Recently I was standing by myself in the shampoo aisle at the local drug store (it’s amazing that they have a whole aisle just for shampoo). I saw something that just made me start to laugh out loud. People were staring to stare at me, and I began to wonder if they were going to call the guys with white coats to haul me away for ‘observation‘. But I had seen my favorite brand of shampoo. My favorite brand of shampoo is any shampoo that costs a $1 a bottle, which is what made me laugh. I realized that my favorite brand is whatever brand costs a $1.
There is a real savings lesson in that. We get very brand conscious at times. Sometimes there is a difference with brands. Mrs. Fields cookies are a lot better than Chips Ahoy. But shampoo? Most are pretty much the same thing, but can differ in price by many dollars.
Ah, now your eyes are starting to glaze over. Save a few bucks on shampoo? So what? But I’m not just talking about low priced cheap stuff. You can spend $1,000 on a pair of Jimmy Choo men’s loafers, or get something very similar from Johnston Murphy for $150. You can buy a new Mercedes V8 for $80,000, or spend $25,000 on a similarly luxurious 2007 Infiniti M45 for $25,000 (yeah, it‘s off a lease, but c‘mon, another $55,000?). Jewelry is particularly crazy. Only a jeweler with a loupe can tell the difference between a $200 diamond from the jewelry mart and $2,000 diamond from Tiffany’s. And please, don’t get me started about wrist watches.
Think about the brands you buy. Why do you buy them? Because they are truly superior? Or because you’ve been sold on the idea of superiority? Next time you are buying something, think about what you’d be willing to pay if the company logo was covered up. Then maybe your favorite brand of shampoo will be the same as mine, the one that costs $1.