are willing to spend the money for the extra gadgets.
“It’s not like (iPod buyers) have to plunk down that money for extra stuff — they want to,” said Charles Tishman, who works in the University Bookstore’s Digital Duck computer department. “Some people will come in and buy a case and be done and some people will keep buying.”
However, consumers proved resistant to purchasing other alternative players, Tishman said. The bookstore only offers one player that is not an iPod — a Polaroid Pocket Jam player with 123 megabytes but no accessories. The store discontinued selling other players after they sold poorly.
This kind of consumer attitude is common, Stan said. First a few consumers tend to latch onto a product, then it becomes trendy and finally it’s abandoned.
“It depends on the industry, but it’s all a matter of fashion,” she said. “Especially with young people, they tend to congregate and use the same brands. I’m sure this belief is based on quality, but in truth it’s all perceptions.”
Another explanation for the accessories, at least in the case of iPods, is the large initial investment, Tishman said. Apple’s 15 gigabyte base model retails at $299 (for students there is a $30 academic discount).
“The 15 GB model is by far the most popular,” he said. “It’s all about the price for college students.”
Tishman added that many buyers don’t take into account the products that they will need to make their iPod useful in all the ways they want it to be. He said the 15 GB model just comes with the player and the cord for the connection to the drive.
According to Brooke Webster, a salesman at the Eugene Mac Store , the most popular products have been add-ons that help to make iPods double as different devices. Located at 61 W. Eighth Ave., the store primarily sells Apple products and products made by other companies for Macintosh users.
“We have a lot of really popular accessories,” Webster said. “We have a voice recorder that a lot of the students like because they can take notes in class and then put them onto their computer and then actually copy them down to make a hard copy.”
Users would have to spend $55 for the recorder. Webster said that the store also sells a media card reader for digital cameras, which costs $99.95.
“People like to accessorize (the iPods), and it seems like it doesn’t matter how much it costs — people have fun doing it,” Webster said.
Freshman Euell Macke said that he received a discount deal with his new computer package for a 10 GB iPod and has bought several accessories to go with it.
“I have a car jack accessory, because I live six hours away and when I drive home it’s nice to have music,” Macke said. “I bought the charger after (the purchase) for that.”
He added that he plays the music on his stereo with a tape adapter, but he now wants a transmitter.
“A couple of my buddies don’t have tape players in their cars, so if I want to play my music I can’t,” he said.