Showing posts with label Large purchases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Large purchases. Show all posts
3/11/12
Labels:
Bricks-and-mortar stores
,
Decision making
,
Large purchases
,
Letting go
This piece was first written in 2009, for an earlier blog of mine. I thought it would be good to give it another airing on the Inspired Shopper blog because it reflects on a shopping dilemma that I deal with to this very day!
I have just bought a new, LCD, digital, HD (not 'complete' HD – there aren't enough pixels) flat-screen TV and had it installed using the combined efforts of the nice aerial man and a long-suffering friend of mine who is electronically advantaged. And I feel slightly traumatised.
I knew this feeling was coming and I was prepared. Every time I acquire an item that significantly alters my domestic environment, such as a new, expensive-ish piece of furniture or anything in the way of brown-, white- or blackgoods, I go through a 'trial period' where I am convinced I have made a huge mistake and should just go back to frittering away my money on clothes.
I know where and how this started. For many years I just didn't know how to shop. I rarely had enough money to buy new household items so acquired my parents' or friends' cast-off fridges, crappy vacuum cleaners and so on. When I was forced to buy something new I just went for the bottom-of-the-range model, and I rarely shopped around for the best price.
Then I started to earn a bit of money. Somehow I found myself with a luxurious wool underlay and top-of-the-range, down-filled doona that conspired to overheat and dry out my entire body so I'd wake at 3 in the morning feeling like a piece of dehydrated meat and screaming for water (that was 2002 and I still haven't got around to selling that underlay on eBay).
My next try was a heater and for this adventure I turned into Goldilocks, returning the first heater because it was too cold and the second because it was too powerful, then skulking to another shop to buy a heater that was 'just right'.
An education in shopping
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Furni-phobia: The Fear of Buying Big-Ticket Items
This piece was first written in 2009, for an earlier blog of mine. I thought it would be good to give it another airing on the Inspired Shopper blog because it reflects on a shopping dilemma that I deal with to this very day!
I knew this feeling was coming and I was prepared. Every time I acquire an item that significantly alters my domestic environment, such as a new, expensive-ish piece of furniture or anything in the way of brown-, white- or blackgoods, I go through a 'trial period' where I am convinced I have made a huge mistake and should just go back to frittering away my money on clothes.
I know where and how this started. For many years I just didn't know how to shop. I rarely had enough money to buy new household items so acquired my parents' or friends' cast-off fridges, crappy vacuum cleaners and so on. When I was forced to buy something new I just went for the bottom-of-the-range model, and I rarely shopped around for the best price.
Then I started to earn a bit of money. Somehow I found myself with a luxurious wool underlay and top-of-the-range, down-filled doona that conspired to overheat and dry out my entire body so I'd wake at 3 in the morning feeling like a piece of dehydrated meat and screaming for water (that was 2002 and I still haven't got around to selling that underlay on eBay).
My next try was a heater and for this adventure I turned into Goldilocks, returning the first heater because it was too cold and the second because it was too powerful, then skulking to another shop to buy a heater that was 'just right'.
An education in shopping
So I kind of taught myself to shop. I'd been in a 12-step program and I combined the 'letting go' techniques I'd learned there with a new-agey concept of intuition that worked well in other aspects of my life. And I did get better at shopping, I really did. But it took ages and much trial and error. To this day, buying anything significant involves much research, browsing and soul-searching until the heart-wrenching decision is made and I reluctantly hand over my debit card.
And then guess what happens? I convince myself that in fact, despite my gut feeling reassuring me otherwise, I have yet again stuffed up, under-researched, not done enough internet searching, not been to the right shop – what was possessing me that I didn't go there, what was I thinking?
I shouldn't be too hard on myself. The fact is, when shopping for a big-ticket item I'm caught between two competing needs – I can't afford to buy anything approaching the luxury model, but the bloody thing has to last for years. I guess an easy way of expressing this is that I'm looking for value for money. I'm an expert bargainer, and have perfected the down to earth, look-em-in-the-eye 'What's your best price?' once I've made up my mind.
Buying a new TV hasn't been my only risky venture of late. The familiar adaptation process had occurred already, soon after my brand new mattress arrived a few weeks earlier. (Allow two to three weeks for delivery because of Christmas/New Year? No problem. I could wait. It was going to be a big adjustment.) When it finally arrived it looked beautiful, so tall and imposing with its luxurious latex pillowtop ('You have to get a pillowtop', my sister had said, 'it feels like you're sleeping on a cloud').
