Procurement

Shopping for Business Bargains

Written by Rodney Miller for Gaebler Ventures

This article discusses getting what you pay for when you incur business expenses. We examine when you should shop for bargains and when it instead makes sense to spend the extra money for the quality products.

We have all heard the saying, "You get what you pay for."

But how true is that statement? With big box stores, and supercenters becoming the standard for money saving, it seems that you lose the personal touch. Is that what you are not getting when saving money, or is it the quality of products that suffers?

If you have shopped at one of the world dominating supercenters or big box stores lately, you have probably noticed a lack of expertise from the employees in the specific department. The days of an electronics expert in a department store who is trained, willing, and able to assist you in your decision are all but gone. In fact, in the spirit of saving money themselves, the majority of these stores offer no formal training about what a product does, what it is, or the difference in models.

Yet they are expected to sell these items. It is understandable that these stores are only paying the minimum that they can get away with, but if their service is not as good will it prevent us from shopping there? Obviously it is not, since these stores are becoming the norm as opposed to the exception to shopping now. So when talking about getting less for what you pay for it seems that this only applies to the customer.

This is an important lesson for an employer to remember. If your product or service offers something that customers will need or want no matter how they are treated, within reason, then should you pay for higher quality employees or take what you can afford? This is a hard question, one that needs to be made on an individual basis.

But does the quality of the items suffer when you purchase at a lower price point?

In my opinion this depends on the situation and purpose of the purchase. If a business owner is purchasing a piece of equipment that will be pushed to its limits, then maybe it would be wise to invest in higher quality. If they are purchasing an item say for decoration and that item will never be moved or touched, this may be a great place in which you could save some cash flow and go cheap.

But what about the individual?

If a consumer is purchasing an electronic device or even a piece of clothing, be sure it is not a model that is specifically made for these discount stores. If it is, then the quality will most likely be sacrificed in order to meet the price needs of the distributor and end seller.

All in all, with mass production and global markets today, quality of most consumer items seems to be standardized. However, we may be missing out on that all important service aspect I like to call the human touch.

Rodney Miller is an experienced entrepreneur who likes to write about entrepreneurship. He has started numerous businesses, including a tanning salon and a landscaping company. Rodney is currently studying business management at Park University.

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