Earlier in the summer, I bought a pair of sunglasses at Aeropostale. They were clearance, so I paid $2.99. I don’t give myself much credit for being frugal, but a good deal is a good deal.
They broke last week. Shocker. That’s what I get for buying sunglasses that cost less than a Happy Meal. Yes, they were in my pocket when they broke and yes, maybe sitting on them caused the destruction. The world will never know. I wanted to replace them before Operation EuroTrip started. But how much to spend? Another $2.99 pair would be asking for trouble. I’d probably get off the plane holding fragments of plastic.
I went back to Aeropostale to see if they had any left, thinking I may buy another pair that was I don’t know, $10 or $20. They had nothing. I walked through Macy’s and found a pair of Oakley’s that I liked. Of course I did. Price – $110.00. But they were on sale & the cashier girl said I’d also save an extra 25% thanks to their store wide sale going on. I have always wanted a pair of Oakley’s, so the decision to buy them wasn’t exactly hard.
I’ve been wearing them for a week now and I gotta say, I do really like them. Not regretting the purchase, but I still don’t know if I should have bought them. I can afford them – I didn’t take on any debt and I still have something like $2,000 in savings. And Google just sent me my 1st Adsense check. But when I say it like that, it sounds like I’m justifying something I shouldn’t need to.
The point I’m attempting to make is: How do you know when you should buy something high quality versus replacing cheap but shitty items? Even at $80, which is cheap by Oakley standards. In a place I call “me in 5 years”, I’d have 2 pairs of these: http://www.oakley.com/products/4673/25152. One prescription, one not. Because some days I don’t want to wear my contacts, but I also want to wear sunglasses while I run/drive. I know, I know, I have the definition of a 1st world problem.
So…should I have worked harder to find another $2.99 pair?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I find in most cases, higher quality products last longer. Although my sunglasses are prescription, the frames have lasted much longer than the cheaper versions. Higher quality is not always expensive either.
For things like sunglasses and shoes, I always buy quality even if they are a significantly more expensive than the alternatives. I end up keeping them (and enjoying them) 5-10x longer than I would something inexpensive.