I had been back to the same chain store again and again, going to different branches so I could pretend I was a new customer and spending 10-minute stretches lying back on the mattress I'd provisionally chosen – sales assistants advise that you have to lie there for ages before you get any idea of what a mattress feels like, because at first it feels great just to be lying down.
(This was a horrible experience. The recession had just started and there was never anyone else in the stores, even on Saturday mornings. Just acres and acres of inviting beds. Sometimes I walked into stores and went straight to the beds and lay down on one of them and then the sales assistant would sidle up and say something like 'Looking for a mattress are you?' and it would all feel way too intimate.)
Anyway, once the mattress had taken over my undersized bedroom I quickly convinced myself that it had been a huge mistake. For a start it was almost impossible to make my bed. My pillowtop is so heavy you can't really hold it up to tuck the sheets underneath, except at the corners. And because it is so tall, it obscures the deco Danish bedhead I'd bought for a song on eBay only six or so months before. Then of course I couldn't sleep because the mattress was – well it was too comfortable! It felt too indulgent, too foreign.
And one morning, after a day of sitting, both on public transport and at a theatre, I woke with my upper back aching, having spent too long on my back in the hollow that the latex had soon developed. I rushed to the internet to discover the dreadful truth. Sure enough, latex pillowtops were notorious for sinking in the middle and creating bad backs! That was it, I was going to return the bed before it ruined my spine beyond all repair. Why, oh why hadn't I gone to Beds for Backs? No wonder no one was in those conventional mattress stores – they were all at Beds for Backs, looking after their spines!
But still my gut feeling said, don't worry, it's fine. You did make the right choice.
A similar feeling assailed me last night about the new television, after my electronics engineer friend had gone home. He'd adjusted the picture so that the golf no longer looked glittery and I could no longer reassure myself that I had indeed made a terrible mistake and would have to return this piece of crap forthwith or sell it to my sister. So the telly was just too right. The screen was too big, the experience too overwhelming after watching a tiny little toy box with a 'bunny ears' aerial for almost 20 years. This monster would swallow me up and turn me into a televidiot.
And then after watching a rock show I never normally bother with I drifted exhausted to bed, and my mattress, my mattress, well it just felt so comfortable, so comforting – so – right.
Until next time!
And then guess what happens? I convince myself that in fact, despite my gut feeling reassuring me otherwise, I have yet again stuffed up, under-researched, not done enough internet searching, not been to the right shop – what was possessing me that I didn't go there, what was I thinking?
I shouldn't be too hard on myself. The fact is, when shopping for a big-ticket item I'm caught between two competing needs – I can't afford to buy anything approaching the luxury model, but the bloody thing has to last for years. I guess an easy way of expressing this is that I'm looking for value for money. I'm an expert bargainer, and have perfected the down to earth, look-em-in-the-eye 'What's your best price?' once I've made up my mind.
Buying a new TV hasn't been my only risky venture of late. The familiar adaptation process had occurred already, soon after my brand new mattress arrived a few weeks earlier. (Allow two to three weeks for delivery because of Christmas/New Year? No problem. I could wait. It was going to be a big adjustment.) When it finally arrived it looked beautiful, so tall and imposing with its luxurious latex pillowtop ('You have to get a pillowtop', my sister had said, 'it feels like you're sleeping on a cloud').
I had been back to the same chain store again and again, going to different branches so I could pretend I was a new customer and spending 10-minute stretches lying back on the mattress I'd provisionally chosen – sales assistants advise that you have to lie there for ages before you get any idea of what a mattress feels like, because at first it feels great just to be lying down.
(This was a horrible experience. The recession had just started and there was never anyone else in the stores, even on Saturday mornings. Just acres and acres of inviting beds. Sometimes I walked into stores and went straight to the beds and lay down on one of them and then the sales assistant would sidle up and say something like 'Looking for a mattress are you?' and it would all feel way too intimate.)
Anyway, once the mattress had taken over my undersized bedroom I quickly convinced myself that it had been a huge mistake. For a start it was almost impossible to make my bed. My pillowtop is so heavy you can't really hold it up to tuck the sheets underneath, except at the corners. And because it is so tall, it obscures the deco Danish bedhead I'd bought for a song on eBay only six or so months before. Then of course I couldn't sleep because the mattress was – well it was too comfortable! It felt too indulgent, too foreign.
And one morning, after a day of sitting, both on public transport and at a theatre, I woke with my upper back aching, having spent too long on my back in the hollow that the latex had soon developed. I rushed to the internet to discover the dreadful truth. Sure enough, latex pillowtops were notorious for sinking in the middle and creating bad backs! That was it, I was going to return the bed before it ruined my spine beyond all repair. Why, oh why hadn't I gone to Beds for Backs? No wonder no one was in those conventional mattress stores – they were all at Beds for Backs, looking after their spines!
