Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Quality and educated buyers

Jes commented (under the burger post):
I stock lunchmeat at Wal Mart for a living, and it's the cheapest brand that always sells the fastest by far. I've never tried it myself, but a coworker's told me it has the taste of shoe leather.

Many years ago I bought a bicycle which cost three times what people would normally think of paying for one. Many people didn't get it. But I found that each person, if they had a bit of a mind, would have some area they had knowledge about. For instance I asked one guy what that area would be for him, and he said "motorcycles". So I asked him, "would you use a cheap wrench on your motorcycle?" He said: "no way, they break fast... ah yes, I see what you mean."

Perhaps the problem with selling quality is that you can only sell it to the educated buyer, and each person can only be educated in a very limited number of areas.

---
Bruce comments:
My wife likes to say: "We aren't rich enough to afford cheap things." Buy quality that lasts.

That's another aspect: short-sightedness. Most people buy poor quality not only because they can't differentiate, but also for the same reason they build up credit-card debts instead of savings: they can't see past this month.

5 comments:

Bruce said...

My wife likes to say: "We aren't rich enough to afford cheap things." Buy quality that lasts.

Ray said...

My father-in-law used to say "Buy the best you can afford, because the best is none too good."

That's especially true these days when former quality name brands are now being made in places where they can't hardly spell 'quality'.

Unknown said...

There is an aphorism I've heard:
"The fool buys a tool many times the wise man only once."

Anonymous said...

Only a fool would pay for a really top quality tool if it's one he's only going to use a few times. You buy a cheap one or you borrow one from somebody else.

That's another aspect: short-sightedness. Most people buy poor quality not only because they can't differentiate, but also for the same reason they build up credit-card debts instead of savings: they can't see past this month.

Another way in which you are superior. You must spent a lot of time polishing your halo.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Yeah, it's pretty shiny now. Still, it's just a cheap one.