Comparison Shopping Does More Than Save You Money
James W. Stone asked:
Comparison Shopping is often thought to be the way to assure yourself that you are getting the best price for something you are going to buy. While that may be a true statement, there are at least three more strong reasons to make sure you compare your intended purchase to other opportunities to spend your money.
When you take the time to do comparison shopping, you (1) assure the features you are buying are worth paying for; (2) take the time to apply logic to your spending decision; and, (3) reduce the chances for buyer’s remorse.
Not all situations call for comparison shopping. One example is buying groceries. If you’re the grocery shopper for your household, you probably keep track of the cost of things you buy on a regular basis. If prices and quantities in a package remain the same, you accept the repeat purchase as part of your regular grocery buying trip. Of course you might pay attention to sale prices and manufacturer’s coupons in an effort to get a “break” in the price.
A totally different situation occurs when you find yourself in an unfamiliar store. For instance, when you find yourself in a store in a different city you might find a price on a familiar item to be considerably higher than you would see at home. This gives you an uneasy feeling when you want to buy that item. You wonder if the higher price is because the store simply sets prices higher to its customers, or if all prices in this city are higher. If you can, you want to go to another store to get a better understanding of pricing in this town.
If you are shopping for something you don’t buy very often, pricing may have changed since the last time you bought it. Or new models of the product may have totally changed the market. Imagine you are trying to replace something you own because it recently broke. First, you will go shopping to find out if you can replace it with the exact same item you originally bought three years ago. It’s possible the item has been improved. Today’s price might be lower because the novelty has faded. Or, perhaps there are new features you could really appreciate. To catch up on what’s new, you want to shop around and compare.
There are times when the item you are considering buying is so unique there is no way to comparison shop. This might be the case with a piece of artwork signed by the artist. The best thing you can do to improve how you feel about spending your money is to try to get the price lowered. Bargaining is common practice when you are buying a unique item. There are no existing sales that establish a comparative price.
Another feature in “uniqueness” is authenticity and emotions. If you buy the t-shirt that says “Hawaii” in Hawaii it will mean more to you, or to the person you give it to.
Somewhere between shopping for groceries and having no chance of comparison shopping lies the chance to truly “shop” for something that you don’t buy very often. This is where you need to determine what you really need and compare that to what you want. Then look at what you find in the stores. And compare – compare the features, compare the price, consider the uniqueness of the offering, and consider the convenience of the purchase. Make an effort to get the most useful features for the money you are spending.
Remember to ask yourself the Four Essential Questions before your buy:
What problem am I trying to solve? Does this purchase solve that problem? Are there other ways to solve the problem? Does this purchase create a new problem? Online shopping has simplified comparative shopping, but there are some things to compare here, too. Check the customer ratings for the online merchant you are dealing with. Find out if the cost of shipping is included. Find out what the merchant’s practices will be for returns or dealing with damaged goods. Also, watch out for deceptive ads, or practices. Some purchases may automatically enroll you in a continuous purchase plan where your credit card is charged monthly for a service or product you don’t want.
By the time you get to this point in your shopping, if you still want to spend your money, you have a very good chance of getting the most bang-for-your-buck. You have done more than simply find the lowest price for whatever you were shopping for. Assuming you have been totally honest with yourself, you have matched your needs to what you are willing to spend to satisfy those needs; and you have found the most economical way to satisfy them. Now you can be confident about your purchase decision.
Herbert
Comparison Shopping is often thought to be the way to assure yourself that you are getting the best price for something you are going to buy. While that may be a true statement, there are at least three more strong reasons to make sure you compare your intended purchase to other opportunities to spend your money.
When you take the time to do comparison shopping, you (1) assure the features you are buying are worth paying for; (2) take the time to apply logic to your spending decision; and, (3) reduce the chances for buyer’s remorse.
Not all situations call for comparison shopping. One example is buying groceries. If you’re the grocery shopper for your household, you probably keep track of the cost of things you buy on a regular basis. If prices and quantities in a package remain the same, you accept the repeat purchase as part of your regular grocery buying trip. Of course you might pay attention to sale prices and manufacturer’s coupons in an effort to get a “break” in the price.
A totally different situation occurs when you find yourself in an unfamiliar store. For instance, when you find yourself in a store in a different city you might find a price on a familiar item to be considerably higher than you would see at home. This gives you an uneasy feeling when you want to buy that item. You wonder if the higher price is because the store simply sets prices higher to its customers, or if all prices in this city are higher. If you can, you want to go to another store to get a better understanding of pricing in this town.
If you are shopping for something you don’t buy very often, pricing may have changed since the last time you bought it. Or new models of the product may have totally changed the market. Imagine you are trying to replace something you own because it recently broke. First, you will go shopping to find out if you can replace it with the exact same item you originally bought three years ago. It’s possible the item has been improved. Today’s price might be lower because the novelty has faded. Or, perhaps there are new features you could really appreciate. To catch up on what’s new, you want to shop around and compare.
There are times when the item you are considering buying is so unique there is no way to comparison shop. This might be the case with a piece of artwork signed by the artist. The best thing you can do to improve how you feel about spending your money is to try to get the price lowered. Bargaining is common practice when you are buying a unique item. There are no existing sales that establish a comparative price.
Another feature in “uniqueness” is authenticity and emotions. If you buy the t-shirt that says “Hawaii” in Hawaii it will mean more to you, or to the person you give it to.
Somewhere between shopping for groceries and having no chance of comparison shopping lies the chance to truly “shop” for something that you don’t buy very often. This is where you need to determine what you really need and compare that to what you want. Then look at what you find in the stores. And compare – compare the features, compare the price, consider the uniqueness of the offering, and consider the convenience of the purchase. Make an effort to get the most useful features for the money you are spending.
Remember to ask yourself the Four Essential Questions before your buy:
What problem am I trying to solve? Does this purchase solve that problem? Are there other ways to solve the problem? Does this purchase create a new problem? Online shopping has simplified comparative shopping, but there are some things to compare here, too. Check the customer ratings for the online merchant you are dealing with. Find out if the cost of shipping is included. Find out what the merchant’s practices will be for returns or dealing with damaged goods. Also, watch out for deceptive ads, or practices. Some purchases may automatically enroll you in a continuous purchase plan where your credit card is charged monthly for a service or product you don’t want.
By the time you get to this point in your shopping, if you still want to spend your money, you have a very good chance of getting the most bang-for-your-buck. You have done more than simply find the lowest price for whatever you were shopping for. Assuming you have been totally honest with yourself, you have matched your needs to what you are willing to spend to satisfy those needs; and you have found the most economical way to satisfy them. Now you can be confident about your purchase decision.
Herbert
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