Should Price Influence Everything?

For the majority of my life, I have always been an Apple user. Mac computers have always been my automatic go to when purchasing a laptop or essentially any computer. When my MacBook Pro died after five years, I couldn't afford another one at the time so I chose to buy a PC instead. Everyone told me it would be fine and that I would save a lot of money but in reality, I knew I still wanted another MacBook.


Despite my gut feeling, I bought a PC because it was half the price of and still had all the programs I needed for school. As I began to maneuver through Windows 8, I tried to convince myself that this new computer was best for me and was all I needed. After a mere year and half, the hard drive and motherboard stopped working. Since the warranty was up, I could either pay to have it fixed or once again, purchase a new computer. This is where the components of individual decision making come into play.

Considering the importance of purchasing a new computer, I had to decipher whether or not it was worth getting my old one fixed or if a new computer would satisfy my needs. Due to the cost of purchasing a new MacBook Pro, extended problem solving was needed to make the purchase. Unlike going to the store to buy milk and eggs that are a routine purchase, I had only ever bough two other computers in my lifetime and needed to ultimately weigh all my options.

The next day, I went to a Future Shop where I could compare both a PC and a MacBook side by side to look at the difference and decide whether or not I really needed a new computer or if it was simply an excuse to buy a MacBook instead. I also needed to figure out how much exactly it would cost to have my old computer repaired to throw it into the mix of options. At this point, I had to decide whether I wanted to get another PC, go back to a MacBook or have my old PC repaired.

I quickly learnt that I could buy a new PC for cheaper than I could get my old one repaired so I was able to eliminate that option. For a few days after, I weaved between my two viable options trying to persuade myself that buying another MacBook was worth the cost. Because I had recognized a clear problem from the beginning and also realized that I was seriously leaning to one side, I forced myself to really think about this purchase, because at this point in my life, it is a big purchase.

Through a combination of internal and external searching, I finally landed on the decision I should have made a year and a half earlier. The question is - why couldn't I have simply Just done this earlier and saved myself the money that i saw as "down the drain"? Looking back on this, I did not realize the subconscious level of research I did or why I did it. The more and more I think about it I realize I put sao much time and effort into the decision purchase because its was sucha huge and important purchase for me at the time. There could have been even more in depth research if this purchase was even double the price but I know what I need to do in order to satisfy my consumer needs and purchasing behavior.

When you are shopping for a major purchase, do you let the cost of the item make your decision for you?

 

From now on, for major purchases, I will make sure I use an extended problem solving technique weighing all components as opposed to simply buying the cheaper option because cheaper isn't necessarily better! When there is something that you really want, it might be worth spending a little extra to make sure you are satisfied with your purchase!!