After getting out of debt, I used to always look for the cheapest option. What I've started to learn though is sometimes the quality will save you the most money in the long run.
1) There is Food and then there is Fine Dining -
Ruth Chris, Smith & Wollensky, Wolfgang Puck - if you've heard of them, and been lucky enough to dine at any of these restaurants - all of these names instantly give a certain brand identity. If you're ever here in the Central Ohio area and come across the name "Cameron Mitchell" you'll learn that here, the name is synonymous for the highest quality restaurants and diners around town - typically with a price to match.
The Pearl - Cameron Mitchell's latest restaurant
Mr. Mitchell is obsessed with the quality of every last detail of his restaurants and this affords him the right to charge a decent price. What you get is a excellent meal, excellent service and usually a night you can tell friends about. You also get fed but that's about 10% of the experience.
You can get fed at McDonald's. However, you likely won't tell all of your friends and family about the experience you had, take pictures and remember the experience for weeks, months and possibly years to come. Also, you'd be hard-pressed to run a documentary on how terrible the food is at Cameron Mitchell's. In fact I feel I've committed some type of sacrilege by mentioning the Cameron Mitchell name and "terrible" in the same sentence. Please forgive me Mr. Mitchell - I was simply trying to prove a point. I feel a little dirty though.
2) There are Knockoff Headphones and then there are Quality Headphones.
I recently made the mistake of purchasing headphones at a big box retailer that I don't particularly care for because the big box retailer I do care for was out of the headphones with the feature I was looking for.
In particular I was looking for headphones that came with a case that rolls up the cord.So as I went to the retailer I came upon a pair of roll-up headphones. They were a brand I had never heard of that at least looked OK from the outside.
Unfortunately as soon as I opened the case - I realized to my dismay that although the case looked like it rolls. It didn't roll up at all. My previous case (which broke after someone in my household - possibly female - dropped it on the hardwood floor) had a nice fluid movement that rolled up the cord in a matter of seconds. This case will actually break if you roll the cord in completely. It was a waste of time and money and I had to find new headphones - again.
3) There is 'affordable' furniture and then there is furniture that lasts a lifetime.
My Dad has a tendency to buy high quality things that are expensive, I however do not always follow his example- as evidenced above - but, sometimes a higher price not only implies a higher value sometimes it actually means a higher value.
One example of this is a dresser my Dad bought for me when I was around the age of ten and possibly in the single digits. It is one of the highest quality pieces of furniture that I have ever owned.
I took the dresser to college, then to Chicago in my 20's and back here to Columbus in my 30's. It's stood the test of time. Other pieces of furniture I've owned have fallen apart in a matter of a year or so. The dresser from my childhood still stands. I wish I knew where he bought it from.
So what's the moral of the story? - Quality is King. Although I know this blog isn't of the highest quality, I'm striving to make it better.So I'm curious. What do YOU think about quality over price? Feel free to note it here in the comments section or send me an email. Thanks for reading.
Generally high priced items are of better quality, however there are ways to find these items at lower price if they are used. Like you said in your post that quality dresser lasted for decades. Had you decided you did not need or want your perfectly good dresser anymore someone else could acquire it for a bargain.
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