Thoughts on Shopping
A friend related a story in which an acquaintance was appalled at the price of engagement rings; he'd figured he could get something nice in the $199 range. [No one should start trying to figure out who is shopping for rings; this is definitely a friend of a friend of a friend kind of story. It's no one you know.] All you girls out there know precisely how ridiculous that assumption was. I'm not of the camp that says engagement rings need to cost thousands of dollars, but under $200 is pretty unrealistic, as any girl who has ever built a ring at age 17 on www.adiamondisforever.com knows.
When continuing my conversation with this friend (who told me about the hapless fellow looking for bargain basement rings) originally agreed with his friend's shock at prices. However, after complaining about absurdity of the expense and even getting me to agree, he eventually changes his mind entirely and decided that it's not something you want to scrimp on.
This led me to think about men, women, and the different shopping styles associated with each. These aren't universal, but I've certainly seen them in action many times.
The typical man's shopping cycle:
1) Be shocked at price.
2) Gripe about price.
3) When told that there are bargains to be had if you take some time, scorn them as low quality.
4) Declare that if you're going to do something, you should do it right.
5) Buy first thing you see/like in first store you go to without regard to price (or, if you are my dad, buy two of whatever is 2 for 1).
6) Staunchly defend purchase as smart choice, even if absurdly impractical/expensive.
The typical woman's shopping cycle:
1) Accurately guess price prior to looking at tag because you've researched.
2) Think it's a little pricey, but a fair price considering niceness.
3) Scour every store in mall looking for equal/better alternative at lower price.
Path a:
4a) Via clearance racks, buy 4 things for price of initial nice, full priced thing.
5a) When someone compliments you on something, say, "Yeah, i got it on sale! It was like $7!" in tone of pride even if it's 3 years later.
Path b:
4b) Fail at finding alternative, so go back and buy at full price.
5b) Feel slightly bad.
6b) Love it inordinately to make up for splurge.
7b) Forget exactly how much you paid 2 weeks after purchase, remembering it at a lower price each time you think about it.
When continuing my conversation with this friend (who told me about the hapless fellow looking for bargain basement rings) originally agreed with his friend's shock at prices. However, after complaining about absurdity of the expense and even getting me to agree, he eventually changes his mind entirely and decided that it's not something you want to scrimp on.
This led me to think about men, women, and the different shopping styles associated with each. These aren't universal, but I've certainly seen them in action many times.
The typical man's shopping cycle:
1) Be shocked at price.
2) Gripe about price.
3) When told that there are bargains to be had if you take some time, scorn them as low quality.
4) Declare that if you're going to do something, you should do it right.
5) Buy first thing you see/like in first store you go to without regard to price (or, if you are my dad, buy two of whatever is 2 for 1).
6) Staunchly defend purchase as smart choice, even if absurdly impractical/expensive.
The typical woman's shopping cycle:
1) Accurately guess price prior to looking at tag because you've researched.
2) Think it's a little pricey, but a fair price considering niceness.
3) Scour every store in mall looking for equal/better alternative at lower price.
Path a:
4a) Via clearance racks, buy 4 things for price of initial nice, full priced thing.
5a) When someone compliments you on something, say, "Yeah, i got it on sale! It was like $7!" in tone of pride even if it's 3 years later.
Path b:
4b) Fail at finding alternative, so go back and buy at full price.
5b) Feel slightly bad.
6b) Love it inordinately to make up for splurge.
7b) Forget exactly how much you paid 2 weeks after purchase, remembering it at a lower price each time you think about it.
posted by Darci at
8:34 PM
2 Comments:
In defense of (some) men's shopping cycle, If a purchase is going to be over $50 or so, I wind up doing a ridiculous amount of research and usually wind up knowing more about what I'm looking for than the people selling said item. I spend a few days waffling over the options, trying to get the best deal. When I finally do make the purchase, though, I'm usually satisfied that I made an informed decision. I guess that's my decision of "doing something right."
I offer no defense, just my chuckles and enjoyment.
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