But still my gut feeling said, don't worry, it's fine. You did make the right choice.
A similar feeling assailed me last night about the new television, after my electronics engineer friend had gone home. He'd adjusted the picture so that the golf no longer looked glittery and I could no longer reassure myself that I had indeed made a terrible mistake and would have to return this piece of crap forthwith or sell it to my sister. So the telly was just too right. The screen was too big, the experience too overwhelming after watching a tiny little toy box with a 'bunny ears' aerial for almost 20 years. This monster would swallow me up and turn me into a televidiot.
And then after watching a rock show I never normally bother with I drifted exhausted to bed, and my mattress, my mattress, well it just felt so comfortable, so comforting – so – right.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Saving and Spending: Confessions of a Chronic Underspender and Steps to Take Before You Buy a Big-Ticket Item.
2/8/12
Labels:
Decision making
,
Intuition
,
Large purchases
,
Renovating
,
Research
,
Waiting
It wasn’t until later that he thought to consult his friend Alan, a builder. It was lucky he did. Not only had he got the type of flooring wrong – chipboard absorbs moisture, so it’s not suitable for roof cavities – but the flooring structure wasn’t strong enough for the purpose. It would put too much weight on the ceiling joists, which would lead to sagging. The floor needed to be underpinned by load-bearing timber. The flooring Chris needed and that he ultimately bought with his friend’s guidance was thick board covered by malamite; with the supporting timber underneath, the floor ended up being 15 cm thick.
Acting on Alan’s advice, Chris also put a safety fence around the entrance to which the folding ladder was attached.
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The Tale of an Attic: Thinking before You Renovate
Our homes are our castles. They’re the place on Earth we have the most control over, so it’s no wonder we want to make them as comfortable and right for us as possible. But things can go wrong if we don’t take the time to consider all the factors involved. Below is a shopping story that illustrates the importance of biding your time and getting all the facts when it comes to home renovation.
An architect friend of mine, who I’ll call Chris, had a ripper idea while he was having the tiles fixed on his roof. Why not create more space in his house by turning the attic into a proper room? A study with a relaxed feel that he could escape to when he needed to get some work done? His Edwardian red brick home had generous living areas but his two daughters were growing up. They currently shared a bedroom but were clamouring for their own rooms, and his tiny study near the kitchen would soon be lost forever.
The attic wasn’t a proper room at that stage, just a space between the ceiling and the roof – but there was easily enough height to stand up in, so it could be done. The entrance hole was large and situated in the main hallway of the house.
The attic wasn’t a proper room at that stage, just a space between the ceiling and the roof – but there was easily enough height to stand up in, so it could be done. The entrance hole was large and situated in the main hallway of the house.
Chris didn’t think too much about what the job would involve. Because he was an architect, he assumed he had the expertise to oversee the job himself, and he wanted to do it cheaply. He bought a fold-down extension ladder and had it installed. Then he purchased some cheap flooring – chipboard – and paid someone to install it.
It wasn’t until later that he thought to consult his friend Alan, a builder. It was lucky he did. Not only had he got the type of flooring wrong – chipboard absorbs moisture, so it’s not suitable for roof cavities – but the flooring structure wasn’t strong enough for the purpose. It would put too much weight on the ceiling joists, which would lead to sagging. The floor needed to be underpinned by load-bearing timber. The flooring Chris needed and that he ultimately bought with his friend’s guidance was thick board covered by malamite; with the supporting timber underneath, the floor ended up being 15 cm thick.
Acting on Alan’s advice, Chris also put a safety fence around the entrance to which the folding ladder was attached.
The tale ended happily. The room is now a study, complete with mood lighting, built-in drawers, cupboards and desk. It has a lovely attic-y feel. But in ripping the floor out and starting again, Chris ended up spending more money than he needed to. In trying to save both time and money, he’d wasted both.
This story illustrates just how important it is, when you want to do any sort of redecorating that involves purchasing, to bide your time.
Just as we sometimes give in to impulsive shopping, so we also act impulsively when we want to make major changes such as renovating our homes. It’s vital to carry out research, but sometimes the information we need isn’t available instantly. Perhaps Chris had wanted to contact Alan right away but couldn’t. Or perhaps he feared that if he took Alan’s advice, the whole thing would get too complicated (and too expensive!).
It’s especially difficult to take your time when you’ve been undecided for a while and then you finally make a decision. It’s natural to want to start right away and ask questions later.
What lessons can be taken from Chris's experience?
