Too Much of a Good Thing
Posted by Gail | Filed under Smart Shopper
Have you ever walked into a store intent on buying something only to be stymied by the array of choices you have. You need a new set of sheets. You can buy polyester sheets, cotton sheets, or Egyptian cotton sheets. You can buy 300, 600, or 1200 thread-count sheets. Never mind the colours and patterns. And you can choose from regular sheets and deep-pocket sheets. OMG!
Whether you’re shopping for tires for your car, cereal for you kids, or paint for you walls, the options available have become so numerous that you can become paralyzed with indecision. Or worse, you make a choice and then spend loads of time beating yourself up because you made the wrong choice. Life was so much simpler when you had to pick between chocolate and vanilla ice cream, wasn’t it?
What cable package should you get? What cell phone plan will work best for you? While we love having choices (remember when Ma Bell was the only telephone option available?), the number of choices we now have may be making our lives far more complicated than necessary. We really need 97 versions of a nail? 67 flavours of tea? 102 versions of shampoo?
Sure, choice is good, within reason. But if all the alternatives available constantly leave us second-guessing our buying decisions, can we ever by happy with the choice we make? And with innovation piling on the choices, can we ever know that the thing we are buying will meet our needs long enough to justify the price we’re paying?
Ever walked into the store to find the product you love discontinued? Or worse, the supplies for the product you love, which still works fine by the way, discontinued? Oy! Manufacturers seem to relish taking away the products we grow attached to so that we have to once again swim in the eddy of choice.
If more choice made us happy, we’d be blissful with all the options we have. But more choice seems to leave us confused and depressed, suffering buyer’s remorse about everything from eggs to electronics. In economic terms it’s called “opportunity cost” and it refers to what you may miss out on when you make one choice over another. In it’s strictest terms, opportunity cost applies only to the next best choice. But in our multiple choice reality, each option available comes with it’s own unique features, which could make it the best option depending on the criteria we’re using to rank those options. Consumers end up feeling a sense of loss not only about the second choice they didn’t take, but all the choices they could have chosen that they took a pass on. The greater the number of options we have, the higher our opportunity cost.
So what’s a shopper to do? How do you get what you need and what you want when you go shopping without twisting yourself into knots about whether you got the best quality and the best deal?
The key is to clearly define what you REALLY want, decide what you’re prepared to give up to get what you want, and then focus your energies on the outcome you’re trying to achieve.
When I was moving into my new place I had to buy new appliances. I needed a stove. I wanted a flat-surface, a self-cleaning oven, and convection as my three top criteria. I was prepared to give up a snappy finish and a whole bunch of other great features. I was entranced by the steam cleaning option, which has turned out to be a pretty worthless feature.. And I’m less than happy with the digital clock because it’s cumbersome to use. But, overall, I’m very happy with the fact that I got the three features I really wanted.
Shopping for my stove was relatively easy. I walked into the store and said what I wanted, and pretty well ignored everything that didn’t fit my criteria. So I didn’t let the salesperson show me anything that was less than what I wanted, and that might distract me from the three things… like a shiny stainless steel finish, or a whiz-bang new cooking feature that might be appealing in the short-term but would confuse the issue when it came time to make the decision.
The overabundance of choice affects more than our decision making when we’re shopping. It seems it is affecting our ability to make a commitment in a whole bunch of areas of our lives. According to Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice:
“What could create larger opportunity costs than choosing one mate and losing the chance to enjoy all the attractive features of other potential spouses? People also stay in their jobs less than half as long, on average, as they did a generation ago. Whereas delaying marriage and avoiding commitment to a particular job would seem to promote self-discovery, this freedom and self-exploration seems to leave many people feeling more lost than found.”
Yup, more choices don’t make us happier. Choices confuse us and leave us unwilling to commit in our attempt to avoid making the wrong choice. In the mean time, we live our lives anticipating regret and unable to enjoy what we do have because maybe we could have done better.
April 19, 2010 at 6:59 am
For ‘big’ choices (e.g. lifestyle, careers, etc.) I imagine I’m on my death bed looking back over the situation – and checking with myself if I have any regrets. That has helped me to learn to ‘drop it’ at the end of the work day and focus on other parts of my life (like cooking, art-making, being with loved ones) versus being a workaholic.
For smaller choices – like which stove to buy, etc. I ask myself these questions:
1. Do I want it?
2. Will I use it?
3. Do I need it
Sometimes I weigh the above criteria up to + 10 to – 10….and like you, I ask myself what are my requirements for my situation.
