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What is most important to you when making a purchase?


Magikal

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This is a common discussion at my work and I wanted to ask people outside my job.

What is most important to you when purchasing a product? Is it one of the listed options or something else? Is it a combination of these? If so then which are the most important?

Explinations for your answers are greatly appreciated!

-Price

-Quality of product

-Level of service

-Follow up

-Problems the product solves

-How easy it is to obtain product / convenience

-Referrals/recommendations from friends/family

-Popularity

This question is even more specific for those of you that have purchased vehicles or plan to purchase one soon I want to know what it is that you look for.

If I missed an option in my list of choices please let me know!

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Always price first.

The only time I buy brand name is for cleaning products because the cheap stuff is always watered down. Toilet paper too. I always get Royale.

Other than that, you're paying for the brand name.

Edit: Customer service is big for me. I'll never go back go a store/restaurant that has bad service.

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Well I am in the automotive industry so if you have or are going to buy a vehicle in the near future what do you look for?

Also I am curious, can you give me some examples of how you looks for different things depending on the product? For example do you look for cheaper prices on food but higher quality on clothes? Vice versa? Etc.

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Always price first.

The only time I buy brand name is for cleaning products because the cheap stuff is always watered down. Toilet paper too. I always get Royale.

Other than that, you're paying for the brand name.

So do you buy the cheapest food possible or food that is of quality and nutritious? What about cell phones or earbuds? Do you buy cheap headphones that you replace every few months or do you spend top dollar for high end ones?

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So do you buy the cheapest food possible or food that is of quality and nutritious? What about cell phones or earbuds? Do you buy cheap headphones that you replace every few months or do you spend top dollar for high end ones?

1. Yes. I buy the cheapest food possible. The only thing I never skimp on is meat. Usually I can find food I like for a good price.

2. Good question. I always buy electronics used. Haven't bought a brand new phone in my life. Always used. I don't use earbuds, I use headphones. My current pair I bought new or around $30 and I love them. My old pair I bought used for $20 and I had them for years. I never pay top dollar for electronics. Ever.

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1. Yes. I buy the cheapest food possible. The only thing I never skimp on is meat. Usually I can find food I like for a good price.

2. Good question. I always buy electronics used. Haven't bought a brand new phone in my life. Always used. I don't use earbuds, I use headphones. My current pair I bought new or around $30 and I love them. My old pair I bought used for $20 and I had them for years. I never pay top dollar for electronics. Ever.

Are you of age to purchase vehicles? Have you ever bought one before? If so what was most important to you in your purchase?

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Are you of age to purchase vehicles? Have you ever bought one before? If so what was most important to you in your purchase?

No, unfourtunatley when I had posted, I had neglected to read the part about the car sales.

But to be honest, I'm never buying a new car. One of the worst investments you can make in your life, a man once told me. I plan on buying used or at least pre-owned.

I was raised by a single parent and we never had a lot of money. I grew up having to be really thrifty and I guess it stuck with me after I moved out.

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If I decided to get a license, I would probably get a BMW or something ol skool. I'm an odd one - there are things I go super cheap on and things I spurge on. For my apartment, my rent is under $1000. I refuse to pay what everyone else is paying for the neighborhood. For wine, I am pickey about my bottles, but for champagne, it all tastes the same , so I will go cheap on it. Grocery shopping, I am cheap. For coffee and restaurants, I am addicted to Starbucks because it's convienent and everyone knows my name unfortuantely, and I eat out a lot. For clothes, I am all about the Gap and second hand shops. I have bought some nifety high end clothes while second hand shopping, but my handbags are always designer from Nordstrom and Holt Renfrew.

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Well I am in the automotive industry so if you have or are going to buy a vehicle in the near future what do you look for?

Also I am curious, can you give me some examples of how you looks for different things depending on the product? For example do you look for cheaper prices on food but higher quality on clothes? Vice versa? Etc.

For food, I tend to go for the cheapest for frozen/dried goods and I will walk the extra distance to find cheaper fresh produce. Meat-wise, if it's steak, I will pay for quality. For something that's processed (like pre-made sauces), I generally go for familiarity.

For pricier purchases such computers I generally set a price limit for myself, then find my best option and get opinions from friends/family that know more than I do. If I were to ever buy a car, that would probably what I would do as well.

I've recently moved out on my own and have had to pick up a lot of things like small appliances, the ranking is usually

1) need 2) price/value 3) reliability (customer reviews) 4) aesthetics

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But to be honest, I'm never buying a new car. One of the worst investments you can make in your life, a man once told me.

It's not always true though. Sometimes when you buy a used car you are buying someone's old problems. Used cars are available for a reason. Sometimes that reason is they are a lemon, or because they were in an accident. I test drove one car I was considering buying privately. I asked if it had any accidents and he said it had one small fender bender. While test driving it I went to a licensing office (this was in Calgary) and they looked up the VIN for me. It had been written off. Yes you can find good deals in used cars, but you can also find a load of trouble. You just have to do your homework.

I bought a '95 Honda Civic brand new and drove it for over 400,000 kms before I sold it. By driving it for so long, I got full value out of that vehicle.

