Quality versus price. Different perspectives To understand better the fact of what we are supposed to talk about, we need to understand first the terms. What does it mean quality, and what does it mean price? Price is the sum or amount of money or its equivalent for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale. According to these definitions, we can see the connection between these two terms. The first thing that I’ve found out in economics was: man has unlimited needs and limited resources. With quality and price, the common factor is the need. Man is buying because he wants to satisfy his need.
In order to do that, the product bought needs to have some characteristics. Because of the limited budget, people have to decide how to find in a product the right what they need. One can choose a product over another, just because the other one is red. Everything counts, the price and the quality. Do Price and Quality go hand in hand? We know that they don’t, but as consumers, we aren’t always rational. When lacking other information, our minds have been conditioned to take the mental shortcut. Higher price equals higher quality. In our days, our thinking is that if the product is expensive, the product has a high quality.
But, unfortunately, this isn’t necessary true. A product can be cheaper that another one and in the same time better than it. I heard a lot the next phrase:” i don’t hesitate to spend money when I have the feeling that what i am getting is good”. I can say that sometimes I’ve said the same thing, but in the same time i can remember some situation in which I’ve paid a lot of money but the product wasn’t what i expected to be. This is the problem. You give a lot of money for something that should be good, but in at least 30% of cases, you could buy for the same amount of money, better quality product.
The second problem in my opinion is that people buy items that they don’t really need, just because they are expensive. A perfect product should be one that embraces in the same time your true needs and your budget. To explain better this idea, I’ve found a very good example: Scenario: Barry was getting frustrated with his new clients, Jim and Elizabeth Welch. Even though Barry prides himself on building a quality home, it seems like everything he suggested for their new custom home wasn’t good enough. When Barry proposed a painted stock three-piece crown, they wanted a stained oak custom five-piece crown.
He recommended a Viking 48-inch stainless steel range: they thought a Gaggenau double oven with a 48-inch separate cooktop would be better. He suggested granite countertops, they wanted DupontZodiaq quartz surfacing. Barry picked Moen faucets, but they chose Grohe. Because these were relatively affluent buyers, and because Barry believes in giving his customers what they want, he priced out all their requests and then was amazed when the Welches complained that the cost of the house now exceeded their budget. “But that’s what they cost,” Barry said. You could have saved $5,000 by going with the Viking instead of the Gaggenau, but I priced it according to what you said you wanted. ” “What about the moldings? ” Jim asked.
“They cost three times what you estimated for the painted trim. ” “That’s because you wanted clear oak, not finger-jointed pine. And the labor is twice as expensive for stained trim over painted. ” “We want the best,” Jim stated. “What’s wrong with that’? ” “Nothing,” Barry replied. “As long as you don’t mind paying what it costs. ” “I don’t mind paying for quality,” Jim retorted. But this is highway robbery. ” “What kind of car do you drive’? ” Barry asked. “I drive a Lexus. My wife drives a BMW,” Jim replied. “But what does that have to do with anything? ” “Why don’t you drive a Rolls-Royce? ” “$150,000 is more than I want to pay for an automobile. It just isn’t worth it. ” “Exactly,” Barry told him. “While the Rolls-Royce is an excellent car, the Lexus represents a better value to you. That’s what I was trying to do with your house. I was trying to give you Lexus-quality appliances and materials while keeping your costs within your budget.
But because this is your house, and I wanted you to be happy in it, I priced out all the options you requested, even though I knew they might not be the best value. I’d be happy putting them in for you, but I’m not sure you’d be happy paying for them. ” Quality and prices do well if both are contain in one product. There is a product that have high price, the quality is guarantee and cheap prices where quality is sacrifices. A wise buyer look up in two strategy buying quality products not too price high but it is affordable and the quality is remarkable.
Of course all of us buy an item because of the first impression we notice upon seeing it. Then we inspect and decide if it is what we need. Sometimes even it is not really need; we buy some products due to being impulsive which is undesirable behavior. We should think before we buy. I buy products based on the two factors, the quality and the price of the products. I prioritize in selecting products which I badly need and not really matter if the price is high or low. I seek for the quality and for longevity of a product.
As a consumer, I am after the quality of the products and I hope I am not like any buyer who sacrifice quality and choose the low prices products, or vice versa. In conclusion, we should buy high quality products, but this doesn’t mean that we should pay a lot of money in order to have this products. Just be careful when you choose a product.
Bibliography:
- http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/quality. html
- http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/price
- http://www. customhomeonline. com/industrynews. asp? sectionID=205&articleID=158292
