I was surfing the net over the weekend and came across a private yacht called “Octopus”. What a yacht it is! At 126m long, it is apparently the largest privately owned yacht in the world - costing US$200 million and has a permanent crew of 60. It has two helicopters, seven boats, and a 10-man submarine that has the capacity to sleep eight for up to two weeks underwater. Talk about luxury accommodation!

The cost to maintain the yacht and cover crew salaries is estimated at US$20 million a year, and that’s before you drop anchor and leave the dock.

The man that owns this behemoth, Paul Allen, is the co-founder of Microsoft. It is just one of three he owns, although the other two yachts are not as big.

This maritime mammoth got me thinking, what else do those who can afford anything spend their millions on? Here are some of the luxury purchases made by the uber-wealthy according to Forbes.

Private Planes

Private Planes are to billionaires what Ferraris are to programmers who have cashed in their stock options. They are the thing they’ve always wanted and now can finally afford. The most popular is the Gulfstream V which retails for around US$40 million., although there are reports of a couple of A380’s on order for private use at a whopping US$280 million.

Sports Teams

Perhaps buying a sports team is a repressed adolescent fantasy for rich guys who could never play sports in high school and can now afford to buy the whole team? Paul Allen reappears here thanks to his purchase of the Seattle Seahawks NFL team and the Portland Trailblazers NBA team. Mark Cuban who founded Broadcast.com owns the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, and lets not forget Malcolm Glazer who famously purchased Manchester United Football team and also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team.

Collecting

Many of the veterans of the Forbes 400 rich list have been collecting for years, but for some of the newer billionaires, it’s a more recent passion. Bill Gates made several headlines through his purchase of celebrated artworks, the most important of which was when he paid approx US$30 million in 1994 for Leonardo Da Vinci’s Leicester Codex.

Getaways

There is a reason why a getaway is called what it is - because people don’t want to be found. Every Billionaire owns at least one, but the whereabouts are jealously guarded. Media Mogul Robert E. Turner has made no secret about his. Over the past several years, he has spent nearly half a billion dollars acquiring land around the world including 13 separate ranches in six western states, totalling 1.7 million acres - making him the largest landholder in the United States outside of the federal government.

Clothes

It is easy to say that a billionaire, like an 800 pound gorilla, can wear anything he wants. But billionaires are getting more dress savvy, thanks in part to the skill of master menswear tailor Gian DeCaro, whose Seattle shop has made hand-sewn suits for most of the city’s high tech elite.

Yachts

After purchases by the likes of Paul Allen, luxurious superyachts have become one of the big ticket items billionaires like the most. Larry Ellison, CEO of software giant Oracle is another with a fondness for sailing yachts. Jim Clarke former chief of Netscape has just recently commissioned a multi-million dollar, 292-foot three master, that when completed will be the world’s largest sloop.

Staff

The single biggest expense that any billionaire can accrue is manpower. Getting all the people you need to fly your planes, build your homes, manage your ranch, hang your paintings and cook your meals can add up. To get help getting help, billionaires turn to companies like Starkey International, a Denver based firm that specialises in training and placing household management staff around the world. Entry level household staff can earn as much as $35,000 to $55,000, depending on skills, while more experienced estate level managers can earn up to $125,000 a year.

Whilst these things are clearly luxury items to the average wage earner, it still begs the question: why?

And the simple answer is “because they can”!

Image from Flickr.

Online shopping has become a way of life. Groceries are bought online. Pizzas are ordered online. Cars, houses, furniture - all available online. Globally, more than 50% of the world’s internet users have made a purchase online in the last month.

What makes an online shopping website successful? Is it frequent offline advertising like Ferrit has done, or word of mouth like Trademe?

Latest research has concluded that the power of peer recommendation is one of the strongest in terms of selling goods online. Consumers now count on each other, rather than marketers, for insights on purchasing decisions. Recommendations have become the new currency of e-commerce.

35% of online shoppers say they are more likely to return to an online shopping website if that site makes personal recommendations to them - suggestions on what they may like, based on the purchasing habits of others who have bought the same product. Another survey has determined that 66% of New Zealanders regularly buy from one site, and 1 in 4 buyers completely relies on recommendations to find out which website to browse when intending to buy.

