Researching an item before Purchase

[Sith_Apprentice]

Why is it that so many people have no clue whatsoever in what they are purchasing? you would think that no matter what you are buying, you would at least have some idea of what you would want the object to do. I wouldnt purchase an Ananlog TV and expect it to be able to play HD broadcasts. I may be way off base here, but it seems that more and more people are purchasing things based on looks and THEN finding out whatever they bought doesnt do what they want. Am I alone in this? Does anyone else here research purchases before they actually spend money?

This doesnt have to relate to any particular item, more of a general observation from many years in sales, sales management, sales training, etc. I am also going to move my own post from OT to R/R

[John Clark]

Always amazes me.

[Sci-Tek]

Doing research before buying is always a great idea, however many don't know that they can do it and just go to the store and buy the first and best thing that looks like what they want.

Products not meeings demands is a common issue..

When I buy new things like TV I kinda go off the price, if its cheap its gotta be a reason behind it. If its to expensive I would look at the possibility to check other places for the same TV.

For computers its a bit different, I've worked for HP for 3 years so I try to contact my old colleagues and ask if they've had many issues with that laptop. (I don't have the room for a desktop computer at home).

But my view is that a lot of sales rep are not to be trusted, it seems like they want to get rid of old products and sell them to good thinking old people.. :p
A good example for that is: WLAN access points

[TBOLTRAM]

Trouble is that even if you do research you can still find that what you buy is not what you thought it was due to "fuzziness" of information. Prime example is the GPS function on Verizon 8830. (No flames please.)

Real question is where can you get acurate information on various items. I read Consumer Reports and figure that they are about 85% trustworthy. I also check on other sources but at some point who do you believe?

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by TBOLTRAM

Trouble is that even if you do research you can still find that what you buy is not what you thought it was due to "fuzziness" of information. Prime example is the GPS function on Verizon 8830. (No flames please.)

Real question is where can you get accurate information on various items. I read Consumer Reports and figure that they are about 85% trustworthy. I also check on other sources but at some point who do you believe?

TBolt I wont flame but the is a ridiculous statement.

The information is clear on the carriers site. Its when you look at information from aftermarket sellers that get you in trouble or you listen to a sales person who has worked for the company for 2 weeks after loosing their job as a fry cook at McDonald's.


And to the person who says they didnt know they can research that has to be the most silly response I have ever seen. How can people not know they can research an item with the web so easily available thats just silly.

I switched to Verizon last year. With about 10 clicks of the mouse I found out VZW crippled the GPS that didnt bother me as I already have GPS in my vehicles. And dont come back with they dont know where to look google serves up some very quality research about Verizon from the consumers point of view.

[ndub33]

I do the research regarding "does this thing do what I want it to?". Where it gets fuzzy is when you ask "Does it do it well?".

Sadly, I think Sith is right-a lot of people buy on impulse, without thinkng about functionality. A good salesperson will attempt to educate, but often if the consumer's mind is set on something they saw on TV, that education is in vain.

[mriff]

I do research for days before buying an item. Drives my wife crazy. A recent purchase was a Garmin Nuvi 660. I knew that device like the back of my hand before I even received it. I like doing the research part of it.

On the other hand, I have been known for the occassional impulse buy. The last one of those was a Philips 42" LCD flat panel. It was one of those 'last in stock' items. The Best Buy guy said 'Give it to you for one kilobuck'. I said 'Sold'. Got lucky there, since it's very nice.

You'll notice that I do carry an 8830. Mandatory with my company. If not, I'd have an 8820.

[ezrunner]

Days? Shoot took me 5 months to buy my last car! I research then ask actual users of item I am looking to get. Then hit up the internet and forums for that product. I am never in such a hurry to get something that I can't research first

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by ezrunner

Days? Shoot took me 5 months to buy my last car! I research then ask actual users of item I am looking to get. Then hit up the internet and forums for that product. I am never in such a hurry to get something that I can't research first

Thats me my wife says I am OCD about research. I just have to know everything prior to purchasing.

I jumped into my first marriage with out research and I got burned so I will never make a commitment again with out knowing an item inside and out. I am the same way with People I meet.

[test54]

i do the same thing, I've been looking to buy a new laptop for about 3 weeks now. Everything I buy over about $100 I do all the research I can, everything from cables on TVs to Cars as Ez said. Cannot imagine not doing the research.

[ndub33]

Originally Posted by Dawg

Thats me my wife says I am OCD about research. I just have to know everything prior to purchasing.

I jumped into my first marriage with out research and I got burned so I will never make a commitment again with out knowing an item inside and out. I am the same way with People I meet.

Man, that is pretty much the ultimate "buyer's remorse". I don't blame ya.

[Demon]

I have friends/family that say I blow my money and buy whatever I want impulsively . What they don't know is that everything I buy is thoroughly researched before I buy it in terms of features and price (not just on phones, but large purchases in general). I don't understand the people that buy random things and then complain that they don't do what they want it to or that they paid too much for it. If these people take even just 10 minutes they can find the information to make an informed decision on a purchase. I would much rather read threads on here about a person asking questions prior to buying a Blackberry, than threads complaining that their Blackberry doesn't do what they want it to.

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by Demon

I would much rather read threads on here about a person asking questions prior to buying a Blackberry, than threads complaining that their Blackberry doesn't do what they want it to.

AMEN.....

[Sith_Apprentice]

unfortunately we seem to sometimes have more comaplaints than anything else. Its also funny that noone has marked they buy based on looks, but many products are designed simply based on the way they look rather than functionality.

[RelicAte]

Ha ha. Case in point. I just hope that most "average joes" are following (or at least are aware of) the format war between HD-DVD and BluRay. I'd hate to have walked into an electronics store recently and bought an HD-DVD player on impulse because the price of said equipment was that much cheaper than a BluRay player. RIP HD-DVD!

If this doesn't make a case for researching and understanding what you're buying, then I don't know what does.

[ezrunner]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Originally Posted by Sith_Apprentice

unfortunately we seem to sometimes have more comaplaints than anything else. Its also funny that noone has marked they buy based on looks, but many products are designed simply based on the way they look rather than functionality.

Why would we check based on looks!

We are smart intelligent BB using men!

Now if we were women we would check looks! *razz* just kiddin ladies

[MtnBikerChk]

Originally Posted by ezrunner

[size=1]

Now if we were women we would check looks! *razz* just kiddin ladies

NICE

in my house, I'm the research NAZI. My husband is the impluse buyer.

research?
gps - yep
hd tv - yep
BB - yep

I do so much research and asking and checking that I drive everyone nuts. But they love me!

oh and I'm a gadget freak

[daphne]

Oh, yeah. I do a lot of research before making any big purchase. I spent about 3 months researching desktop PCs before I bought my last one. By then I knew exactly what I wanted and waited for it to be sale and got a killer deal. I researched the BBs quite a lot before buying one as well.

[TeritaM]

I only research jewelry and handbags. my last few big purchases were made:

because he was cute (my dog)
because it matches my phone (camera)
because I have mental issues (curve)
because its so pretty and small (laptop)

so far so good though, sites like this help a person like me who gets the new toy home and is then like ok now what.