April 19, 2010 at 7:34 am
I’d have to disagree with Barry Schwartz that we avoid commitment to a job today than we did a generation ago. I’d say it started with companies today avoiding commitment to their workers – either through poor pay or selling the store to a multinational who lays everyone off and moves production to some other lower wage economy. When a company doesn’t have a commitment to its workers, why should workers stay with them long-term?
April 19, 2010 at 7:38 am
I tend to get stuck in runts I hate making big choices. I hate having to change the way I do things. I perfer to keep using the same shaving cream and razor even if there are new “better” options. I still have a big boxy TV, no flat screen for me.
For me choice is an annoyance I tend to avoid.
regards,
Jason
April 19, 2010 at 7:47 am
I have found that good, reliable products that I liked and used were discontinued, or worse yet, changed and brought into the realm of ‘new and improved’. And almost 90% of the time, for me, the ‘new and improved’ version has been a disappointment. That leaves me searching for a replacement in the myriad of choice. Grocery shopping is much more over-whelming these days than it was when I was a kid following my Dad around every thursday night. And that’s just food. I could go on, and on…
April 19, 2010 at 7:50 am
I agree with everyone so far, I don’t “upgrade” anything that still works exactly the way I want it to. I don’t even care that it might cost a smidgen more, my peace of mind is worth it. It does annoy me when those doe-eyed sales people give me a deer-in-the-headlights look when I tell them I will not get the new whatever as though I am personally responsible for the decline of Western civilization.
So no, I don’t want cable, a new phone plan, a new phone, a new DVD player, more expensive printer cartridges, bread with 700 multigrains, whatever.
I do resent it when the parts or servicing of something I own costs more than buying a new one.
April 19, 2010 at 7:55 am
When I’m faced with too many choices, I freeze. If it’s something important I need – I’ll research it first and comparison shop – almost overthink it. No impulse shopping for big ticket items for me. For little things, I make a decision quickly – going with my gut – rather than spend time trying to choose. This seems to work well for me so far.
April 19, 2010 at 8:05 am
I have a tough time with all the choice — Sometimes I don’t see it as a blessing. It can be overwhelming and take me a long time. Surprisingly, the bigger the ticket item, the easier it is for me. How’s that for a paradox? I have spent 3/4 of an hour deciding on a work briefcase but just minutes on a sound system.
April 19, 2010 at 8:41 am
When I am buying things for our home, I am a gut person. I would like to think it is due to my huge inate style sense, however I am more certain that it comes from laziness and /or pig-headedness. Having to look at more samples/stores/websites or listen to more salesmen telling me what I ought to want makes me nuts, esp. when what I want is already well defined in my head.
I do resent that all the new choices available today seem somehow to be there solely to make you feel “less than” if you don’t pick the “coolest”, most tricked- out, most exclusive…blah,blah,blah….it’s like high school peer pressure revisited.
April 19, 2010 at 9:17 am
Am I the only one who likes choice and bemoans the fact that canada often seems to lack innovation, creativity and different options in the products we offer? Go to Europe or the US and you see some really cool stuff in every product category. Wait 5 years and it shows up in Toronto and Vancouver, and 10 years after that everywhere else. I like choice, and make decisions based on options.
April 19, 2010 at 9:17 am
I hate having so many choices in the grocery store etc. for things like shampoo – it’s just rediculous! Stresses me out – that’s for sure.
I try to decide based on value/price – but it sure can be hard!
April 19, 2010 at 9:19 am
@ Amelia — you’re not to blame for the decline of the Western civilization, but I know who….
Marketing
The dawn of marketing was the dawn of “tricking” people into giving money for less…
Are there really that many differences between products? No, it’s mostly marketing coming up with different angles to appeal to different people.
Working somewhat in the field, I can safely say that when marketing and psychology joined forces, it was the beginning of the end of a good product at a good price.
Having said all that, I am not personally attached to my money (not a good thing) — so when I am making decisions on spending it, I generally go with the “impulse”, and purchase toward the higher end of the price range, valuing style over substance (a little artistic eye enjoyment).
ie Craft light table — bare bulb on a stick (a lamp stand that I took the shade off of) — is what I have been using for 4 years or so — but very sick of looking a bare bulb. Checked various locations for a task lighting lamp, but too much money for too ugly a design, found one that looked nice, was still on expensive side, but did not cast as much light as the bare bulb.
It looks nice on my desk though…. and if I turn the light on behind me, and lean in my chair to the left a litte….
