Why are so many people such poor consumers?

Question

As a business person who provides products and service, I am regularly amazed, frustrated and ultimately disenchanted by how many potential and actual customers of mine haven't a clue as to how to calculate an intelligent/knowledgeable purchase or repair. It seems as though it is far too frequently about saving an immediate dime rather than determining the best overall or longterm cost of things. Any ideas? I cannot understand this line of reasoning and believe me, I have tried.

OK, Kevinstud makes a good point, so I need to clarify. I have on MANY occassions witnessed these customers spend more (often a lot more) in the relatively short term because of their cheapness or failure to keep their minds open to education in the first place. In other words, the old addage about "pay now or pay more later" rings very true. I learned this lesson personally years ago, yet there remain those who are even older than me who still haven't put two and two together. And I am not being arrogant or even claim to know "all that is going on," but suffice it to say that it is clear that these people don't seem value things with a modicum of business sense even though they are often in business. They also seem to have short-term memory because I have seen the same mistake repeated.

Answer 1

This is a tough one. You have to be really good at explaining "lifetime costs" to customers.

If you buy a TV that lasts 30 years, you will only need to buy 2 in your lifetime probably.

If the TV lasts 2 years, you will need to buy 30 TVs....

No one ever gets this....

Answer 2

How do you know they're poor consumers? The world doesn't revolve around you -- your point of view is focused on your self and your own needs. Unlike you, they know what else is going on in their own lives and can weigh your benefits versus the costs to them. They are smarter than you give them credit for, but in any event looks like you failed to make your case, didn't you?

And to the above TV example -- that's stupid. Who wants a 30 year old TV? Someone suckered into buying a "30 year TV" 10 or 12 years ago would be pretty pissed off by today with widescreen HDTV's needing 8 video ports, huh?

Answer 3

People are lazy and can´t be bothered. People are overloaded with consumer messages every day at an increasing rate. This messes with people´s reasoning. People want instant gratification. People don´t buy products and services, they buy feelings. They will buy any old junk for a hit of good feeling in their vacuous consumer lives. They don´t want things that last, they want stuff that breaks so they get the good feeling of buying a new one sooner.