You Get What You Pay For

frosty

I think we all make some mistakes,but as long as we learn from them thats what counts.I have learnt not to buy cheap products like coffee,loo rolls,washing up liquid ect,the cheap coffee was awful so I mixed it with Nescafe so it wasnt wasted,the washing up liquid was mixed half and half with fairy.My husband and I went to a lost and found police auction the other day,we were amazed what people will pay for things ,an Alba DVD player went for £35.00 ,DVD players are so cheap to buy,these people had no idea if theirs was working or not.Boxes of toiletries going for £25.00,if they visited the pound shops they could of purchased twice as much.We all make mistakes so try not to be so hard on yourself:A

tesuhoha

It was OHs idea to buy the drill second hand from ebay to save money but now hes saying hes never going to buy anything from there again because you cant rely on it. He never buys power tools from B&Q, he mostly researches stuff on the internet and buys everything at the cheapest price but usually new. Ill take the tip about Lidls and suggest it to him. I actually disagree about the loo rolls, no ones ever complained about the cheapo ones in this house. But I wont buy cheap coffee, cos no one drinks it. I usually pick up socks and underwear for OH as he works 6 very long days a week, sometimes 7 and Sunday is his one day for relaxing which means doing the garden, jobs round the house and catching up with sleep in front of the telly. I am going to write a 'nice' letter to Barclays asking for our £60 back. The reason i pay off the ccs first is that our overdraft rate is not bad and our cards which are all on 0%, will come to the end of their introductory offers quite soon. As you all say it is trial and error; i just have to keep on hacking away at the debt and doing my best to cut back.

tesuhoha

By the way he wouldnt mind Primark socks if they were comfortable as he wears Primark jeans all the time but he has to wear them inside work boots as he works on site as a plumber.

tina68

jackieb wrote:

Did your OH know that you had bought them from Primark? Some people have pre-conceived ideas of what they will like and what they won't. My OH says he only likes a certain type of coffee. When he saw i'd bought the equivelant Tesco's brand he said he didn't like it. Now, when I buy it I just decant it into a Douwe Egbert jar and he doesn't complain. :rolleyes:

ha ha..i do that..my son has a thing about cheap goods too..i used to keep carrier bags from clothes that he's bought and i'd nip into primark and buy his jeans and leave them on his bed in his carrier he never new the difference..don't do it now as he's working and i'm not..also reduced food chiller..get home take the sticker off and freeze it..he will learn when he leaves home:rotfl:
Tina x

beverleyhills

As a tradesman OH needs the best tools to do the job which is the main source of your income. Generally he seems to have a sensible approach towards replacing them. He has discovered that buying secondhand, sight unseen was false economy.

Also the comfort of his feet in his workboots is important. It sounds as though he likes a high percentage of natural fibre in his socks. My DH does; we buy the same colour and match up odd ones when required, We managed to keep some going for years. DH has complained that he has had some for far too long. Unfortunately M&S do change them from time to time.You could try buying different socks for him to try at the weekends to see if there are any he likes.

It's just trial and error.

taplady

tesuhoha wrote:

By the way he wouldnt mind Primark socks if they were comfortable as he wears Primark jeans all the time but he has to wear them inside work boots as he works on site as a plumber.

I have to sympathise a bit with your OH regarding the socks as my Oh is on his feet a lot and if he wears cheap socks he knows about it at the end of the day. He wears non-elastic ones which are about £4 a pair but wears them like your Oh until they're really thin so we get our moneys worth in the end.As has already been said some cheap things are a false economy and you get to find out by trial and error about which is which.

tesuhoha

Another false economy; I went to a cheap local hairdressers last time. I normally have my hair cut every 6-8 weeks because it becomes frizzy otherwise but now after only 4 weeks because of the bad cut i got I have to go to my usual hairdresser. I will take the advice regarding the socks. Also I have written a very nice reasonable letter to the bank manager today asking for my charges back. I have found this has worked in the past. (Probably because they realise they are unfair),

Glitterari

You could try and get the M&S socks off ebay - I'll bet you'll find some on there brand new and for less than in the shop, esp if the seller has more than one lot to sell and you can stock up and save on P&P.

As for the charges, you've already said you'll ask for them back which is good. Just sounds like you didn't budget properly which is what caused them, so take another look at that budget and if it's right then try to stick to it better! But you're still learning, so you will make mistakes from time to time.

Also - power tools - I beleive Robert Dyas does them and they often have a sale on with a good reduction (sometimes more than 50%) so you could take a look you might get a really good offer on a really good brand and one which will hopefully have a long guarantee. I personally wouldn't buy something off ebay if it was for my job and helped me make money and it was something that could break down.

C xxx

Claire_DC

jackieb wrote:

Did your OH know that you had bought them from Primark? Some people have pre-conceived ideas of what they will like and what they won't. My OH says he only likes a certain type of coffee. When he saw i'd bought the equivelant Tesco's brand he said he didn't like it. Now, when I buy it I just decant it into a Douwe Egbert jar and he doesn't complain. :rolleyes:

Haha, I was going to say along those lines too.

Dr.Lou

LOL - I always wear my hubbys socks (he is a size 11, me size 4.5)....don't really notice the difference! I'd just put them in my sock drawer if I had that problem so they were not wasted, or give them to your son/daughter.

There are things that are a bit of a false economy....I think sometimes its worth trying the next brand down to what your used to, and see if you like it...if so continue buying it and you save a load over the next year. If not just put it down to experience.