So when you drop a wad of cash down on a product how much research and energy do you put into it?

Example when I was younger Oakley sunglasses was what all the cool kids had. When I got out of school I bought a couple pair. One of which was extremely nice. I had an issue and the hoops Oakley expected me to jump through was unheard of to fix my $300 pair of sunglasses. So I did research and settled on Costa Del Mars. I own two pair and love their customer service and products.

I just spent the last two months researching coolers. After a trip bear hunting and taking a huge 5 day cooler for in case I got a brute, we packed another cooler for stuff we needed for the trip for our son. Not exactly a high dollar cooler, I think I picked it up for like $30 when I was in college. It's good for beach trips or fishing. So I got to thinking I need a Yeti or RTIC. From Thanksgiving until the end of Christmas I read reports, watched countless videos, and read tons of reviews on Yeti, RTIC, Grizzly, K2, Pelican, etc. Finally settled on an Orca cooler. Lifetime warranty and made in America we're the big selling points along with price and when I contacted them about what they had in stock, they gave me a 20% discount code that can be used even on coolers on sale. So I pulled the trigger.

Am I the only one that does this or do others go in depth and check things out. I even do it on vehicles.

I do a lot of this also. Those coolers you mentioned I think some are expensive so that is smart. Do a lot of this prior to new vacation spots, getting the best rooms, close to the beach, resort with ala carte restaurants no upgrade needed to eat there, good gym? etc.

I am more of an impulse buyer, but you'd never find me impulsively buying a $300 cooler.

I also spend about a year looking into cars. Bought a Honda Accord, with the cherry being the damn good price I got on it. Finally, I feel like I screwed the dealer instead of vice versa!

I like hreads like these. I also like the non solicited part of your reviews. I researched trucks last year. GTS mentioned the Mazda B series a couple of years back? I just looked at well reviewed mid size trucks and the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado came back with high scores. Let the dealership know and I walked out a couple of times and then he called me after Thanksgiving with a price 6000 dollars lower than their last BEST offer. All I can say is NEVER buy on the first time there. That’s the biggest lesson I can give anybody. 9 Times out of 10 they will do better on the call back.

Little life lessons. The internet has been a god send to me buying cars. Information is power.

I do a ton of research on large purchases and less as the cost goes down.... though if it is a 'durable' item like a cooler, I tend to do a little more research since I only want to have a few of them and I tend to keep things.

I do this on everything. My wife always accuses me of being cheap and constantly asks me why I just don't buy top of the line stuff.

Sometimes it pays to do your research and buy cheap and sometimes it doesn't.

Most of the time, you get what you pay for.

yep, and yeti cups were one of the latest ones I researched to see what was out there, because yeti's were really expensive. Found a Manna for a small fraction of the price of a yeti. You can fill it with ice cubes and water, and 24 hours later there are still small cubes of ice in the water.

My wife bought me a yeti soft cooler for my birthday. It is a damn good cooler, but I would never have spent that much on a cooler. Hell of a gift though.

I do lots of research for big ticket items.

First congratulations on buying one of the few brands not owned by Luxottica.

Depends on the product and price.

Wife wanted a larger TV and I wanted 4K and I researched it to death before opting to go with a TCL 65 inch with Roku built in. Phenomenal interface. It is the best TV at pulling in OTA signals I've encountered (and that was an unknown from my research).

Since the average HDTV has a screen with a useful life of around 18 to 20 years but something else always breaks making the useful life closer to 3-6 years I opted for the better interface and lower price over a better picture (not that I have any complaint about the picture) figuring that $999 for three years beats $1998 for six years because the chances are the OLED TVs that size (or larger) will be much more competitively priced in three years.

Consumer tech each innovation brings a flurry of improvements and then the pace settles in for a time until the next big break, so I figure go cheap until OLED prices come down.

Same with phones. I have an iPhone 6s and there really haven't been any "must have" upgrades since it came out (when I say must have I mean for me, what is important to you is likely different).