- Listen to yourself when you want to dive straight into a home renovation project. Perhaps there are things you need to consider that you’re not aware of yet. Think about what they are, and where you might get the right information.
- Before you begin, wait until you’ve considered all the factors involved; wait until you have all the information you need. Think about the plan for your project as a puzzle for which you need all the pieces before completing. Ask yourself if you have all the pieces before you begin to carry out your plan.
- Consult with someone who can see the whole picture. Individual tradespeople quoting on their own jobs won’t necessarily consider every factor; they may be concerned only with their piece of the puzzle. Even if they are aware of other considerations, some (not all) may fail to inform you of the ultimate requirements and costs because they want to provide a cheap quote.
- Develop ‘negative capability’. The poet John Keats coined this term to describe the state of uncertainty and unknowing in which creativity manifests itself. When it comes to making big changes to our homes, being open to uncertainty can help us determine the type and extent of research we have to do and all the factors we need to take into account.
- By all means be organised and use your rational mind. But also let your inner self guide you, when it comes to both the changes you decide to make and the people you contract to help you carry them out.
- Above all, keep your mind (and your ears) open!
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Steps to Take before You Buy a Big-Ticket Item.
12/18/11
Labels:
Large purchases
,
Maintenance
,
Research
Shopping lessons
How did I end up in this situation given I strive to be a careful shopper, and what have I learned? When I bought my computer I made the best decision I could at the time, and I did some research. But a fundamental thing I failed to do was take my own needs into account – to adequately research myself, and to think about the 'unknown unknowns'. I treated myself as an average computer user rather than someone in business who needed a superior service, and I didn't look ahead to what my needs would be if things went wrong.
I honestly don't know if I would have bought differently given what I know now, but at least I would have been more aware of the risks. The fact is that the $120 I've just spent gave the computer a much-needed a tune-up as well as a reload. But this experience has taught me that I need to value my business and to be proactive when protecting not just my files (I knew that already) but my ability to get back to work straight away.
Until next time!
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When a Computer Crashes, and Returns Forever Changed
My computer crashed on Friday. This inconvenient event acted like an asteroid crashing to Earth, leaving a huge crater in my confidence.
The actual crash was fairly minor as they go, although the implications may be worse than the events to date. The computer had its own internal recovery mechanism (oh the relief!) and running through the recovery process, traumatic as it was (which files had been lost?), was ultimately successful – the Word and Outlook files were all still there, although the software would need to be reloaded.
But the whole look of the desktop had changed. It was a stranger posing as a friend. There was hardly anything on it except the useless software from Acer, the manufacturers. Programs I’d downloaded since buying it were gone. How alienating this was after my initial euphoria at realising there was a recovery process.
Meanwhile, a dire notice kept telling me that there was something wrong with the hard drive and it could self-destruct at any moment.
I took the computer off to a trusted computer technician in a nearby suburb. He got the basic software up and running again, seems to have given the computer a tune-up, removed some annoying glitches that had been there from the beginning, and only charged $120. The computer was only away for a day, not bad if you're not paying for on-site help.
But he didn’t really check out the hard drive. When I came to pick up the computer and asked him about this, he said the warning notice hadn’t come up while he was working on the computer. The unpleasant possibility is that there is a hard drive weakness that could continue to cause these relatively minor crashes (not to mention a worse one) if I don’t replace the drive. (Following the technician’s restoration, I’ve had to spend more time reloading printer drivers, and the additional software I’d downloaded since buying the PC.)
After I set up the computer at home, the warning notice of an imminent crash kept coming up but, like the boy who cried wolf, the threat never eventuated. So I’ve simply disabled the notice, effectively shooting the messenger. And of course saving everything in sight – I’ve even found a way to save my Google Chrome bookmarks.
Do you want holes with your warranty?
The computer is still actually under an extended warranty, a warranty that was useless for this particular situation, when I needed (and was able) to get the data reconfigured and the computer up and running again as soon as possible. True, I’ve had to pay only a piddling amount to have my data reconfigured, but a PC warranty that doesn’t take software into account gives you a false sense of security and ends up costing you more.
I run a microbusiness – I'm a freelance editor and copywriter – and I’d underestimated the extent to which my PC is like a second brain. These days so many people have smart phones and tablets and aren’t reliant on just one form of digital technology to access the internet and communicate online. I’ve chosen not to go down this path – I don’t even have a laptop, don’t want an iPad – and it’s worked for me, helping to create balance.
But when things go wrong, it’s devastating. Of course I’ve had computer crashes before, but now with my own self-managed website, more blogging than I’ve done in the past, and having become a hopeless Twitter addict, I’m more enmeshed in the online world than I’ve ever been.
