False Economy
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11833)
October 29, 2011 7:57am CST
Most people seem to be saving the pennies these days, or at least being careful with their cash. We're no exception, and if there's a bargain to be had I'm normally first in line.
But occasionally a bargain turns out to be no bargain at all. Rather, a terrible waste of money. A false economy.
We recently saw a wheelbarrow in one of the DIY stores when we were searching for something else. It was dead cheap so we snapped it up without looking any closer. What a mistake! There's a very good reason it was cheap, and that is that no-one with half a brain would have bought it otherwise! The bolts sheared off pretty much the first time we used it, and even though we've welded it back together it's still unstable. As soon as you load it up it tips over, spilling whatever you've loaded it with all over the ground again. We might as well have taken our money and set fire to it outside the shop for all the use it has done us!
Have you made any false economies? Things that have fallen apart when you got them home or ideas which seemed allot better in the shop?
4 people like this
15 responses
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
29 Oct 11
Hi GreenMOo, usually it happens to shoes.
Sometimes, shoes just break apart in the rain.
It is just so embarrassing.
That is why I learn not to trust cheap things, especially those cheaper than should be.
Those cheap shoes are using lousy glue, and the glue just dissolves in the rainwater.
Some shoes are still usable after repair or reglueing, but most are not.
3 people like this
@telmesh (1793)
•
29 Oct 11
I'm sorry your wheelbarrow would have served you better as something to plant flowers in. Perhaps you can come up with some unusual use for it, so that it's not a total waste and it would always serve as a reminder to always just buy what you need. Be careful not to be led into buying something because it looks like a bargain.
Yes we've all learnt this lesson and sometimes still get caught but these days I tend to ask this question. DO I REALLY NEED IT ?
@scheng1 (24649)
• Singapore
30 Oct 11
Hi Telmesh, your experience about cheap shoes is very funny.
I just hope that you can make your 7.5 pairs of shoes last longer than 22 months!
I think most shoes, even cheap shoes, can last really long, if you wear them on sunny and dry days.
Wear those good shoes for stormy weather!
@mr_pearl (5018)
• India
29 Oct 11
Hi there... It was a real bad experience... Sorry to hear that...
Have complained to the store manager? I'm they'll give you a good one or else they'll give your money back to you... Hurry up and go to them right now, because they don't accept complaints after certain time of purchase...
Good Luck!!!
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31633)
• United States
29 Oct 11
I think we've all done this!
I remember when I was in the middle of my divorce and setting up house for myself and my kids. We needed pots and pans and with money being tight I got the cheapest possible, even though the friend I was with advised against it. She told me they'd wear out very soon and I would do better to spend a little more and get a lot more use from the cookware. I did not listen and within a month all the cookware was ruined--what a waste of money!
When I moved here I got good pots and pans. I paid a few dollars more and after 4 years they are still as serviceable as they were when I first bought them. That's a bargain! 
1 person likes this
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
30 Oct 11
I keep telling my family that when I am rich I will first buy myself some decent kitchen ware. I have never had any decent stuff in my life, making do with cast offs and hand me downs, and I'm really fed up of handles that fall off and pans which burn. I have bread knife which we've had for years which separates from the handle as soon as you look at it. It's a good trick to play on guests, who invariably think they've broken it!
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
30 Oct 11
I lose count of how many times I have been taken in.I find out each time when I craved for something , I was prone to be fooled or at least didn't get my money's worth.I understand your feelings.It is hard for us to make money,who doesn't stretch money to keep within a budget, unless someone whose money is ill-gotten gains spends money like water.
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
1 Nov 11
More often than not,something is very cheap,there must be a catch in it somewhere.
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Oct 11
I am bad about buying clothes on special because they are on special. I run down the clearance aisles at a big chain store and frequently pick up the stuff that is discounted. I do not need the stuff. I think that is one of the worst things for me. I have great sympathy on the wheel barrow. Actually I have a nice piece of exercise equipment that would be great for me to use, but I have not got the space. It is out in the shed.
@jillhill (37353)
• United States
30 Oct 11
I do think this happens to all of us....even on a purchase as big as a car! I have had a couple of lemons. I bought them thinking how absolutely wonderful they were...and a real deal just to find out in a couple of months they were crap! Don't feel alone!
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
30 Oct 11
Yes. Quality is more important than price. Just because something is cheap does not mean it is cost effective. I have made that mistake in the past and now I weigh up cost vs durability to get the best deal.
We save a lot of money by buying things in bulk. There are only 2 of us so it takes us a long time to use large quantities but for any food that can be kept we will buy the largest size available because it works out cheaper per unit than buying the smaller unit amount.
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
1 Nov 11
I had this problem with my chicken food so I bought a large plastic box for storage thinking it would be safe but they tried to eat their way through. One morning I found a tiny hole in one of the corners and the lid had been chewed. Luckily they got nothing and I have taped the box up and put items around the base to make it harder for them to get to the box. Since then no more problems.
We have real mouse problems in country Australia but wherever there is grain stored for stock and even biscuits for pet dogs there will be mice and it is really hard to get rid of them. I have place poison and traps and hardly ever caught a mouse but my little dog has now killed 5. I find the bodies left for me and a proud dog. She has caught more mice than I ever did. Curiously she never eats them. The chickens will also eat mice if they catch them.
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
31 Oct 11
I'm absolutely with you on buying in bulk where possible. If you can store it without it spoiling it's almost always cheaper and saves on packaging.
We've fallen foul with this practice as well though. We bought animal feed in bulk, and the rats broke into it before we needed it all.
I guess we live and learn!
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
29 Oct 11
Gosh yes. But for the life of me I cannot think of a single one. We inherited a wheelbarrow when we moved here nearly twenty years ago and it's still going strong. Despite living in the open the whole time/ I have no idea how much it cost but I am hoping that it will last another twenty years. After which I won't much care!
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
30 Oct 11
If it's over twenty years old, it was probably built better than most of the cr*p you find in the shops just now, which I swear comes with built in obsolescence. The trick is to find something which has a planned life span which includes at least getting it home and operational. We have a Chinese shop locally which everyone in the area laughs about. You buy something, and it dissolves in the bag on your way home. But we all keep going back, because it sells all the things we (think we) need.
@hotsummer (13919)
• Philippines
29 Oct 11
i became victim of that false economy many times that i learned my lesson very well already.
@kingparker (9673)
• United States
29 Oct 11
Here is my idea, I understand most people want things they shop to be ultra cheap, and think about the money they pay for it might saved. But that is not the case, you have to consider the quality of those products too. I know those shops want good sale, but they might not give you the quality that you expected. With that cheap price, the cost to manufacture of those products might not be standard, and that is why it lower the price in compared to the regular market price. So, consider it, whether you want a good quality and long last product, or save your pocket a little bit more, but something that you don't want in the first place?
@rameshchow (4426)
• India
29 Oct 11
Government is trying to make the public as fools by showing the wrong stats. If there is a scam they will hide it. And commonly saying that "country is going in a developing way".
We need a anti corruption system.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
5 Nov 11
Yes you really have to look at things to make sure they're made well enough to warrant the buying at a lower price. Sometimes it pays to buy something that costs a little more so that you will still have it and not have to buy another one. Tools esp. that's why we often buy Craftsmen, they're guaranteed for life and that suits us fine.