I've already made an appointment to get the $29 battery replacement so I can extend the life of my iPhone a few more years.

(01-10-2018 04:37 PM)JerryJeff Wrote:  My wife bought me a yeti soft cooler for my birthday. It is a damn good cooler, but I would never have spent that much on a cooler. Hell of a gift though.

I do lots of research for big ticket items.

Wife bought air pods for me for Christmas. Like them much more than I ever expected. Based on my expectations, I never would have bought them at the price. Afraid now I'll never own anything but true wireless headphones in the future.

(01-10-2018 04:25 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  I like hreads like these. I also like the non solicited part of your reviews. I researched trucks last year. GTS mentioned the Mazda B series a couple of years back? I just looked at well reviewed mid size trucks and the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado came back with high scores. Let the dealership know and I walked out a couple of times and then he called me after Thanksgiving with a price 6000 dollars lower than their last BEST offer. All I can say is NEVER buy on the first time there. That’s the biggest lesson I can give anybody. 9 Times out of 10 they will do better on the call back.

Several years back I needed a vehicle NOW. Did fast research and settled on a Kia Soul with the intent I'd turn it over to my daughter in three years.

Went to the dealership telling them I wasn't sure I was ready to buy anything. Go through the extended BS and finally asked what they'd sell it for. Usual crapola of this the ultimate very best price. Looked at the offer sheet that was a few hundred bucks under sticker, laughed and put it on the desk and stood up and headed for the door. "Wait where are you going? We can negotiate on that." I laughed and said we are so far apart I'm not going to waste your time. Asked what it'd take to sell it to me today. Threw out a number a couple hundred bucks under the Consumer Reports online guide price. Got them to put it in writing. Then they asked for my social security number and asked why. They were going to get the financing, told them no thanks, I'm writing a check and they looked like they'd been kicked in the nuts.

I'm the over analyze person that will stand in a store and compare 3 products for 30 minutes only to walk out with nothing. My wife, on the other hand buys and then takes back and then re-buys for cheaper.

In fact, if my wife knows that I want something but refuse to buy it, she will often buy it for me. That's how I got my car.

I didn't used to, but after I bought a Black and Pecker drill for real work...let's just say that I overanalyze now.

(01-10-2018 04:37 PM)JerryJeff Wrote:  My wife bought me a yeti soft cooler for my birthday. It is a damn good cooler, but I would never have spent that much on a cooler. Hell of a gift though.

Yetis are a status symbol up on the lake by me. But I'll be damned, they work.

The guide my dad uses to go fishing down in Tampa Bay has what I assume to be the biggest and probably most expensive Yeti (https://www.yeti.com/hard-coolers/tundra...T350W.html) and he hauls it home with him off the boat each night because it would be stolen otherwise.

(01-10-2018 05:08 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  

(01-10-2018 04:37 PM)JerryJeff Wrote:  My wife bought me a yeti soft cooler for my birthday. It is a damn good cooler, but I would never have spent that much on a cooler. Hell of a gift though.

Yetis are a status symbol up on the lake by me. But I'll be damned, they work.

The guide my dad uses to go fishing down in Tampa Bay has what I assume to be the biggest and probably most expensive Yeti (https://www.yeti.com/hard-coolers/tundra...T350W.html) and he hauls it home with him off the boat each night because it would be stolen otherwise.

You're definitely paying for the Yeti name.

(01-10-2018 05:03 PM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  I didn't used to, but after I bought a Black and Pecker drill for real work...let's just say that I overanalyze now.

well there's your problem!

(01-10-2018 05:36 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  

(01-10-2018 05:03 PM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  I didn't used to, but after I bought a Black and Pecker drill for real work...let's just say that I overanalyze now.

well there's your problem!

I know right. Milwaukee all the way now.

(01-10-2018 03:56 PM)gdunn Wrote:  So when you drop a wad of cash down on a product how much research and energy do you put into it?