The extended warranty cost a couple of hundred yet will only be useful if I decide to, or need to, replace the hard drive. The computer support people at Harvey Norman, where I bought the computer, have told me it will take three weeks, if I leave it to the new year, to do this, partly because they'll send it off to the manufacturer to get fixed. Which means in the meantime probably a return to my ancient previous PC, assuming the leaky garage in which it’s currently precariously stored hasn’t rusted it into useless tin. If I do choose to replace the hard drive or if the time comes when I have no choice, all the software will be taken off the PC, and it'll be up to me to put to put it on again - at my own expense.
So I’m going to wait to replace the hard drive under the warranty until things go wrong again, while backing up madly.
This seems like a big black hole in either customer service, consumer law, or both. Neither the time frame – three weeks is way too long – nor the software issue seem fair, and my first reaction was to have a hissy fit, create a big song and dance and ring up my state consumer affairs office. But you have to pick your battles.
A solution in sight
I started to think about what I needed as not just a small business person but a tiny business person, and what was realistic. I didn’t want to be in this childish position any more, a position of fear that something could go horribly wrong at any time. I’d already lost the chance to work on a project of a few hours duration because of the initial crash. I couldn’t afford not to have computer access even for a few hours, and I didn’t want to be like an anxious parent waiting for a diagnosis for their child every time something went wrong.
What I thought I needed was an on-site IT expert who wouldn't charge a small fortune to come out and do quick repairs whenever things went wrong. But what would be the point if the computer was fundamentally a lemon and kept crashing?
Leasing a PC suddenly seemed like a good idea and I found a company that offered good back-up IT service. But their main product, after all, was the leasing – how good would their tech support be, and how much would they care about retrieving files? Not to mention the fact that leasing is more expensive than buying a computer. And mine’s only 18 months old, so I’m not ready to abandon it yet.
For the first time I understood the attraction of online back-up: the feeling of not having to worry about saving files. You can buy portable hard drives with automatic back-up, but data storage companies provide this basic back-up online for very reasonable prices. In fact, Norton, my anti-virus software, provides a tiny bit of free online back-up and is constantly telling me I need more – a message I’d ignored, because their extra gigabytes are not particularly cheap.
Leasing a PC suddenly seemed like a good idea and I found a company that offered good back-up IT service. But their main product, after all, was the leasing – how good would their tech support be, and how much would they care about retrieving files? Not to mention the fact that leasing is more expensive than buying a computer. And mine’s only 18 months old, so I’m not ready to abandon it yet.
For the first time I understood the attraction of online back-up: the feeling of not having to worry about saving files. You can buy portable hard drives with automatic back-up, but data storage companies provide this basic back-up online for very reasonable prices. In fact, Norton, my anti-virus software, provides a tiny bit of free online back-up and is constantly telling me I need more – a message I’d ignored, because their extra gigabytes are not particularly cheap.
I think I may have found the solution. There’s a US company with a branch in Australia that offers very cheap, very secure-sounding online back-up. I rang them to inquire about the service, but was really searching for something more. Was there any way of avoiding the traumatic, expensive, time-consuming software reinstalment after a crash? The trauma for me had been not just the fear of losing files, but the actual losing of my PC’s configuration. A bit like having your house cleaned after a flooding, only to find someone’s put all the furniture and household items in the wrong rooms and you can’t find anything.
The polite spokesperson told me the company is setting up such a service in Australia next year: a service that saves a mirror image of your operating system and computer configuration.
A quick search revealed that this was in fact old news. Offline mirror back-up is already widely available. As usual Apple is ahead; on their latest systems, the files are integrated with an offline Time Machine that not only provides mirror back-up but also saves frequent versions of the file stretching back for weeks, so that you can access the file as it was at a particular point in time without having to save it separately.
This, of course, brings me to 'the cloud'. It's a step up from online back-up, in that files are stored on and used via a network, usually the internet. This means files are portable and can be used and saved on any compatible computer.
Whether I had mirror back-up or used the cloud, though, I'd still need a spare computer if mine crashed again, given I don't have on-site IT support. Perhaps I should buy a cheap laptop, so I’ve got a replacement I can set up instantly if things go wrong.
This, of course, brings me to 'the cloud'. It's a step up from online back-up, in that files are stored on and used via a network, usually the internet. This means files are portable and can be used and saved on any compatible computer.
Whether I had mirror back-up or used the cloud, though, I'd still need a spare computer if mine crashed again, given I don't have on-site IT support. Perhaps I should buy a cheap laptop, so I’ve got a replacement I can set up instantly if things go wrong.
