Veblen good
Etymology
Named for the economist Thorstein Veblen, whose 1899 Theory of the Leisure Class introduced "conspicuous consumption." A Veblen good inverts the normal demand curve: demand rises with price because the expense advertises wealth.
noun · /VEB-lun good/
A good that people want more of precisely because it is expensive — the price signals status.
What it names
Why some luxuries would sell worse if they got cheaper — the high price is the point.
Example
Halve the price of the handbag and it stops being a Veblen good — the exclusivity was the product.
Related idea
Conspicuous consumption is the behavior; a Veblen good is the object that makes the wealth legible.