Sales tactic supposedly used by those who cater to the filthy rich. The semi-humorous, ironic message is used to separate those who will (be able to) buy such items as yachts, million-dollar homes, small countries, gems, expensive art, and the like, from those who merely window-shop.

As with many useful phrases, it has been run into the ground by overuse.

Such an annoying belief. I was in a shop, this one time, admiring a pair of half-decent quality boots and, not seeing a price tag, asked the woman behind the counter how much they were. Without lifting her eyes from the magazine she was reading, she said in a tone of voice that suggested it could easily cut glass:

"If you have to ask how much they cost, you obviously can't afford them, can you?"

(sigh). Honestly. That'd be the last time I ever shop at Oxfam.

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