A Bargain is not a Bargain, unless you Need It
….just heard this quote on the morning news from a business owner effected by covid19. seemed pertinent to this site & also the current times.
also could a be a useful tool for avoiding buying unnecessary crap and not becoming a hoarder
…how do you control your impulses in relation to bargains? do you buy according to price or need?
Its OK to be a hoarder if you got it for a good price..
yeh but 20 years later youre on a reality tv show and strangers are clearing out your ceiling high stash of bargains & dr zasio is giving you councelling
The thing about real hoarders is that they keep everything regardless of how unsanitary, invaluable, disgusting it is.
When that show comes to my house they'll just see eneloops stashed inside the walls, Dell monitors piled in a corner and a few high yield investments in the garage/driveway.
Or… someone is at your house offering you more money than you paid for an item you bought on impulse.
There are shows about this too.
Win-win, the OzB way.
Hoarder pays half price or less for stuff - is thrilled.
Free property cleaning 20 years later.
Free mental health counseling 20 years later.
A Bargain is not a Bargain, unless you Need It
That’s pretty much how I see it. Aside from groceries I’ve only purchased 5 items that I’ve seen on this site in 2020.
That may be true, but there are many items you don't know you need until they appear on here.
*many bargains
But what if you can sell it for twice the price
Btw I’m selling my mustang for $5.
That statement definitely not applies to ozbargain.
We are here having:
buy first think later mentality.
Happy to Spend 30 mins to save $3
Go buying into price error deal without doubt
Low price item, buy because Yes I need this (need = to resell and make profit)
Thank you for your service
Happy to Spend 30 mins to save $3
To avoid this, you need to work out some 'opportunity cost' of your time.
Personally, I don't bother with a $3 saving, unless it's something really simple & quick like buying an eGift card from SunCorp rewards.
That said, I do get enjoyment sometimes from trying to hack the system, so end up spending far more time than originally planned. E.g. I spent hours unsuccessfully trying to get the old trick to work of using eBay UK & Germany codes to buy Paypal Australia Gift cards.
Often to 'make amends' on a price error the company will shoot you a gift card, which is half the reason people jump on them.
I try to avoid grand sales.
But only the ones in Northa Melbin, Abrunswick and Afoodasgray
A Bargain is not a Bargain, unless you Need It
… shortly (say around a year). It's hard to buy cheaply unless you buy it before you need it and not pressured to buy it right away. This is the buy straw hats in winter principle.
However, if you go too far, the biggest problem is the clutter it creates:
how do you control your impulses in relation to bargains?
If I have any money left in the bank account.
A Bargain is not a Bargain, unless you Need It
Wow that business owner needs to hand in their ozbargain badge
Actually you can want something rather than need something.
One of my first big purchases, through this site, was around the world business class tickets from Virgin for $3,400 each. I didn’t “need” the holiday but the price was very good and I had a great time.
However, buying something you don’t really want, because it is a bargain, is stupid.
…the need of a bargain is based on whether you need it (either a want or need that you have in life…)
as opposed to buying a bargain solely based based on the attractiveness of the price for which you are attaining it
…you intended on using that flight ticket so you bought the bargain based on need…i.e you wanted & needed a holiday/trip
However, buying something you don’t really want, because it is a bargain, is stupid.
lots of people here do…
'Need' is a strong word. It implies you cannot get by without it.
'Want' is a desire for something that you may or may not be able to get by without, but that you desire nonetheless.
You NEED nutritious food.
You WANT Michelin star food.
You can get a bargain on either. The OP premise is incorrect.
I think OP used the wrong words but has the right idea.
I am sure he/she intended to mean
"A Bargain is not a Bargain, unless it is of use."
@[Deactivated]: The trouble with this, is that sometimes you don't quite know the utility value of something until you have it.
So I guess that means that something can be declared a bargain (for an individual) only once it has reached end of life.
This is getting deep.
This is getting deep.
It need not be but nothing wrong with that either.
You are trying to quantify the utility value. I am simply qualifying it.
Example -
1. I bought an expensive seafood platter. I got it for cheap but I don't enjoy seafood. It's still a bargain. I ate it and would have cost more if I bought it elsewhere.
2. You bought an expensive seafood platter. You are allergic to seafood and didn't eat it. It's not a bargain regardless how cheap or good it is.
That's how I qualify utility.
@[Deactivated]: Yeah different people would define utility differently though. The above works for you, but may not for others.
For example I'd consider your point 1 above absolutely NOT a bargain. The fact that it was cheap compared to what it normally costs doesn't allay the fact you didn't enjoy it. So for me, it doesn't constitute a bargain in the sense that I didn't get any satisfaction out of it, which to me is rolled into the utility equation.
I guess we'd have to consider people's attitudes to money and how often they regret purchases as well.
@andresampras: I do agree with that. We bought an IKEA sofa in the scratch and dent area because it was a good price and we had a “vague” use for it; although we, really, did have enough couches already. When we created our “snug” area this was the perfect piece of furniture for the snug. We could stretch our legs out and the cats had room to snuggle down as well. It has storage for doonas, etc, underneath the chaise.
@[Deactivated]: I wanted to indicate the word “need” was not the optimum word to use here. I did not “need” a holiday, but we had been considering it for some time so it was not, entirely, an impulse purchase. I wanted to try business class, the price was very good, and, most importantly, I could afford it with money I had in the bank. If you can’t afford to spend the money it doesn’t matter how good the bargain is.
The other thing to consider is if spending money saves you money in the long run. We have an open plan warehouse conversion and spent $300 buying materials to make thermal curtains to create a snug area. Our gas usage is 1/3 to 1/2 what it normally is and we are warmer than normal; it won’t take long to pay back on the investment. We are also considering a reverse air conditioner so we can create a “cool” area for summer as well and this is meant to be more efficient than the gas heating.
"…how do you control your impulses in relation to bargains? do you buy according to price or need?"
In the end buying crap stimulates the economy, boosh that money down the crapper, for Australia.
think of handing over that amount in physical cash, does it make you sick?
One thing I tell the apprentices to do is to convert the monetary value of an item back into hours worked, and then ask themselves if they would be happy if management gave them that item instead of paying them for those hours worked.
That a good extension of that philosophy.
Honestly helped me save a lot, too easy to pay wave, click pay now but imagining the amount helps me really question any purchase.
If it is uncomfortably kinda pricey but I need/want it. I will sacrifice something else for it by selling something else I own to make it sting less but also consider again what I'm wasting money on.
Its OK to be a hoarder if you got it for a good price..