Cheap Products Are Not Always the Best

What do you call a good bargain? Buying something at a low price or buying a good thing at a reasonable price? Well, earlier my naiveté as a home manager would always make me opt for the former option. But now out of experience, I find that though the first option does look lucrative and makes me feel as though I’m the winner of a transaction, with a few more dollars in my pocket than expected; in the long run I made a foolish decision. I’ll tell you how, as I proceed with the subject. For the time being let me tell you – be a saint when you go out on to the streets. Don’t get lured by the slogans “cheap and best” vehemently shouted out at you when you pass by. Don’t even look at the hoardings saying “take 3 for the price of 1”. Be detached to all distractions like a true shopping yogi and walk into a decent showroom to get that shirt, which though expensive will last more than the cheap ones. Out of my hard earned enlightenment in purchasing things, I find that buying cheap brings more expenditure with it in the long run. Now does that startle you? Yes, maybe. Here are some interesting purchase experiences of mine that I would like to share with you.

Buying a Used Product

A few years ago, I bought a personal computer owned by my friend. This was not a branded product, but made by a hardware engineer by assembling the components. At that time, a brand new branded computer looked a luxury item which I did not want to spend upon. I thought I was doing a wise thing by saving money. After working well for a few days, I noticed that the monitor was not displaying all the colors well. I found that the circuitry needed to be replaced. Then there was a problem with the mouse and later on with the modem. Moreover, the software installed was proving obsolete for any new additions. Every time there was a problem, the software engineer’s visit would prove very costly for me. Though I had bought the computer for a much cheaper rate than a branded new one, my expenses on repairs and upgrading surpassed the cost of a branded new machine.

Enlightenment 1- when purchasing used products, don’t get attracted by the price alone. Check out the product thoroughly. Its working condition is more important than the price that you pay for it. It’s always better to save up some money and invest in new and quality products.

Buying Products on Discount

What do you call a good buy? Buying things when they are offered at exceptionally low prices even when you don’t need them or buying things at reasonable prices only if you need them. Believe it or not, when this new supermarket opened in my neighborhood, they were offering cosmetics at very low prices. Even this ‘buy three for the price of one’ offer was widely popular amongst the girl groups of my neighborhood. It was nice buying that stuff then. But later I realized that I had piled up a huge number of nail polishes, lipsticks, eye shadows, blushers etc. and was not using them also. Though each individual buy appeared to be small and I felt as though I had gained a lot, the amount that I spent on the entire stuff was by no means a negligible amount. These items were occupying a lot of space in my dressing cupboards. I offered them to a girl next door, but she wasn’t particularly interested because those don’t suit her. You know, cosmetics are so personal. Each person has his or her individual taste. Ultimately they are now neatly packed in disposable containers waiting for a tearful farewell from me, from my neat cupboard to dirty city thrash units!

Enlightenment 2 – never get attracted by discounts and sales. They can be very addictive and you’ll end up spending a huge amount of money on things that you don’t need.

Cheap Repairing Alternatives

When my car started having hiccups with the starting mechanism, there was this friend of mine who said that he was well acquainted with car repairs and I need not take my car to a professional garage man. I was happy that I was saving money. I felt I was one lucky woman on this earth. My friend took it to her garage and now its three months since I’ve seen my vehicle. You should be well acquainted with the difficulty I’m having in commuting from place to place without a vehicle at my disposal. My friend is not a professional repair person. As she had to attend to other work, she did not have the time to work dedicatedly on it. As she was my friend and was actually doing me a favor by working for free, I was not in a position to sternly command her to return my vehicle without delay. Also, after I got my vehicle, I saw that there were still some problems that had to be handled by professionals. Ultimately I did have to take it to the professional repairers after 3 months of keeping with my friend. The professional rightfully asked for an additional twenty days time to repair it.

Enlightenment 3 – Don’t be greedy for small savings. It’s always better to get items repaired by professional hands than by amateurs in an endeavor to save money. You’ll end up paying more and spending a lot of time on it.

I hope my personal enlightenments have convinced you that cheap is not always the best. Price is definitely a factor, but not the only factor to influence your purchase decision. Quality of the product and its utility are other important points that you should bear in mind before making a purchase decision.