Shopping lessons
How did I end up in this situation given I strive to be a careful shopper, and what have I learned? When I bought my computer I made the best decision I could at the time, and I did some research. But a fundamental thing I failed to do was take my own needs into account – to adequately research myself, and to think about the 'unknown unknowns'. I treated myself as an average computer user rather than someone in business who needed a superior service, and I didn't look ahead to what my needs would be if things went wrong.
I honestly don't know if I would have bought differently given what I know now, but at least I would have been more aware of the risks. The fact is that the $120 I've just spent gave the computer a much-needed a tune-up as well as a reload. But this experience has taught me that I need to value my business and to be proactive when protecting not just my files (I knew that already) but my ability to get back to work straight away.
I don’t know at this point what I'll end up doing. Perhaps I’ll be gradually lulled into a false sense of security until the next crash, when I’ll have to act. In the meantime I may opt for conventional online back-up, for extra peace of mind; my portable back-up hard drive, after all, is only non-human and could perform its own self-destruction at any time. Or perhaps I should consider buying offline mirror back-up instead.
Whatever I decide to do, the idea of the face of my beloved PC being saveable and transferable – for a non-tech-savvy sole practitioner, that’s heaven sent.
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Cultural and Frugal Potential of the Kindle Part 1 and Part 2.
10/20/11
Labels:
Bricks-and-mortar stores
,
Decision making
,
Large purchases
,
Letting go
There comes a time in every shopper’s life when you have to make a large purchase. Whether your washing machine has gone on strike, your oven has decided to call it a day, or you can no longer live without a tablet or e-reader, buying a household appliance or digital gadget can be a stressful and drawn-out process.
Decide on the price bracket you can afford. Think about the ethical and green considerations you want to take into account (for example, plasma television screens use more electricity than do LCD screens).
Use a range of trustworthy sources, including consumer websites and journals, comparison and product review websites, and shopping apps. Detailed specs are often available on company websites, but you can ring the company’s consumer information line if the information is incomplete. For Australian readers, Choice is an excellent resource for comparing the performance of different products.
Follow your energy during the research process, as it can prevent you going up blind alleys that lead to unnecessary confusion.
If you don’t have access to shopping apps, use comparison websites to check prices, but also use the internet to check the prices offered by bricks-and-mortar stores that may not be included on comparison websites. You can’t assume that online stores are always cheaper, even when freight costs are waived.
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Steps to Take Before You Buy a Big-Ticket Item
There comes a time in every shopper’s life when you have to make a large purchase. Whether your washing machine has gone on strike, your oven has decided to call it a day, or you can no longer live without a tablet or e-reader, buying a household appliance or digital gadget can be a stressful and drawn-out process.
Getting to the point where you’re able to make a good decision on a big-ticket item can take time, but it is worth it. The following steps can help.
1. Decide whether you really need the item, and can afford it. Sometimes we buy a new product because we are hoping to change a longstanding habit or because our friends or family have it. Other times, we succumb to the purely rational belief that we need the item when we actually don't - the Shopping Shoulds. On the other hand, there are big-ticket items that we genuinely need and that can make our lives easier or more fun. Think about how much you're likely to use the item; if it's only once in a blue moon, (eg a chainsaw or drill) it might be simpler to borrow it from a neighbour, family member or community borrowing scheme whenever you need to use it. If you decide you really need the item and you can afford it, then it's time for the next step.
2. Ease yourself into the research process. Use internet search engines to gain an overview of the kind of features and benefits you can expect from the item, and the issues and pitfalls to be aware of. Don’t worry about details at this stage, but focus on getting general information from many sources.
3. Speak to salespeople. Salespeople are often surprisingly honest about the products they sell. Tell the salesperson you’re just researching, and promise not to take up too much of their time. Then ask just enough questions to get information you can use as a basis for further research. Have a pen and notebook with you and take notes. Salespeople often earn commissions on what they sell, so try not to monopolise them if you’re not intending to buy from their store.
4. Research yourself! Take an honest look at your own lifestyle, and how it will affect your ultimate choice. What are you going to use the item for? Will it fit in with what you already have? Which features are important to you, and which can you do without? Should you buy new or secondhand? If you buy secondhand, what additional checks will you need to make? Do you have any special needs, and if so, what features should the product include to accommodate those needs?
Decide on the price bracket you can afford. Think about the ethical and green considerations you want to take into account (for example, plasma television screens use more electricity than do LCD screens).
