Four Influential Buying Factors

There are four major things that help determine the worth of an item or service. These include brand, timing, prior use, and location.

BRAND:

As an example, let’s say that I am buying a new television. Now sure, the obvious choice would be Panasonic or Samsung. These are the televisions you grew up with; they are what make you feel safe. But there are so many other choices these days, we live in a new decade. There are new companies such as LG that are making televisions as good or better; and you know what, in same cases cheaper. Just because you’ve constantly heard of a particular brand, or it’s what the majority of your friends have, doesn’t mean that is necessarily what you should buy. Make sure you do research on other brands, because there are always reviews online and you might find that the brand you hadn’t heard of has way better reviews than the one you are familiar with

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TIMING:

In order to explain my thoughts on this, I’m going to tell a little story. About three years ago, I was shopping for a new computer. My parents have always made me pay for electronics, and I was getting really interested in computers and the web. I had saved up about fourteen-hundred dollars and was shopping Dell’s website for a new laptop. I had customized my laptop with a lot of features that I thought I would need; 70GB hard-drive, etc. If only I had waited a year, I could have gotten the same exact computer for about 60% of the price. Sometimes patience is the key…

PRIOR USE:

For those of us who want the brand but aren’t wiling to pay the full retail price, there are two options. These include used and refurbished products, and can save you large quantities of money.

Used – Now depending on whom you buy it from and its condition, you can either find a great deal or a shitty one. Sometimes the seller will state that the product was only been taken out of the box. Now if you’re both alright with the price, and the buyer has a good reputation, you should probably buy. The next case is that the product has slight scratches but nothing serious. If you’re really on a tight budget, then this is perfect for you. This can cause the product to be up to 50% off. Finally, although most people throw them away, someone might sell a product in terrible shape. Now this can be both good and bad. Usually what a buyer would do in this case is buy the product, and do one of the following: Fix it him or herself, or bring it to a mechanic and have them fix it. This is probably not as good as buying the product scratched or out of the box, but this tactic can save you up to 80% of the cost if used efficiently.

Refurbished – I personally prefer this option because there is less risk involved and you can still purchase the product for a significantly lower price. Basically a refurbished product is one that has sent back to the company, the company fixes it, and then sells it. It’s lower in price because it has been used, but it’s almost as good as buying it new because it has been completely restored to its original state.

LOCATION:

This is the difference between buying something in one place or another. For instance if you’re buying clothing you have a few options. You can buy it at an outlet store, a sports store, or finally online. Now the sports store would probably be the most expensive choice. The outlet store is significantly cheaper because it is direct. However, the online could possibly be the cheapest because they most likely buy in bulk and therefore set themselves apart by selling cheaply. Also note that online stores are sometimes more expensive, especially when you bring shipping into the mix. This just shows how much the location can change the price tag, so always do some research as to where it is the cheapest to buy.