Day 28 (October 1, 2009)

I caught part of a talk show on WYPR yesterday talking about people always trying to buy things on the cheap. The real push from those talking was "you get what you pay for" and that quality is worth the price.

I couldn't agree more, except where they miss the point.

Now, those of you who know me well know that I'm always after a deal. I know, though, that there's no such thing as a good deal on a piece of junk. Quality is worth paying for, but the quality has to meet the need.

For example, take cell phones. Naturally, I need one that works without fail and want to get one that is as inexpensive as possible. As a late adapter, I would still be using my original cell phone I got back when the company was still called VoiceStream.

However, I'm glad I got one that wore out in about 2 years and that the other phones I've had since then did likewise. Each time I've replaced my "good enough" phone the technology had changed a lot. Each new phone has been smaller, been lighter, been able to do more things, and had a longer battery life than the one before it. Yes, I could have bought a higher quality phone each time, but it lasting longer would have been a detriment, not a benefit.

Another problem of "getting what you pay for" is that you can't always tell from the price what the quality will be. I've had enough times that I've paid a little more to get something "better" that ended up not being as good as the stuff with the reputation for being cheap.

Finally on this soapbox, there is a cost-benefit ratio. When we bought our last car it came down to a Honda or a Saturn. Clearly, the Honda was the superior product; there was no question about that. However, the Saturn was good and was $5K less. For us at that ratio, the decision was easy to go with the Saturn.

(When we replaced our van a few years earlier, it came down to a Honda and a Dodge with again the Honda being the clearly superior product. We decided then that the $3K price difference was worth it for that vehicle. We've been happy with both decisions.)

So, I guess I'm arguing a bit with the premise that "you get what you pay for." I would have to say that it's better to "know what you're paying for" and align your values with that value.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff