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Buy well, buy once

fellow.ventures

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Re: Buy well, buy once

#241

Post by timeon »

crazygringo wrote: post #7

> I even keep a record of all my worldly possessions in a visual catalogue spreadsheet on Airtable. 192 items at my last count. > I don't count hoodies, t-shirts, socks or usb cables but I really don't own many. I count a pair of shoes in a box as 1 item. Huh? Either you're counting things or you're not. Saying you own 192 items except for the 800 (?) you're not counting doesn't make a lot of sense. Why are shoes an…

Do they count the spreadsheet itself? It does not have physical weight but mental one certainly.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#242

Post by sanderjd »

CPLX wrote: post #223
nerdchum wrote: post #214

I think a lot of times this philosophy is just rich people justifying paying a lot for high status items. a pair of Crocs is 50 bucks and that's one of the highest quality pairs of shoes you'll buy for the price. you could buy 10 pairs of Crocs for a $500 pair of Alden's so even if the crocs only lasted a year, it would take a decade to recoup the investment on the Alden's. but the crocs don't have the same status th…

Pretty on the nose. I think even more accurate is that quality/longevity and price are almost completely decoupled. Spending more doesn’t guarantee higher quality it mostly gets you exceptional graphic design and deftly nested packaging that makes you feel good when you open it. But it’s not like all the cheap stuff is better. A Rolex is an incredible engineering marvel and is in fact very high quality and durable. S…

The area in which this drives me the craziest is furniture. I have no idea how to find high quality durable furniture. Price signals definitely aren't it, but I have no idea what signals I can look for, or where to go to find them.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#243

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

This is the Sam Vimes Boots Theory[0].

I think it's a good idea, but not always feasible.

Also, the absolute top-of-the-line may not be reasonable, when a "near-the-top" product would be just as useful.

I own a lot of stuff that doesn't really catch anyone's attention, but cost a fair bit. Examples are Junghans and Oceanus watches (I prefer the Oceanus, which cost half as much as the Junghans, but I now wear neither, as I have an Apple Watch, which costs less than either of them).

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory#:~:text=The%20Sam....

Re: Buy well, buy once

#244

Post by lumb63 »

nerdchum wrote: post #214

I think a lot of times this philosophy is just rich people justifying paying a lot for high status items. a pair of Crocs is 50 bucks and that's one of the highest quality pairs of shoes you'll buy for the price. you could buy 10 pairs of Crocs for a $500 pair of Alden's so even if the crocs only lasted a year, it would take a decade to recoup the investment on the Alden's. but the crocs don't have the same status th…

This isn’t a totally fair comparison. When people buy shoes, their criteria isn’t normally as low as “covers my feet”. They have a specific style they want, a specific material, and will shop amongst shoes that fit that description. Crocs and dress shoes are not interchangeable to a lot of people.

A better comparison is to look at, for instance, Johnston and Murphy vs. Alden. Then you get a more fair comparison. For instance, one has welted soles and so they can be replaced without changing out the upper. Those soles are leather and provide excellent comfort. One uses full grain leather uppers, one does not. Everyone doesn’t need those, but if you’re someone who is wearing dress shoes to the office every day, it may be worth the benefit. You also don’t have to worry about replacing the shoe every year (though you do have to maintain it).

Re: Buy well, buy once

#245

Post by nerdchum »

benmanns wrote: post #238
nerdchum wrote: post #214

I think a lot of times this philosophy is just rich people justifying paying a lot for high status items. a pair of Crocs is 50 bucks and that's one of the highest quality pairs of shoes you'll buy for the price. you could buy 10 pairs of Crocs for a $500 pair of Alden's so even if the crocs only lasted a year, it would take a decade to recoup the investment on the Alden's. but the crocs don't have the same status th…

$50/$500 is a 10%/year yield, which is hard come by in any guaranteed investment. The Crocs will likely have no retained value, while the $500 shoes may be worth something after 10 years. However, that ignores the cost of maintaining a nice pair of shoes (both money and time) as one needs to clean, polish, and resole every so often. You might want shoes in two or three colors/styles, which would make the Crocs last 2…

Oh completely agree. My beef is with this smug patronizing attitude rich people have like theyre wise for buying expensive things that will last longer and the rest of us peons should learn from these wise sages. When thats not the case at all. You want to learn how to buy quality things look at a middle class family of four wearing big old granny Kirkland panties and driving a Subaru.

Their overhead on purchases is low AND their returns are high.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#246

Post by timeon »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #102
throwaway22032 wrote: post #10

This article, and people posting in this thread are saying that they own 100 or 200 things. I can't believe this at all. My utility room, which basically just has stuff like cleaning products and rags/cloths etc, has more than 200 items in it. It's all useful, we're talking things like bleach, deodorant, shampoo, handwash, etc. My house probably has 50 or more pieces of art on the walls and then another 50 pieces of…

To be fair, I don't think it really makes sense to count consumable items like the bleach, deodorant, shampoo, handwash, etc. examples you gave. I wouldn't expect him to count the milk in his fridge or the olive oil in his pantry, either. Point being that just the natural day-to-day use of that stuff uses it up. But yeah, I agree with the general point.

> I don't think it really makes sense to count consumable items

On the other hand if I count something it is more likely to be consumable item, so I have track of what is missing. Why bother with other stuff? That sounds like opposite of minimalism.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#247

Post by nerdchum »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #240
nerdchum wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah completely agree that price is decoupled from quality nowadays and it's pretty random. Price seems to be based a lot more on marketing and brand saturation than quality. And quality brands get bought up all the time and the new company will coast on the brand while outsourcing manufacturing to the lowest bidder. And you can't trust reviews with affiliate marketing around. So pretty much the only thing to do to i…

In the world of fashion perhaps. In the world of tools, absolutely not.

In human society its arguable that fashion is a tool of communication. At least thats how I have to justify it to myself because I hate being forced to participate in it but we all are constantly being judged on how we look.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#248

Post by TrevorFSmith »

My tiny workshop contains a greater number of hand tools than the number of items this guy owns. I suspect that the person who made the fancy shoes worked in a larger workshop. Not everyone types for a living.

Re: Buy well, buy once

#250

Post by nerdchum »

lumb63 wrote: post #244
nerdchum wrote: post #214

I think a lot of times this philosophy is just rich people justifying paying a lot for high status items. a pair of Crocs is 50 bucks and that's one of the highest quality pairs of shoes you'll buy for the price. you could buy 10 pairs of Crocs for a $500 pair of Alden's so even if the crocs only lasted a year, it would take a decade to recoup the investment on the Alden's. but the crocs don't have the same status th…

This isn’t a totally fair comparison. When people buy shoes, their criteria isn’t normally as low as “covers my feet”. They have a specific style they want, a specific material, and will shop amongst shoes that fit that description. Crocs and dress shoes are not interchangeable to a lot of people. A better comparison is to look at, for instance, Johnston and Murphy vs. Alden. Then you get a more fair comparison. For…

Agree. Theres alot of factors involved in buying anything.

So we need to stop acting like we have great wisdom for "Paying more for quality" when in reality status and fashion had as much to do with the purchase as well.

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