Example when I was younger Oakley sunglasses was what all the cool kids had. When I got out of school I bought a couple pair. One of which was extremely nice. I had an issue and the hoops Oakley expected me to jump through was unheard of to fix my $300 pair of sunglasses. So I did research and settled on Costa Del Mars. I own two pair and love their customer service and products.

I just spent the last two months researching coolers. After a trip bear hunting and taking a huge 5 day cooler for in case I got a brute, we packed another cooler for stuff we needed for the trip for our son. Not exactly a high dollar cooler, I think I picked it up for like $30 when I was in college. It's good for beach trips or fishing. So I got to thinking I need a Yeti or RTIC. From Thanksgiving until the end of Christmas I read reports, watched countless videos, and read tons of reviews on Yeti, RTIC, Grizzly, K2, Pelican, etc. Finally settled on an Orca cooler. Lifetime warranty and made in America we're the big selling points along with price and when I contacted them about what they had in stock, they gave me a 20% discount code that can be used even on coolers on sale. So I pulled the trigger.

Am I the only one that does this or do others go in depth and check things out. I even do it on vehicles.

Nope, you're not the only one. My wife is the other. Whenever we need something that'll be a little pricey she does somersaults researching the products and trying to find the best deal. That's why we settled on a Subaru Forester. I didn't mind but only if it had Turbo, ohhh, I love my Turbo. I've grown to love it as it's a fine little car. We call it Snoopy because it looks like him.

She's also done it for refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. I don't have the patience. I would just buy whatever I liked.

I can sympathize with the OP, especially for a nice pair of sunglasses. I used to never buy nice ones because I had a tendency to lose them, but after I won some polarized Ray Bans for taking a survey it's funny how you make sure you don't lose them once they become a de facto necessity. When it comes to most shopping I tend to be pretty thrifty, but nothing compares to me grocery shopping; I analyze everything to death just because when CPG food is your job you look at everything at the store in a whole different light.

(01-10-2018 04:47 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-10-2018 04:25 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  I like hreads like these. I also like the non solicited part of your reviews. I researched trucks last year. GTS mentioned the Mazda B series a couple of years back? I just looked at well reviewed mid size trucks and the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado came back with high scores. Let the dealership know and I walked out a couple of times and then he called me after Thanksgiving with a price 6000 dollars lower than their last BEST offer. All I can say is NEVER buy on the first time there. That’s the biggest lesson I can give anybody. 9 Times out of 10 they will do better on the call back.

Several years back I needed a vehicle NOW. Did fast research and settled on a Kia Soul with the intent I'd turn it over to my daughter in three years.

Went to the dealership telling them I wasn't sure I was ready to buy anything. Go through the extended BS and finally asked what they'd sell it for. Usual crapola of this the ultimate very best price. Looked at the offer sheet that was a few hundred bucks under sticker, laughed and put it on the desk and stood up and headed for the door. "Wait where are you going? We can negotiate on that." I laughed and said we are so far apart I'm not going to waste your time. Asked what it'd take to sell it to me today. Threw out a number a couple hundred bucks under the Consumer Reports online guide price. Got them to put it in writing. Then they asked for my social security number and asked why. They were going to get the financing, told them no thanks, I'm writing a check and they looked like they'd been kicked in the nuts.

I'm constantly amazed how in a world where you can talk to someone in Vietnam with the press of a button and access any piece of any information in ten seconds that we still have to barter for cars like we're at a 19th century flea market.

I suppose the automobile industry is one that's been slow to adapt since the extreme cost of investment makes it impossible to allow for online purchases and the car lobby has stifled progress like Tesla, but as self-driving cars get more popular and new blood disrupts the industry you'll probably see some innovation. Hopefully we'll get to the point where it's transparent and the sticker price is the lowest possible price, but that's wishful thinking. It's not too difficult to get a decent deal however if you visit towards the end of the model year end and/or late in the month and do some smart negotiating.