I’m wondering what you think about this article from Yahoo! about “6 Secrets Retailers Don’t Want You to Know“? I agree with most, but disagree with some of these “secrets”.
“Low prices don’t go with high quality”
One of the reasons I love to shop at thrift stores is because you CAN find high quality for low prices. Just the other day I bought a beautiful blue, yes blue, leather (100%) skirt at Goodwill for a whopping $2.00. It fits me perfectly and the shade of blue is what’s “hot” right now. And just fyi…you can wear leather year round, with lighter pieces for summer. I’ll be wearing it in our next cooking video actually. Anyway, one of the “secrets” is that when you buy high quality pieces, you pay higher prices because the quality is better than the cheaper versions. And because the quality is higher, the item will last longer because it’s more durable…so my reasoning is if I find something, whether it’s clothing, furniture, shoes, etc., that I know is a good brand and lasts forever, I’ll try to find it at a thrift store and pay a fraction of what it cost new. Most people I know who donate items to thrift stores is not because it’s ruined or worn out, but rather because it no longer fits or they want something new and different.
“The latest trends will cost you more”
I don’t spend a lot of money on trendy items and don’t care if the quality is that great (plastic versus metal buttons for example) if I know that it’s just for fun and I won’t wear it for another season.
I actually don’t care about “designer” labels and have always thought they are more expensive because of who designed it. I don’t NEED a Coach bag just because it says Coach. But that’s just me. Of course if I find one at a garage sale and it’s the real thing, I might snap it up…if it’s cheap of course! I agree that if something is made of quality and it’s going to last forever and you’ll actually use it forever, then it will probably cost you less in the long run if you spend a little extra instead of getting the cheaper version, but I look for quality, not “designer” in that scenario.
“Outlet stores are no bargain”
And I don’t shop at outlet malls very much because I do know that in most cases, you’re getting a cheaper version and not the real deal that they are selling at the regular malls. And a lot of times they are irregulars and don’t fit right.
But I think, just as you do with food purchases, you need to check the labels and see what they are made of. If a t-shirt says it’s made of 100% cotton, then I’ll take the Hanes version instead of one that’s labeled Guess (unless I see it at my local thrift store for less than what I’d pay for a Hanes and it’s in good condition.)
The Bottom Line
photo credit: markhillary via photopin cc
Bottom line though is that sometimes you need an article of clothing or a piece of furniture right now and you don’t have the bucks to pay for the highest quality. Yes, you may be getting something “inferior” but if you’ve been a stay at home mom and have lived in comfy clothes and now you HAVE to go back to work because of finances, chances are you need work clothes now and can’t wait till you’ve saved up a couple of hundred dollars for a high-quality dress.
And paying higher prices doesn’t even guarantee that you’re getting the highest quality….you need to check out labels, how something is made, what it’s made of and what you’re buying it for when making decisions on what to pay for something. It’s like with food for instance. If you check the labels on a store brand item versus a name brand and the ingredients are exactly the same, (and in the same order), why would you pay more for the name brand? Or when you’re buying health and beauty items…again, look at the label of ingredients and the order they are in and see if the higher priced item is actually different or better.
Tammy’s Tip ‘O the Day
*The order of ingredients is important. If two different soup brands have the same ingredient but they are in a different order, that is important. For example if a can of chicken noodle soup only contained three ingredients like chicken, water and noodles for instance and one can has chicken listed as their first ingredient and the other has water listed first, buy the can with the chicken as the first ingredient, the other can mostly has water.
Well, I started off talking about retail and now I’m talking about chicken soup! But the idea is the same with anything you buy. Know what you’re buying and try to get the best quality you can with the amount of money you have….
I personally don’t think any of these were really secrets!
Since I have a large family and I am on a very strict budget I do all my shopping at the thrift stores. Even some of the kids love going there because you never know what you will find. My daughter is into anime and manga right now and is even going to the DNK convention in Denver very soon. She loves to dress up in some of the anime costumes and even make some of her own creations. We have found several bits and pieces of clothing that will work well for this. Even if she just buys something for the unique buttons that we can’t find any were else, it’s well worth it. One of my son’s is into the Bronco’s and I find a lot of sports clothing there too. I’ve found many very expensive clothes for the entire family that I have bought over the years. We do have a few rules about buying things there. First, is it a need or a want. If it’s a need then it’s ok to buy. Second, it has to be in perfect condition unless we are buying it for something else like just the buttons, then it doesn’t have to be perfect. Since I have a very small closet and dresser, I try to stick to the “one in – one out” rule of clothes buying. I am constantly going through my clothes and if I see something in there that I haven’t worn in a year or two I donate it back to the thrift stores. I also ask the kids to give me any clothes/toys/books that don’t fit or they just don’t like any more. This also keeps our house less cluttered with way to much stuff and it benefits someone else when we donate things. I love supporting a thrift store vs a large corporation. There are some corporations that if you buy it new like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s and Nike, etc… they give back to the community constantly. I almost forgot to say, we can find fun costumes for halloween and decorations there as well.