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Cheaper Isn’t Always Better

Buying the cheapest thing you can find certainly isn’t always a great idea. It is good to be frugal but quality is equally as important as price. I fell game to the cheaper is better trap the other day when I was in the market for a cornhole set. You know the bean bag game where you toss bags at a wooden board trying to get them in hole. I used to own a set I built myself but they were to big and bulky so I ditched them.

I went out to buy a set and was presented with two choices, one at $79.99 and one at $99.99. The $79 one was built out of wood and the more expensive one was molded plastic. The frugalite in me decided the cheaper one was going to be the better deal so I bought it. This was actually very out of character for me. I typically research everything to death before I make a purchase. This was a spur of the moment deal and I went with the cheaper option on gut.

Turns out there is a reason I over research everything before i make a purchase.  When I make a spur of the moment decision to buy something it is a bad deal. I picked up the cheaper version and was sorry the first time I went to use it. The bags were like paper, too light, and the boards were cheaply made. If I wasn’t sorry the first time, I was crazy sorry the second time when the board actually fell apart. I tried to fix it but  it was the cheapest, most worthless, piece of crap I have ever purchased. I don’t know what I was thinking. I returned it the next day and I plan to build one from scratch.

The point I am trying to make with this lengthy diatribe is that just because it is cheaper doesn’t mean it is better. Especially if you are making a purchase of something you really will use regularly. I didn’t do what I knew I should have done and I bought a lemon. The more expensive option was better but even it wasn’t the best way to go. Looking back at it the best way to do it was to make my own. That way I know it is done right and better. Cheaper isn’t better, but sometimes more expensive isn’t so much better either. Weigh your options accordingly and then make your decision. Not much comes from split second decision making.

Photo: (GoMattOlson)

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