With the strong impact of personal recommendations realised, a market gap has recently been filled by social networking websites which link the things one user likes to the online store which supplies them. Have you just listed Titanic as one of your favourite movies? Your friends can now follow the link to buy it on Amazon.

Personal recommendation does not necessarily apply to just products either, but also suppliers. When was the last time you bought someone in an online auction without checking their feedback first from their previous sales?

Next time you click that ‘add to cart’ button, think about how important feedback and personal recommendations are to you, and how they shape your purchasing habits.

Image from Flickr.

According to an Auckland University of Technology survey - part of an international collaboration on the impact of the Internet on politics, the economy and society - showed New Zealanders tend to prefer the Internet, even over family and friends, as a source of information. The results of the survey showed that:

• About 80 percent of New Zealanders use the Web
• Internet use falls with age
• Internet use is higher for wealthy people and city dwellers
• One in every eight Kiwis have their own website and one in ten are bloggers
• 83 percent of Internet users surf the Web to research products, while 60 per cent buy things online.

Speaking of shopping online, I read in an article that e-commerce revenue in New Zealand is expected to top $1.5 billion this year. Half of that figure, or roughly $750 million, is spent on travel (with Air New Zealand getting a fair chunk of that), while a whopping $500 million goes to Trademe, excluding vehicles and real estate. According to Sam Morgan, Trademe also accounts for a third of the country’s private vehicle sales and $250 million is spent on retail shopping.

Compared to overseas markets New Zealand, and to some extent Australia, are lagging behind. Sales in the US are expected to exceed $200 billion in 2007, while European sales are tipped to exceed $160 billion and grow by 25 percent per annum for the next five years.

Which brings me to one of two conclusions: either society are getting lazy or we hate shopping malls!

Are you over all the people and over all the queues? Well, I know I am. So, why not turn yourself to the world of online shopping?

There are some other benefits of shopping online too:

• Because you’re at your computer, you have the ability to research a product using the Internet, giving you a good overview of your gift choice, rather than a sometimes one-sided salesperson’s view.

• As well as being able to read reviews online, you’ll also be able to find the lowest price on any given product, using handy price comparison sites like PriceSpy. This is especially useful when shopping for electronics - computers, digital cameras, MP3 players and mobile phones.

• Online stores sell a vast array of gifts and products, all available to buy from the comfort of your own home!

• Being on the Web, online shops are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so you can fit your Xmas shopping around your busy end-of-year family, work and social schedule.

Get started on your gift shopping right now, by visiting our New Zealand online stores category and taking a look at our Christmas gift guide.

Being the editor of NZS.com has opened my eyes to the New Zealand Web space…

In my time here, I’ve visited tens of thousands of sites and added over 30,000 new Kiwi sites to the directory, so it’s fair to say I’ve seen my share of odd ‘n’ quirky things in my time. But never anything like Endangered Faeces, who sell gifts made from, um, you know.

These pooey little animal statues are made from the doo of New Zealand zoo creatures! Each compost animal contains a fertiliser which promotes the growth of plants, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables in your garden. All you need to do is dunk your wee animal in cold water then let him graze at the base of your chosen plant. Dada! Instant fertiliser and essential nutrients for your plant.

For these and other unusual gifts, take a browse through our popular gift shops category.

When is a good book more than just an entertaining read? Well, it had to come out sooner or later that I’m a book geek from way back, but not only do I love a good read, I like to think it’s possible to make positive change happen in the world.

Good Books is an online New Zealand bookstore with a difference. When you buy a book, all profits go to Oxfam to help fight poverty and social injustice around the world. Oxfam helps people in over 100 countries worldwide, creating opportunities for communities to improve standards of education, health and living.

This is a great way to add to your book collection or give a gift, while knowing that your dollars are going towards a worthwhile cause. It couldn’t be simpler really and there’s no difference in price to you, the shopper. What’s more, delivery is free anywhere in the world and Good Books stock over 2 million titles!

If they don’t have what you’re after, you’ll find all the New Zealand bookstores you could ever want in our New Zealand bookshops category.