5. Obtain in-depth information from trustworthy, independent sources. Once you have an overview and you’ve worked out your own needs, you’ll need more specific information: the price points of the item, the best time of year to buy it, the special features you can expect for different price points, the quality measures you might use to compare different products, the level of customer service offered by the various brands, and the cheapest price at which you can obtain the item once you’ve chosen it.
Use a range of trustworthy sources, including consumer websites and journals, comparison and product review websites, and shopping apps. Detailed specs are often available on company websites, but you can ring the company’s consumer information line if the information is incomplete. For Australian readers, Choice is an excellent resource for comparing the performance of different products.
Follow your energy during the research process, as it can prevent you going up blind alleys that lead to unnecessary confusion.
6. Research the store as well as the product. The store you end up buying the product from will affect the experience you have is something goes wrong, so this needs to be part of your decision making. Find out about the returns policies and customer service record of the store before you buy.
7. Don’t overdo the research. Consumers get fazed by too much choice and may even opt out if it gets too hard! Putting some boundaries in place early on – eg the upper limit you’re prepared to pay, brands you don’t trust – can be helpful. Another option is to ask a salesperson or knowledgeable friend to recommend four or five of the best brands, and use that information to determine the direction of your research.
8. Shop wisely to get the right price. There are loads of shopping apps that can help you find the best price for a product. Here’s a list of the best iPhone shopping apps from lifehacker, and here’s one for the best Android shopping apps. If you find the best price at an online store, ensure you take freight costs into account. For extra savings, combine a coupon app with an app that gives you the cheapest price – but also consider points 6, 9 and 10.
If you don’t have access to shopping apps, use comparison websites to check prices, but also use the internet to check the prices offered by bricks-and-mortar stores that may not be included on comparison websites. You can’t assume that online stores are always cheaper, even when freight costs are waived.
9. Don’t assume you have to use price as the sole basis for deciding your preferred retailer. Because I value convenience and avoid risk, I prefer to buy big-ticket items from retailers to whom I can easily return the item if something goes wrong. In contrast, many consumers are happy to buy significant items from online stores, especially those stores with good returns policies.
10. Don’t let the smartphone rule you. You are the ultimate arbiter of what you buy, not your smartphone. Use shopping apps to give you the information you need to make a good decision – don’t let them make the decision for you.
11. Use your intuition when making your final choice. You may reach a point where you’ve worked out what’s right for you, and still have to choose between two similar items. If so, using your intuition can save you much time and effort. You just know you need to choose brand X rather than brand Y, although you can’t say why. (Note: this is not the same as mindless brand loyalty!) You will probably never know why this decision is right, but it may mean you avoid the hassle of a faulty or inappropriate product.
12. Let go for a while. If you’re finding it hard to choose between brand X and brand Y, step back and practise letting go. Decide that you’re going to temporarily give up, and let your unconscious handle it. Symbolically give the whole thing away. Do something that occupies your mind and see if an intuitive choice presents itself. This could be in the form of a mental image, a coincidental mention of the brand by someone or something, or just an overall sense that you’ve made your decision.
13. Give yourself time to get used to the item once you've bought it. A big-ticket item can take some getting used to and incorporate into your life. Expect a period of discomfort and uncertainty while you adjust to it. However, don’t hesitate to return it as soon as possible if it’s faulty.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like Become an Expert at Navigating Online Sales.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this post, you might like Become an Expert at Navigating Online Sales.
2/14/08
Labels:
Decision making
,
Large purchases
Yesterday a good friend rang me for some advice. He was thinking of taking the plunge and buying a new CD player. There was nothing technically wrong with the one he had, so he wanted to make sure he was making the right decision.
My friend -- let's call him Simon -- is a music and film buff. His entire system, including television screen, cost him more than $40,000. But he doesn't spend for status reasons: he wants the best in screen and music quality so that he can enjoy his CDs, which range from classical to rock, some in superaudio, and his extensive DVD collection. Whenever I'm over at his place, I can see the joy he receives from superb colour on his screen and a clear, true sound.
Simon's been unhappy with the sound of his CDs for a while and, an electronics engineer by profession, recently made some changes to the set-up to improve the sound. But he still felt it wasn't right. So he started checking out other CD players, and found one on the Internet for $1700 that according to some reviewers was the best available for under $3000. It also had many features that really appealed to him. I have no doubt at all about his ability to do effective research on this issue! So why had he rung me?
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In search of better sound
My friend -- let's call him Simon -- is a music and film buff. His entire system, including television screen, cost him more than $40,000. But he doesn't spend for status reasons: he wants the best in screen and music quality so that he can enjoy his CDs, which range from classical to rock, some in superaudio, and his extensive DVD collection. Whenever I'm over at his place, I can see the joy he receives from superb colour on his screen and a clear, true sound.
