Second thoughts about: Shopping for the lowest price making you a "smart shopper"

[Hahn_Bikey]

The gospel of always choosing the lowest price is troubling. Doesn’t this just reward businesses for aggressive cost-cutting? We choose airline tickets that are ten bucks cheaper. Since we’re so ruthless, the business is likewise so cutthroat, no?

People with financial difficulty are totally off the hook here (you do what you need to survive), and also represent “Downward Spiral Exhibit A”: We look for the lowest price, and they get hurt from the resulting layoffs and downward pressure of wages, causing more people to be even more aggressive about low prices. At the end the most aggressive cost cutters like Amazon and Walmart end up on top, leaving all other business destroyed and workers destitute. Game over.

Obviously the solution isn’t just to pay more since many businessses will aggressively cost cut to maximize profits anyway, and they’ll just pocket any extras we pay. Plus I don’t want to play into those deflection games like what the polluting companies are infamous for.

I feel fortunate that although my finances are not exactly in the best of shape, I’m not THAT strapped, so I can afford to occasionally spend a little more to support businesses with more progressive practices instead of just always picking the lowest prices. It’s a long-term ongoing effort based on what I learn about companies’ behaviors in the news over time, and it has been gratifying.

I know all this probably sounds like just a long version of the cliche about voting with your wallet, but the concept has been more and more in my mind lately.

Looking for additional advice along these lines from others….

[Wounded Bear]

1. There is a point where "lowest cost" intersects with "you get what you pay for"...

[Lochloosa]

3. Precisely

[Skittles]

22. ALSO

when you buy something you normally wouldn't buy, because you are getting a "deal" - your're not really getting a deal, you've just been manipulated into buying something you didn't really need

[Wounded Bear]

24. Oh, I've never done anything like that...

[ProfessorGAC]

25. I've Got 13 Guitars

9 of them are proof I'm guilty of what Skittles brought up!

[Skittles]

27. I think that is COSTCO's business motto

[Wounded Bear]

28. I don't believe I ever walked out of that place with less then $100 spent...

and I live alone.

It's one reason I let my membership lapse. Well that and the fact that I wasn't saving enough to justify the annual fee.

[Lochloosa]

2. Woodworking is my hobby. I buy the best tools I can afford.

I have tools that are 30+ years old. Cheaper never beats quality.

[roody]

4. Shopping at locally-owned businesses

keeps your money in your community.

[Timewas]

5. Cheap

Only goes so far.... Quality counts

[jimfields33]

9. That's true. But unfortunately appliances have gotten so bad that they don't

last as long as they used to. I did get top of the line cabinets and quartz countertops for the kitchen which should last a long time. But the appliances I hope last 10 ( if I’m lucky and that is for the better quality).

[Timewas]

11. Yup

I have a freezer running yet bought in 1976 and a fridge from 92, the rest of our stuff is less than 2 years old and I feel lucky they lasted that long.

[Scrivener7]

6. Shopping for the cheapest always ends up costing me more.

And for clothing, I'm not buying anything with plastic in it any more. Only natural fibers that won't end up in a landfill. They cost a LOT more, but they tend to last a lot longer too.

[ymetca]

7. Somebody needs to ask Joe Manchin

where we can get the "lowest prices" for clean water and clean air.

Are thirst and breath even "cost effective" anymore?

[llmart]

8. In all things my mantra has always been...

quality over quantity. However, I am certainly out of pace with the mainstream because we live in a country where most Americans want LOTS OF STUFF! They don't care if it's cheap crapola, they just want lots of it. Half of it is never used, gets sold in garage sales after a year or two and their tired of it, or it falls apart and doesn't work the way they need it to work.

I don't go out to dinner much, but if I do it's not going to be a place where you get tons of mediocre food. I'd rather pay more for a place with nice ambience, clean, healthy and cooked at the time you order it and not reheated in a microwave back in the kitchen.

I don't have tons of "friends" but I have friends that are loyal and ethical and trustworthy and interesting/educated with whom I can have interesting conversations.

As I said, I always choose quality over quantity. I don't believe in shopping as a hobby.

[Maeve]

10. Consumer Reports will tell you to check before you buy

Admitted, much of their advice is aimed at the well-to-do, but...the best value isn't always the lowest price. And when you add in the other values--local business support, best for the environment, etc---it takes thought to vote your wallet, but it's worth the effort.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Depending on what specific kind of thing you're talking about,

sometimes getting three quotes and going with the middle one is the best strategy. I've found that works for things like hiring a cross-country mover.

Another time, I needed the front windshield on my car replaced. I'd already gotten a couple of quotes, was going to go with one of them, when I heard from another company. They quoted several hundred dollars less. I went with them, and they did an excellent job. Never quite figured out how they were by far the lowest quote, but they were.

Other times I will call several companies and only have one get back to me.