As for Magikal's question...

Quality comes first. I would rather pay more for a quality vehicle.

Solving a need. When I bought my most recent vehicle, I needed to make sure that it had good towing capacity.

Price is next. If I can't afford it, I can't afford it. I not in the habit of living beyond my means.

The rest are important, but not at the level of the other three. In fact, some I will overlook, if there is an alternative.

For example, I may get bad service / follow-up from a dealer that sells me a vehicle, but that's OK because I can take it elsewhere to get the vehicle serviced. However, if the service is great, I tend to be very loyal and will go back there in the future.

Hope that helps...

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It really depends on what the product is and why I am getting it.

Usually quality is most important though but say if it is a computer for example I am not going to spend hundreds or thousands more if lesser computers can do what I need well.

Popularity can rank high over something like quality though if it is say clothing. Then the social gain is far more valuable than having a an outfit that can gain more mileage.

Ease of use is only priority if it is something I don't want to drain time in. Like an alarm clock or a can opener.

If it is a car though I would rank quality first now. When I was younger popularity was dominant though as I went through a Mustang and a convertible Crossfire as I saw the attention as a gain then. Price mattered but I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra. Though living in the city now I am on the verge of getting rid of my cars entirely and just riding a bike and the train now.

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Why are you trying to conduct corporate research on the Canucks board? Do your research the proper way.

Or maybe he is a CDC user asking a harmless question that had coincedentally arose in the workplace. I don't think he'd have his job if he was doing actual research here.

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Well I am in the automotive industry so if you have or are going to buy a vehicle in the near future what do you look for?

Also I am curious, can you give me some examples of how you looks for different things depending on the product? For example do you look for cheaper prices on food but higher quality on clothes? Vice versa? Etc.

In the case of the automotive industry for me personally it's: Ford truck>any other make, but for everything else I prefer higher-end or reliable makes for things like cars, etc..

I don't like to cheap out on food as I try to make my health the #1 priority, but for clothing I wil cheap out if it looks good and you can't tell lol..

Electronics wise I am split between Apple, Android, Microsoft, LG, and Sony..

I like Apple computers and tablets, but not the phones (use Nexus 5 instead).

As for Tv's it's split between LG or Sony depending on the price and features.

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In the case of the automotive industry for me personally it's: Ford truck>any other make, but for everything else I prefer higher-end or reliable makes for things like cars, etc..

I don't like to cheap out on food as I try to make my health the #1 priority, but for clothing I wil cheap out if it looks good and you can't tell lol..

Electronics wise I am split between Apple, Android, Microsoft, LG, and Sony..

I like Apple computers and tablets, but not the phones (use Nexus 5 instead).

As for Tv's it's split between LG or Sony depending on the price and features.

Personal experiences have told me Apple and Sony are downright terrible. Never buy Apple unless you want your money gouged, and don't buy Sony unless you want it to break in a year.

If you're buying a laptop, NEVER buy LG. They make great phones, though.

Seriously people, if you want to buy almost any type of electronic, buy Samsung. Great prices, great quality, and great customer service.

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Personal experiences have told me Apple and Sony are downright terrible. Never buy Apple unless you want your money gouged, and don't buy Sony unless you want it to break in a year.

I've actually made the full switch to Apple, other than a few compatibility issues for specialized programs (I'm in chemistry), I've found my Mac to be better than my old PC. This goes back to what you asked in the OP. I asked for a lot of opinions, about 80% of the people I knew in my field had made the switch to Macs (at least at UBC, the opposite is true in Toronto I've found) and longevity-wise the general consensus was that for my usage, a Macbook would last me longer than the PCs I was looking into. So based on reliability and longevity, I felt that the extra money I was putting into a new Macbook was worth it. (for comparison, I've used Toshiba and Lenovo in the past, if I were to stay with PC, I would have gone for a higher-end Lenovo which could cost about the same)

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I've actually made the full switch to Apple, other than a few compatibility issues for specialized programs (I'm in chemistry), I've found my Mac to be better than my old PC. This goes back to what you asked in the OP. I asked for a lot of opinions, about 80% of the people I knew in my field had made the switch to Macs (at least at UBC, the opposite is true in Toronto I've found) and longevity-wise the general consensus was that for my usage, a Macbook would last me longer than the PCs I was looking into. So based on reliability and longevity, I felt that the extra money I was putting into a new Macbook was worth it. (for comparison, I've used Toshiba and Lenovo in the past, if I were to stay with PC, I would have gone for a higher-end Lenovo which could cost about the same)

I completely disagree. Not only are Mac's overpriced, but they do nothing more if not less than PC's. They have no useful exclusive software (PC does), and in my personal experience being a PC and Mac owner, I would suggest PC to everybody.

As you said, for your field of work, a Mac may very well be more useful to you. But not for me. I am a much more casual computer user. I've invested $175 in my laptop PC total, and I like it better than my mom's $1200 mac book pro, which after 3 years is already starting to break down. It runs, downloads and starts up/turns off faster than her Mac.

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