All too often people (me included) ask for the least expensive “whatever”. Except for something we are passionate about we don’t often look for nor see the nuances of a product that make one better than another, or one more valuable than another. Since most of us are distrustful of salespeople, we often don’t take the time to find out those differences either.
I am certainly not saying that buying the cheapest is always the wrong answer, any more than spending more is always the right answer. The correct answer is stopping long enough to research and learn the differences between one product or service versus another. Sometimes saving money is the best answer, sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes spending considerably more is the right answer, sometimes not.
Assuming however that generic is always equivalent to high priced name brands is no more a guarantee of happiness than always buying whatever the hottest, newest, most expensive, most prestigious product or service might be. I saw this photo on Facebook a month or so ago and shared it with some colleagues in the optical industry. I shared it then as a fun little example that purchasing 2 pair of eyeglasses for $99 was not the equivalent of purchasing a finely crafted, well designed pair of eyeglasses with the most advanced optics. The subject came up again this morning with some other colleaugues and I realized I hadn’t yet shared this with the rest of you , our loyal readers.
There truly is a difference between the steak you might get a Denny’s for $13 or $14 and a steak you might get at Ruth Chris for $40. There is a difference in the cars we buy, the jewelry we buy, the computers we buy and the houses we buy. Sometimes we don’t see the differences up front…but they are there….so it pays to do a little research first.
