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Smart Shopper... or Not (Day 540)

Shopping is such a time-consuming chore. Especially if you want to be a "smart shopper."

I have close friends who are "bang-for-the-buck shoppers." They subscribe to the daily deal sites, read the fine-prints for deals. Compare shop and read all the feature details and reviews.

That's all good. The thing is that these guys are making very good money from their jobs. They would spend hours researching and finding deals for saving a few bucks. Even if it's low 3-digit savings, they made way more than that in an hour. Unless it's a big ticket item that'll have impact for a long time. For most consumer products the difference is negligible.

The even more puzzling phenom is that sometimes they would go for a more bang-for-the-bucks product than what they really "want." As a result, they are getting an inferior replacement when they can afford what they want.

I am content to be a dumb consumer. But I will consult my friends for features recommendation and product selection and deal info, lol.

After I finally got back to the gym, I started to shoot some hoops again. But all I have are running shoes, and I want to get a pair of basketball sneakers to protect my ankle better. So I started browsing and found out there are simply too many choices, and it's such a time-consuming process to understand the features and differences between different models.

So I asked my basketball buddie. After listening to my requirements, he gave me two simple criteria: get high ankle basketball shoes and not go for expensive ones as these will get damaged from scrimmages. He also told me that he hates to tie shoelaces, then he recommended the model that satisfies all his criteria.

Voilà, problem solved! He also told me the key maintenance tip: do not wear them outside of the basketball courts, as dirt from the streets makes the shoes slippery, increasing the risk of injury.

Total time spent: only a few minutes!

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