They say you get what you pay for. I believe a lot about this statement. I I strive to buy quality food and as often as I can, organic. Vitamins etc I pay the mid price range, not the cheap stuff and not real high priced. We have a discussion on another group about the E.V. world....and these E.V.'s are out of sight expensive and then there is the maintenance. I believe the EV world will fizzle out. From what I've read so far there are only about 4% E.V.'s manufactured. Back in the old days, when one owned a Cadillac, they were big deals and drove the best....Cads were never in my life. Well, my life was Fords, Chevrolets and my last vehicles were Toyotas and all good vehicles...
I've often wondered if those who make cheap goods might make more money if they raised the price, thus giving the appearance of "quality."
Well, let's face it, everyone looks for bargains, and majority of population are poor and near poverty level. Growing up post depression times I know money was tight tight tight and my shoes were cheap and my feet got foot problems, somewhat... As I grew older and made my own money, I learned how to spend more and buy better shoes, and one or two good pairs and not a bunch of cheap shoes....My daughter taught me a lot about this issue....she was born from a father who made a much more comfortable salary.
Harbor Freight. They specialize in 3 grades: cheap, inexpensive and moderately expensive. The cheap stuff is..cheaply made and will probably break whilst opening the package. The inexpensive stuff is less cheaply made than the cheap stuff and might hold up provided you do not use it much. The moderately expensive stuff is less cheaply made than the inexpensive stuff and probably put together by Chinese workers who have reached puberty as opposed to the 8 year olds who produce the cheap stuff. Note: I’m not at all sure but the Chinese kids who have reached the goal of puberty might have the option of making Nike’s which are very expensive in the U.S. but probably not so much in S. America seeing that a bunch of poverty stricken illegal teens have been seen wearing them when they cross the border. It could be good advertising because those same illegals supposedly walked 1,200 miles to get to the border and the Nike’s look almost brand new! Also Note: I wouldn’t buy Nike shoes because they are extremely expensive and made in China so they should be inexpensive as opposed to cheap.
Most of the U.S. shoe companies have gone to China...and years ago when I heard that about Clarks from England, I about crooked... All made with cheap labor and charged high high prices by the U.S. capitalists whores...
I have owned 3 Cadillacs and was quite pleased with two of them until it came time for maintenance which was always higher priced than most other vehicles. The 1981 4-6-8 was a total disaster and was the very last time I even thought about buying a Cadillac. To the question of expense being best though, I buy things because I like them and though the price may have a little to do with whether I buy something or not it isn’t my highest priority. On some things I have had great success purchasing the less expensive items and others, not so much.
Speaking as an American capitalist whore Most shoes are about the insoles. I am not sure our feet were made to be crammed into shoes, held in place forever. Our feet collapse and get blisters and bunions because they shoes are not right. But they are basically in braces. Here we have a Good Feet franchise that sells very expensive arch supports. They are pretty much the same as $29 Phase 4 supports by Dr Scholls's. You will HATE them when you first put them in your shoes, and me. But if you break yourself into them, you will fear not having them in your shoes after a while. There are many insoles of varying prices on the market. My husband always thought if something costs a lot it was better quality. I find if I get something for a low price and it breaks, it makes me less mad than if I get the same thing for a high price and it breaks. And it does happen.
Insoles can do wonders, and the ones I bought were on Amazon and probably $30 or so and that was a while ago. I could probably use a new pair but to break in a new one, I am not there now. I can remember some 20 yrs ago buying Clarks which were made in England a nice pair of comfort shoes from Clark ran about $60 something and today the same type shoe is $80+ and Made In China. England sold out too.
Not an issue? Put on your specs granny and re-read what I wrote. I didn’t write that I can afford whatever I want but merely that the cost of something isn’t the most important thing to me. If it was, I’d either be too cheap to buy more expensive stuff or always buying designer or brand name items. I’m neither one. I do not shop for brand names nor do I avoid brand names. Organic doesn’t mean anything to me but GMO’s do. I’ve been driving a 2000 Ford Ranger and only recently had to buy 2 used tires for it. I’d rather be driving a Vietnam era 3/4 ton Jeep. On supplementation I buy bulk and make my own priority mixtures to fit my needs and as long as the stats and history are clear and concise, I don’t care about the brand names. I buy the frames for my glasses for $20 from Amazon. Just as good as a $150 designer set. If the $150 set was indeed better then I’d buy the more expensive frames. Now do you get my drift? More expensive isn’t Always better but sometimes it might be. Like the song goes…..ya gotta shop around.
To a point, I believe that you get what you pay for, but that's not always the case. Some things are just overpriced. Otherwise, It's usually best to pay the money and buy a good quality item than to cheap out on something that's going to either fall apart or fail to serve its purpose. One consideration that I have begun to acknowledge, however, is that, at my age, do I really need something to last fifty years? There are other things to consider, though. Although I may not need something to last a few decades, there is also a benefit to having something that looks or feels good. For example, although a piece of Dollar Store furniture might outlast me if I don't get it wet, I hate having that crap around, so I'd much rather buy something made of real wood or build it myself out of real wood. My wife and I disagree on that, as she buys compressed wood stuff sometimes.
Maybe I am even older than you, but I find I don't buy much at all anymore to need it to last. My dad used to warn against buying green bananas. I used to run estate sales and such. No one wants that old stuff anymore so you can pick up good wood bookcases cheap. I went next door to see my friend had a lovely new living room set. She almost apologized about the cheap price. It looked good but was cheaply made, I could tell already. I just gave my living room set from the 1920's, one I bought used from a friend, to my daughter. It was horse hair stuffed and the upholstery still looked good, although it was avocado green brocade. I also gave her my grandmother's oriental style carpet. No one wants old stuff anymore but she did.
Granny has her glasses on, and I'm inferring how nice it is to not look at prices... One of my goals before I died was to buy something and not look at the price, but it's never happened...and I started thinking this maybe 20 yrs ago. Thanks Mr. Cole.
Before our steel and iron and foundry businesses were sent to China and Mexico and and other countries....I was in a sales business and met some pretty wealthy Scrap dealers, Junk dealers and yes a lot of old furniture businesses..... We used to recycle and remake so much in our country and NOW it's throw it away and buy a new cheap Ikea chair.