Very OT - what is your "sod it" purchase limit?

[David]

My view of expensive was set some decades ago so I have to think around it.

You can spend an awful lot of time on line trying to find a slightly cheaper item, and comparing prices and specifications. There must be a point where it isn't really worth spending the effort.

My rough limits are:

£9.95 for almost any small item. Sod it, just buy. £25 for a slightly more substantial item. £50 for a more substantial item (e.g. cheapish charcoal BBQ).

After that I struggle, but I tend to use the current price of a supermarket shop for comparison. For example, if I am happy to shell out £100 for a week's food including a bottle or two of wine and a bulk purchase (say a 6 pack of tinned tomatoes) then in the great scheme of things any other purchase in this range isn't worth costing as a once in a lifetime purchase. I suppose £99.99 is another break point for tools and stuff.

Not that I get to spend a lot out shopping at the moment.

I'm pricing up bed risers (dodgy knees) and wondering if I should go for the £25 or £36 option. Meal for two prices? (As far as I can remember.)

Anyway does anyone else have a yard stick for measuring time and effort put into research against the cost of an item?

Cheers

Dave R

[tim...]

no you don't

it should take around 30 seconds

really

90p would be my limit

again far too high

but are you talking about purchases that you can easily back if the item is not as described, or ones where sending it back may be a faff

For me, the biggest problem with looking for cheaper sources is the risk of a dodgy retailer selling me a counterfeit product and then making me jump through impossible hoops for a refund.

I happily pay 10, 20% more to avoid that. But wont pay 300% more

Different prices for a *genuine* better product is another matter entirely (in terms of how much effort I'm prepared to put in to evaluate that)

as I spend circa 30 pounds, family of 4?

Or do you shop in Waitrose?

well I don't do that

and certainly not *every* week

1.35 for 4

how's that a bulk purchase?

agreed

but are you spending too much on your supermarket shop?

As above. The ease of return would be my deciding point here

Nando's (change from 20 quid) or your local fine dining restaurant (in excess of 200)?

If you insist on costing your time at anything approaching a "wage" you are never going to be able to get that value back from the saving made on the purchase

but OTOH, if you don't shop around for a deal now and again, you will run out of money

unless you have an unlimited amount

[tim...]

but that's still no reason to left rogue retailer rip you off

Oh how it grates when I let that happen to me

[soup]

Vast accumulated wealth eh? What time does your alarm go off?

[Jimmy Stewart ...]

I'm cheap as well ...

[Owain Lastname]

Free from social work occupational therapy?

Or £10

Owain

[alan_m]

There is also a matter of principle in not being ripped off.

I will always spend 10 minutes on an on-line comparison site when I get an insurance renewal quote. Even if the price increase on the renewal appears insignificant compared to the previous year I have found that other companies have better offers. I don't spend time debating a price with a company that cannot be bothered to offer their best competitive deal in the first place - I will just change to an alternative company.

I will always check for alternative energy suppliers a month before my contract ends, although I'm now just starting my 3rd year with my current supplier who seem to be close to the top of the list for cheaper energy (for MY usage)[1].

I will spend more time, and maybe a long time, on-line checking that a product is suitable for my needs without considering the price and only then spend a short time researching for the going price rate.

I have very little brand loyalty and don't believe that something purchased decades ago is representative of the same brand today. I have given up buying cheap power tools and over the past few years any replacements have been Dewalt and Makita and have found them much better made and give better results.

I'm in the fortunate position where I don't necessarily have to worry about the price of food and can buy what I like but I do use Lidl and Farmfoods at times, the latter who have some branded goods that I use regularly and usually at prices 30% cheaper than Tesco/Asda, especially if buying £50 worth at a time with the 10% discount vouchers. It's actually more convenient to go to my local Lidl than travel further to one of the major supermarkets and then spend an hour searching through their massive warehouse buildings for the items I want.

For cheap items on Ebay I will pay more for someone who has UK stock rather than the item coming from China 4 weeks later. Sometimes its not the time on line searching for the cheapest price but the time taken to make sure that the item may actually be in the UK. Sometimes you have to read the negative reviews to see the many customers complaining that the short delivery times and UK stock claims are bogus.

[1] When checking some of these energy auto switch sites recently they suggest that their algorithms take into consideration price AND high scores for customer service. My current supplier is only average for customer service so presumably wouldn't be near the top of these switching sites list. If bills are accurate based on monthly user supplied meter readings and most things can be accomplished on-line etc. who needs the "hand holding" customer service?

[The Natural Philosopher]

The real questin is, which is the rip off?

Case in point. My staff wanted laptops and said they could get them cheaper than my normal supplier - 20% cheaper. We got two. After trying to send them back they ended up on a shelf in the storeroom and were there when I sold the company. neither ever worked a damn and one blew the serial port of a machine it was connected to.

My supplier was always 15% more expensive on other stuff, but he was just a mile away and never failed to take anything back under warranty. we were in the business of rolling out ten thousand and up installations, not penny pinching on supplier prices.

