Comments on: It may look like a deal, but it isn’t http://www.servingbread.net/2007/08/09/it-may-look-like-a-deal-but-it-isnt Thoughts, Musings, Reflections, and Ramblings of a campus minister, father, husband, and a Jesus-follower Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:24:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Eddy E http://www.servingbread.net/2007/08/09/it-may-look-like-a-deal-but-it-isnt#comment-8361 Eddy E Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:21:44 +0000 http://www.servingbread.net/2007/08/09/it-may-look-like-a-deal-but-it-isnt/#comment-8361 You're right, cheapest is not necessarily the most cost-effective. There are certain products where you really are getting what you pay for. The value is not "look for the cheapest" but look for the one that has the best value. Thanks for that clarification. And regarding your second point, well said. You come from a small business ownership family, so I know that supporting the local store is a strong value for you. I find myself always struggling with the two competing values--buy local (whatever that may mean) versus buy the discounted and save money and/or give it away. Let me muse on these ethical questions a bit. I probably pay more attention to money stuff than most people (sometimes bordering obsessive), so this would be a good exercise for me. You’re right, cheapest is not necessarily the most cost-effective. There are certain products where you really are getting what you pay for. The value is not “look for the cheapest” but look for the one that has the best value. Thanks for that clarification.

And regarding your second point, well said. You come from a small business ownership family, so I know that supporting the local store is a strong value for you. I find myself always struggling with the two competing values–buy local (whatever that may mean) versus buy the discounted and save money and/or give it away.

Let me muse on these ethical questions a bit. I probably pay more attention to money stuff than most people (sometimes bordering obsessive), so this would be a good exercise for me.

]]> By: Tyler Watson http://www.servingbread.net/2007/08/09/it-may-look-like-a-deal-but-it-isnt#comment-8360 Tyler Watson Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:02:40 +0000 http://www.servingbread.net/2007/08/09/it-may-look-like-a-deal-but-it-isnt/#comment-8360 Thanks for this post. Good to remember how shrewd marketers are with psychology. Costco is the king of this kind of mentality since not only do they offer things at a relative discount, when you see it in the store, there is no guarantee that it will be there the next time you come. It gets you at the "deal" level and the impulse buy level and actually makes you rationalize the impulse buy with a hint of scarcity mentality. I don't want to say this is insidious, but as you pointed out, it's important to know how people are trying to affect your thoughts. I don't know if this is related, but I'm curious about your thoughts. Your first suggestion states, "We have access to the internet. This is a great avenue to find budget-friendly items." I've held the notion that cheapest isn't always the most cost-effective because the low price could mean low quality and instead of buying one pair of shoes that last for $80 five years, you end up buying three pairs of shoes for $30 each that last only a year each. How should we weigh quality and price. Secondly, and perhaps more tangentially, you mention the internet, where people may have better prices than in our local shops. What do you think of paying higher prices local shops in order to keep the money within the local economy? (You know my allegiances here, but this is a real question I've been asking for a while and I'm curious to see how you would deal with it.) I suppose this question is more of the ethical, "Know where your money is going," type. Thanks for this post. Good to remember how shrewd marketers are with psychology. Costco is the king of this kind of mentality since not only do they offer things at a relative discount, when you see it in the store, there is no guarantee that it will be there the next time you come. It gets you at the “deal” level and the impulse buy level and actually makes you rationalize the impulse buy with a hint of scarcity mentality. I don’t want to say this is insidious, but as you pointed out, it’s important to know how people are trying to affect your thoughts.

I don’t know if this is related, but I’m curious about your thoughts. Your first suggestion states, “We have access to the internet. This is a great avenue to find budget-friendly items.” I’ve held the notion that cheapest isn’t always the most cost-effective because the low price could mean low quality and instead of buying one pair of shoes that last for $80 five years, you end up buying three pairs of shoes for $30 each that last only a year each. How should we weigh quality and price.

Secondly, and perhaps more tangentially, you mention the internet, where people may have better prices than in our local shops. What do you think of paying higher prices local shops in order to keep the money within the local economy? (You know my allegiances here, but this is a real question I’ve been asking for a while and I’m curious to see how you would deal with it.) I suppose this question is more of the ethical, “Know where your money is going,” type.

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