Simon's been unhappy with the sound of his CDs for a while and, an electronics engineer by profession, recently made some changes to the set-up to improve the sound. But he still felt it wasn't right. So he started checking out other CD players, and found one on the Internet for $1700 that according to some reviewers was the best available for under $3000. It also had many features that really appealed to him. I have no doubt at all about his ability to do effective research on this issue! So why had he rung me?
For a start, he wanted a sounding board. It's a great idea to discuss a potential large purchase with someone you know well. Even talking about it can give you clarity about where you are in the decision-making process, and the issues that may be holding things up.
As well, many music buffs constantly chase the holy grail of perfect sound quality, spending ever-larger sums to obtain just the right sound. Someone with a $3000 player might soon begin to crave one worth $5000, but the owner of a $5000 one might, after a while, wish he or she had splurged on the $10 000 one (these increments represent what buyers have to pay to get an appreciable difference in quality). Simon wanted to avoid this trap.
The other problem Simon had was that before buying, he wouldn't be able to tell for sure if a new player would configure well on his existing system. The only way of knowing was to get the thing home and set it up. He really would have liked to borrow his favoured model from a store, set it up at home and then return it if it wasn't right.
I listened to what he had to say and after a while told him that I thought he had already made up his mind -- that he was just about ready to buy. I also know him well enough to know that, as he'd been unhappy with his cheaper CD player for a while, he probably wasn't going to be happy until he'd bought this new one. But I was worried that he was chasing the holy grail and would soon be craving a $5000 player -- so I initially found myself suggesting he go for the $5000 one upfront, skipping a stage in his consumer craving, despite all my Inspired Shopping principles. But he assured me that he would be happy if the sound was 'right' -- for him, it wasn't about chasing absolute perfection.
Finally, I gave him some advice. 'You have all the necessary information. There's nothing more your rational mind can do. Intuition is great when there are unknowns that you can't be sure of. It can help you work out if you're making a good decision.'
I suggested that he write down two things on a piece of paper: 'Buy x brand CD player' on the top of the page, and underneath it 'Don't buy new player -- get used to existing one'. I suggested that he put tick boxes next to these two alternatives. He could then tick each box, one at a time, each time noting how it made him feel by tapping into his body and its reactions. I also suggested that he then close his eyes and do a short meditation to see if any ideas or intimations came up.
I rang Simon the next day and he had already ordered the new player! I asked him how he felt about his decision. He said that he felt great about it, but was now hanging out for the new player to arrive.
What do you think about Simon's decision? Have you confronted a similar dilemma, and if so, how did you solve it?
As well, many music buffs constantly chase the holy grail of perfect sound quality, spending ever-larger sums to obtain just the right sound. Someone with a $3000 player might soon begin to crave one worth $5000, but the owner of a $5000 one might, after a while, wish he or she had splurged on the $10 000 one (these increments represent what buyers have to pay to get an appreciable difference in quality). Simon wanted to avoid this trap.
The other problem Simon had was that before buying, he wouldn't be able to tell for sure if a new player would configure well on his existing system. The only way of knowing was to get the thing home and set it up. He really would have liked to borrow his favoured model from a store, set it up at home and then return it if it wasn't right.
I listened to what he had to say and after a while told him that I thought he had already made up his mind -- that he was just about ready to buy. I also know him well enough to know that, as he'd been unhappy with his cheaper CD player for a while, he probably wasn't going to be happy until he'd bought this new one. But I was worried that he was chasing the holy grail and would soon be craving a $5000 player -- so I initially found myself suggesting he go for the $5000 one upfront, skipping a stage in his consumer craving, despite all my Inspired Shopping principles. But he assured me that he would be happy if the sound was 'right' -- for him, it wasn't about chasing absolute perfection.
Finally, I gave him some advice. 'You have all the necessary information. There's nothing more your rational mind can do. Intuition is great when there are unknowns that you can't be sure of. It can help you work out if you're making a good decision.'
I suggested that he write down two things on a piece of paper: 'Buy x brand CD player' on the top of the page, and underneath it 'Don't buy new player -- get used to existing one'. I suggested that he put tick boxes next to these two alternatives. He could then tick each box, one at a time, each time noting how it made him feel by tapping into his body and its reactions. I also suggested that he then close his eyes and do a short meditation to see if any ideas or intimations came up.
I rang Simon the next day and he had already ordered the new player! I asked him how he felt about his decision. He said that he felt great about it, but was now hanging out for the new player to arrive.
What do you think about Simon's decision? Have you confronted a similar dilemma, and if so, how did you solve it?
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