My insurance company is not the cheapest, but they have always coughed up any claims and can speak to humans

And I have so much no claims that its hard to see how much I could save scrounging around

Again for what actual return? And at what risk?

That is another issue entirely

Again I have found that many brands that used to be good are now shit and many cheap chinese knock offs really work well.

My wickes wobble sander was crap. My wickes portable screwdriver is fab.

My food costs are probably less than 10% of my total outgoings. I am not sure I give a shit about knocking 10% off them

I go to waitrose because its the closest, it has bags of parking the staff are endlessly helpful, and really given what I buy the prices are not that much of an issue.

I sometimes go to tescos for items waitrose don't stock.

That I agree with. delivery time is part of the product. Conversely sometimes I am in no hurry.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

The Natural Philosopher laid this down on his screen :

HOW MUCH! I needed some vertical blinds adapting - I paid £10 for a zig-zag capable sewing machine, at a car boot sale. Our older/ancient machine, was just getting past it.

[Adrian Caspersz]

Normally working, so there is a calculation on how much ye are losing per hour by not working. Then have that hourly rate lost by doing some unearthly task - so drag out an Excel sheet.

i.e.

I used to have an hours lunch break, ate a Tesco sandwich. If I have a 2 minute lunch break, a sandwich from Harrods cost the same.

People that eat Harrods sandwiches have a productive working life and reach the grave quicker ...

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

The Natural Philosopher used his keyboard to write :

I'm in a similar financial position, except I can and do - It takes me a just few minutes. It makes me £100 better off over the year, for the investment of just a few minutes, whilst sat idly watching TV.

This year I saved £150 on my bill.

[tim...]

if I saved 150 quid on my gas bill they'd be paying me

[alan_m]

It is well known that being loyal to an insurance company will cost you! As a "new" customer 20% discounts are often available and with the big players when they are losing market share they offer better deals. If you happen to be looking when these better deals are available then you could end up paying 30% less than your renewal quote- even with maximum no-claims. I don't necessarily look for the cheapest headline price but what is included in the quoted price.

Often the saving can be 10% than staying with your existing supplier, even if they offer another (fixed) price deal. I don't see any risk with the companies I've chosen in the past 5 years and even if the company goes bust the Ofgen will automatically transfer you to another supplier with the option of you changing again without any penalties. My current energy contract has no exit fees for ending the contract early.

[michael adams]

Basic English Comprehension and Reasoning Ability Test.

Question 1.

Based on the above two statements, does "The Natural Philosopher"

a) make lots of insurance claims ?

or

b) make no insurance claims ?

Please answer using only one side of the paper.

michael adams

...

[Nick Odell]

Once upon a time, they DID pay me. It was in the days before OFCLOT

-or whatever they are called- deemed standing charges a requirement and my energy company gave me a dual-fuel discount in the form of a quarterly rebate off my quarterly bill..

...except for those particular months, nobody was home and no energy was used.

Nick

[Bob Eager]

The last really profitable calculation I did was five years ago.

I instantly became £200 a month better off - by resigning and taking a pension. With - as it turned out, and I was expecting - better inflation protection.

[Andrew]

very wise if you have a JLR, it might not make it

[Andrew]

How much is your daily standing charge for gas though ?

[Theo]

Ebay - 'Item in UK' - 'sort by price' - 'buy it now' Scan down the list until you find something suitable, job done.

(although you do have to skip past the listings with options priced

99p-£1000 where 99p gets you a piece of used belly fluff)

I don't bother with sites that don't have functioning sorting or filtering (hello Amazon).

Sometimes the item is available cheaper from another place (especially if not a consumer-focused thing, like some DIY tools and materials) - do a general web search for it before buying on ebay. Where I've got a more substantial collection of bits needed I'll go direct to Toolstation, CPC, local BM, plumbing supplier, etc.

About £2-3 for me (which is mostly postage anyway).

In this bracket the price of shipping it back makes things not worth returning if you have to pay £5-10 postage.

However the other hassle of returns is that you still don't have the item you wanted - no good if you're planning to do a job and you can't do it. Particularly a problem with shipping being disrupted as it is at the moment, things taking a week to arrive can be problematic (Amazon next day shipping has been handy as a get out of trouble card for this as it actually delivers on time).

I do stare a lot at specs to make sure I'm getting something with a good chance of working - more time upfront but generally fewer mistakes. Time invested upfront means jobs can be done in a timely manner, not postponed for having the wrong bits.

Theo

[Peter Johnson]

I tend to be sniffy about own-brand stuff - then about ten years ago I bought some B&Q own-brand laminate flooring. How can they get that wrong? Quite easily it seems. It didn't/doesn't lie flat. Fortunately it's in a room that I don't use that much, otherwise I'd have gone to the trouble of ripping it out and replacing it. (Do like Tesco Finest range though.)