Friday 12 September 2008

Does a Higher Price Tag = Better Quality?

Last weekend my hair straightener broke (for the second time! Grrr). I like to think that I’m not a very vain person but this was devastating – mainly b/c I had already blow-dried my hair before finding out which then left me with fizzy BIG hair and no tools to tame it. My warranty had expired and I was left to fend for myself. After much deliberation I hesitantly bought the best of the best (as far as hair straighteners go) a ghd ceramic hair straightener.

It finally arrived on Wednesday and I couldn’t be happier!! It’s beautifully designed, works like magic, not only in that it can straighten my hair in seconds but that it gets rid of my fly-aways as well. Also, did I mention it heats up the minute it’s turned on? Oh it does, there’s no more waiting around for this girl. Now that I’m a happy camper this got me thinking, why didn’t just buy it in the first place and save myself the hassle? Well I know the reason, the price tag. I couldn’t justify spending £100 (that’s $200 for you lovely Canadians) on a hair straightener.

Price is a very important aspect to any item’s ‘marketing’ campaign. A product or service’s price can determine the consumers’ perceived value for the item rather than the actual value. If something is marked too low we don’t want to buy it for fear of it being ‘cheap’ or poor quality. And if it’s over priced we’re not willing to pay for it because we don’t want to get ripped off. The pricing game is a tricky business…

A higher price doesn’t necessarily always mean good quality but where do you draw the line? This is where price comparison sites like Money Supermarket come into play. It’s a great way to feel the marketplace before you buy those higher ticketed items. Know the market before you spend your hard earned bucks. Read reviews and make sure what you’re buying is good quality – most online stores like BestBuy and Amazon have readers’ reviews.

My mother always said you can buy something that’s cheap but if it’s not good quality then you’ll end up spending twice as much in the long run. And you know what she’s right (she’s very wise my mother), and now my hair will reap the benefits! My wallet on the other hand…..

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