Airline tickets. The airlines have spent several decades convincing people that the lowest price is the best. And who cares about in-flight service, right? Often, going for what seems to be a less cheap ticket but includes things like seat selection and checked luggage, winds up being less expensive. My personal indulgence is that in recent years I always buy a first class plane ticket. Even if the flight is full, I'm only next to one person. I get free booze and often food. I get priority boarding. My luggage usually is the first on the luggage carousel. Not that I fly very often. Since 9/11 I have flown perhaps a half dozen times. I'm also a former airline employee (worked as a ticket agent at DCA (1969 - 1979) and so I know EXACTLY why the original security was put in place, why it was so effective, and why the post 9/11 "security" is total nonsense.

Voting with your wallet makes sense. But it's not always going with the least expensive whatever. You really do get what you pay for.

[Phoenix61]

13. I've flown to Singapore twice from the US.

Next time I’m going business class on Singapore Airlines. I just want to be able to stretch out and sleep.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. Yep.

I haven't flown internationally since 2001, but were I to do so it would absolutely be in business class.

Lucky me, I got to travel lots and lots back when I was an airline employee, and most of those trips were in first class. And that was back in the day, when first class was quite special. Heck, even coach could be special back then.

[Phoenix61]

16. The last time I went to Singapore I had what the called a solo seat

It was in coach but next to me was a huge storage box. Better than another person but I want a bed next time.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. Interesting.

As a former airline employee, I got to travel essentially for free around the world. Back then, the 1970s, flights to Australia needed to stop on the way, typically in Hawaii. I made that trip three times.

In 2001, I made a family trip to Australia, with my husband and two sons. It was more or less a graduation trip for our oldest son who was graduating high school that year. Hooray for him! Several months earlier I'd learned that American Express, with whom I'd had a credit card for nearly 30 years at that point, was offering a deal for members who had a platinum card -- at least I think that was the level required, although I might be wrong here -- to book a flight on certain specific airlines, get one ticket, bet the second one free. I promptly upgraded the card, made my husband a co-card owner, and booked the four seats. Two in first class, two free seats. Yes.

I didn't tell my husband that I'd booked first class. He wasn't all that crazy about going to Australia, but I'd persisted. When we got to the airport that day, it was the beginning of spring break, and of course the lines were quite long. When I decided to join the line for the first class check-in, my husband said, No, no, no. I said, Yes, yes, yes.

It was worth the money. I am so glad I did it. Which is why, in the rare times I take a flight these days, I always book first class.

Your mileage might vary.

[ProfessorGAC]

26. Because I Traveled So Much For Work...

...& the company paying biz class for over ocean flights, i haven't flown coach since the late 80s.
I either got bumped for miles or i cashed some in to get bumped up.
When i retired, i donated all my miles to Make A Wish. So, i don't want to travel in retirement because: a) I've flown 1200 times or more, & b) i ain't flying coach.

[Retrograde]

15. I had the concept of "total cost of ownership" drummed into me at an early age

I did new product support planning for a large computer manufacturer: my boss stressed that one had to include the costs of maintaining, servicing, and upgrading the products in my analysis, not just the base cost.

A lot of companies just advertise their lowest price, and either omit or have in small print that if you want Product X to do what you want you also need Option Package A and Upgrade Package Z: your actual product cost is the sum of all these.

I know people who will drive for an hour or more to get a product at a lower advertised price, not taking into account the cost of gas, the upkeep costs of their car, or the value of their own time. It would have to be a pretty impressive savings on something I actually need to get me to do this.

[Phoenix61]

18. Yep! I consider is it something I can repair myself. nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. Many years ago I was aware of the

driving a long way to get a cheaper price thing.

I have always understood that things like the cost of gas, or the driver's own time, need to be taken into account.

[ForgedCrank]

17. If I am

looking at the same item in two different places and one has a better price, I will always choose the better price, all things being equal.
That is how market prices are kept under control. And not because I do that, but because nearly every human will do that.

[Kaleva]

21. Depends on what you are purchasing

For me, a can of store brand cut beans bought at Dollar General is a much better deal then buying a more expensive can of Del Monte cut beans at a locally owned grocery store . There's a difference in quality but the price difference is enough to override that.

As for tools, I tend to concentrate on quality but I search to find that tool at a place that offers it for the lowest price. Thus I often make my purchase at Amazon or other on line store that offers the same item for a much lower price then a local store does.

I also factor in time into the cost. Walmart offers the lowest prices for food but it's close to a two hour round trip to shop there compared to a few minutes driving to and from local stores. Plus there's the cost of gas to factor in.

When you factor in time, paying yourself (figuritivly speaking) what you think you are worth makes gardening an expensive way to procure food. But I place a great deal of value on being able to grow and preserve much of my food so that makes it worthwhile. Others think the quality of food they get from their garden is so great , that justifies the cost.

[Celerity]

23. Nothing wrong with looking for a low price on the exact same item, but we never buy cheap shit.

Poor quality, low cost things are almost always rubbish, especially for bigger ticket items.

We are also extremely loyal to brands, stores, restos, etc that deliver superb products backed up with great customer care. Porsche FTW, for example. Cannot see switching auto brands from them. We have adored our 2 Cayennes, the first one ICE, and now a plug-in hybrid. I personally cannot wait to buy a 2nd gen Taycan (full EV), likely in 2025 or so.