What Barbara wants, Barbara gets!

[geti-titanium]

How about this for a thread starter?

What is more important to you in everyday life, price or quality? With regard to jewellery - Many beads are mass produced, does that make them poor quality though compared to a lot on here that are hand made?

Does the thought that somebody else may have the same thing as you put you off buying it and does a brands success also signal the start of its demise?

In everyday life do you look for the cheapest option every time or do you buy less and spend more on an item to try and get a better quality product?

Over to you.

[geti-titanium]

I have to go and do my shopping now - Do I go to a]Asda, b]Morrisons, c]Sainsbury's or d]M&S? -

X DUH DURRR Our survey said - c]Sainsbury's

[bustagasket]

its a little bit of both with me. I am a devil for quality but i wont pay a rediculous sum for it, I am not lured by a "designer name" either, i either like something or i dont, and unfortunatey the stuff i like generally has a rotten price tag attached, and so then my sensible head takes over and i will step away and just dream about it.

I am not overly worried about someone having the same thing as me if i have bought it in the high street as that is just the nature of it. But be it multi made or individual, what matters most to me is whther i like it or not.

[lesley]

Quality every time for me - quality even smells good.
If I can't afford it I can't afford it.

The, it's 10 times more expensive because of the name thing really gets on my wotsits.

[caroleallen]

I like a bargain but only if I really really like it. I won't buy anything just 'cos it's cheap. Depends on what we're talking about really. If it's something practical, I don't mind cheap but if it's something I'm buying to make me feel good and I'm going to look at it every day like a piece of art or furniture then it has to be beautiful.

[Petal]

I share Lesley's view. Quality every time and if I really want something that I like and costs a bit more, then I'll wait and get it when I can afford it. (If I can still remember what I wanted!). My mum-in-law has a saying, "if you buy cheap, you buy twice" and she's right - damn her.

I do have a problem with this quality idea though and that is that a lot of things are not made to last. They are made to fall apart, so that we are sucked into buying the same item again. Phones, TV's, PC's Washing Machines etc the list goes on. Now THAT really annoys me - built in obsolescence. (That's a long word for a Sunday)!

xx

[geti-titanium]

a lot of things are not made to last. They are made to fall apart

Very true - I bought a laser printer recently and when the toner needed replacing, the new toner cost more than the original printer so I bought another printer, what a waste!

Making thing cheaply is also adding to the destruction of the planet (Oh no , not that old chestnut! ) They don't last as long so we buy more of them, so depleting the world's resources faster - and then getting rid of the unwanted worn out items is also adding to the equation.

[Di Sandland]

environment and ecology aside...

Quality for me, hands down, every time. If I think I have a 'one-off' that gets my vote too. I hate mass production and I detest the label culture. I have two sons - one, like me, appreciates quality; the other one is a dyed in the wool chav. We'll learn 'im!

[Solunar Silver Studio]

OOooo...fame at last!! My name..not once but twice...in a thread title!!

Me....I'm an official 'second hand Rose' .... right down to the husband!! It's not that I'm not fussy about what I have... I know what I like and won't have what I don't. Funds have always been short in my life - so I am used to deferred pleasure - and I will happily wait for what I want to become 'reduced to clear' or turn up at a car boot sale! I never impulse buy and will research to find the best deals!

As for 'built in obsolescence', I think people are so geared to wanting the newest, highest spec item available that they will discard what they already have without a second thought - simply because it is no longer fashionable. Take mobile phones....I still have the Nokia 3330 I inherited from my daughter about 8 years ago...she has gone on to have an updated one every year since but my phone seems to be indestructable!! If she had kept it herself she would have saved herself thousands!!

I think this also applies to jewellery to some extent. Big, chunky, statement pieces are all the fashion at the moment and white metals are 'the thing' - but it won't be long before the fashions change and even the most loved pieces of jewellery (even quality crafted precious metal and gem pieces) will end up at the back of the jewellery box!! Fashion is just far too fickle! And an awful lot of people happily follow wherever it leads!!

[Boo]

I have very mixed feelings on this and am completely contradictory - it depends entirely on what we're talking about - breakfast cereal is a whole different ball game than a washing machine.

For example, a little after I got married 27 years ago our first machine cost me £242 - £210 and £32 for delivery - it was a significant purchase at the time, the most expensive thing in the house. Over half a month's salary - and I was very well paid in those days. It lasted almost 20 years - I only let it go then as a part needed couldn't be sourced - I'd had it under a service contract throughout. Since then, I've had 2 machines - the current one cost £199 delivered - so a similar price to the first - but clearly a lot less in real terms now. After 4 years it's playing up and going to need repairing - but I can replace it new for £179. That is probably more economic sense, but clearly not very green or responsible. I'd rather save and pay a lot more for a machine that would last me another 20 years - if one could even be had. I'm still using my 15 year old laser printer.

But I'm equally very happy to buy a huge box (100% extra free) of honey nut cornflakes in Aldi yesterday for 99p, for the other half. I use their washing liquid, washing up liquid and most of my household staples. Since we've been shopping there regularly, we've saved over £100 a month on basics. And they're every bit as good as the well known brands, in many cases, better.

Designer 'fashion' labels are a real turn off for me - very often their name is all you're buying, they're rarely synonymous with quality. Yet I like particular brands/marques for things like hiking boots - and watches. I'm sitting here in a £6 catalogue denim shirt (a man's one at that), along with a TAG Heuer watch and 1 carat of diamonds in my engagement ring - both of which I've been gardening in all day. They're both expensive, but built to withstand such wear - I wear them for everything.

So I have absolutely no idea what all that means. I like quality, I like uniqueness, but I like a bargain too. Expensive doesn't necessarily equate to quality, but the converse is true too.