When I worked for Wheelsmith in Palo Alto ('97-'98), I had a couple of times when men would come in and ask to see the most expensive bike in the store. Each left with bikes costing well over $5,000, without really understanding why they cost so much.
And lest you think this was a 90's Silicon Valley phenomenon, I had the same thing happen in '73 at Jones Bicycles in Long Beach. A man asked me to show him the most expensive bike in the store. It was an ItalVega Superlight (pearl white with everything drilled out). He at least asked why it cost so much and he must have been impressed as he then bought two of them - one for him and one for his wife! When he came to pick them up, he asked about the Super Speciale next to his. He ended up buying that as well - for his daughter.
Cheers,
Mark Ritz
Reminiscing in Arcata, CA