Coach, and other brands, have become very good at intentionally creating false urgency.  Social media hype (*Create the demand)*.  Select clients and Influencers given early access to new inventory (*Pre-release hype).*  Midnight drops (*High-stakes, time-sensitive event).*  Bags selling out in minutes (*Limited time).*  Limited quantities (*Scarcity increases perceived value, exclusivity*).  Low-Stock alerts (*Other people buying validates the decision)*. 

Believe me when I say I have been sucked in.  But I’ve noticed that some of my favorite bags are the ones I thought about for months before buying. Meanwhile, many of the “must-have” bags that created panic online are barely talked about a season later.  Under JOMO, you’re setting the standard. Under FOMO, the standard is constantly moving because it’s being determined by whatever is being hyped next. 

A side by side comparison:

**JOMO (Joy of Missing Out)                                    FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)**  
More money stays in your account.                     More impulse spending and buyer’s remorse.  
Decisions are made on your timeline.                  Decisions are made on the brand’s timeline.  
Purchases are intentional.                                       Purchases are reactive.  
You trust your own judgment.                                You rely on hype and social proof.  
You develop your own personal style.                  You chase trends that may not suit you.  
Less stress and urgency.                                          Constant pressure to “act now.”  
You become a curator.                                               You become an accumulator.  
Confidence comes from your own choices.        The crowd influences what feels desirable.  
You define what’s enough.                                       The crowd defines what’s enough.  
You wait to see if an item has lasting appeal.     You buy before you know whether you’ll truly love it.  
Less clutter.                                                                   More accumulation and storage issues.

For someone interested in handbags, JOMO isn’t necessarily about buying less. It’s about buying from a position of strength rather than urgency. 

I recently learned the term JOMO: the Joy of Missing Out. As a handbag lover, it completely changed the way I think about brand drops. There is peace and satisfaction that comes from stepping back and intentionally skipping a hyped purchase, spending event, or trend.