April 19, 2010 at 9:25 am
I had this experience when shopping for a replacement cell phone last year. All I wanted was a phone that would ring and make phone calls – that’s it! I didn’t care if it could text in the blink of an eye or take pictures or store songs or browse the web or play games or act as a scratch pad… just a phone thank you very much! I got the strangest looks from the people selling these phones when I said “I want a cell phone even my grandmother could use without intructions!” The comment I always got was “Well, we don’t sell anything like that, but…” I finally did find an easy-to-use cell phone but still, it has WAY too many features for my liking, but at least the on/off button and the talk button are clearly marked, as is the number pad so I’ll cool with it. I even bought a matching one for my 75 yr old mother! I dread the day my cell phone needs replacing since the technology has soared even in the 15 months since I bought one! sigh…
April 19, 2010 at 9:36 am
This post reminds me of an older commercial for ink cartridges for a printer. There is a baker’s dozen of customers gathered around the store worker, clutching their precious empty box of ink with it’s own special number. The store worker picks up one off the shelf and begins to read the code number on the box. He reads a number like px 1017 and two faces light up, until the store worker adds to the end of the number ‘B’. Their faces fall in disappointment.
The above poster was correct when he said Canada has far less choices than the US on things like grocery products. On my last trip down to the states, I wandered one of the stores in amazement at the product variation. She rolled her eyes at me. Ahhh small things amuse small minds
April 19, 2010 at 10:11 am
I read and loved Schwartz’ book a few months ago. So, using his terminology, when you bought your stove Gail, you acted like a “satisficer” (buy the option that meets, or satisfies our pre-determined, and/or most important, criteria) rather than a “maximizer” (the “best” stove out there, involving a long and laborious comparison on every feature and dimension). Schwartz believes that maximizing works well only when the options are very limited: if you have a choice between two or three items, it is indeed reasonable to compare them all and make the best choice for your situation. But when we have seemingly unlimited options? It’s no longer reasonable. We need to decide on criteria, and then go with the first option that meets them. Picking a hotel near a Disney resort? You’ll go INSANE and get nothing else done for days if you try to compare each hotel. But decide on your criteria–say, pool, under $120 a night, on-site restaurant–and you’ll be done quicker. Schwartz maintains that one way to improve our happiness is to consciously choose to be a satisficer more often.
April 19, 2010 at 10:22 am
I just repaired my 12 year old Maytag washing machine for about the same price as a brand new cheap washing machine. After having a long chat with the repair man (who works for the store where I would buy the new washer) he told me that he wouldn’t usually recommend repairing such an old machine, but….if I did, it would probably outlive 2 new ones. And if I went out and got a new front load washing machine, they don’t live as lond, and they are very expensive to repair, and I would have to replace my old dryer (which he said should run forever) because the washer holds so much more I would burn out my dryer by overstuffing it. He was a wonderful source of information. While he was there I picked his brain about recommending stoves (mine is harvest gold, and unrepairable when it does finally go). He suggests gas without many bells and whistles.
I dread the day when my tv goes and I have to research what one I would like.
April 19, 2010 at 10:29 am
I just bought my first flat screen tv (in cash!) last week. It took a week of studying models and prices to make my decision. Fortunately I bought Plasma and there are only 3 main manufactures, but still I couldnt make up mind. Although a year ago we bought a used van, and I think it took less time to buy it then my tv because we knew exactly what we wanted and could afford. I tend to struggle with the smaller purchases for the house, and ask if I cheap out will I get the same end result if I spend $5 more on the better known brand, and given past experiences, the jury is still out, sometimes you buy a knock off or no name product and get great results……Ive learned never to buy cheap no name chicken nuggets
April 19, 2010 at 10:33 am
This month I also tuned up my 12 yr old lawn mower and the store still carries all the required parts (OEM to boot).
April 19, 2010 at 11:17 am
I have felt overwhelmed by choice so many times and it just keeps getting worse. Shopping for a 2 year old’s birthday gift at superstore took me nearly 30 minutes because there were so many things to chose from! He’s 2…I don’t think he really cares and will likely spend more time playing with the box and wrapping paper than the actual toy! I find this effect espeically prominent in stores that specialize in specific items (eg. Bath store products etc.) They literally have 100’s of choices for hand soap! I often just walk out without anything because I can’t decide! Which is probably a good thing!
April 19, 2010 at 11:35 am
I too had the same experience regarding a cell phone. I only use it for phone calls on occasion and don’t need all the extras but I had to still get one with far too many bells and whistles. The stupid manual for it weighs as much as the phone. It’s only getting worse in the technological development scene.
Don’t get me started on how many times I’ve found a great product and it has disappeared or been “improved” to the point it sucks.
We have to throw out calculators ever few years when they quit working at work because repairing them costs way more than new ones.
It’s getting to the point where I don’t want to shop at all. I don’t want more choice, especially when I shop for basic groceries. I don’t want to have to read the ingredients on 12 different varieties of an item to see which ones are the most healthy. Life shouldn’t revolve around shopping.
April 19, 2010 at 11:50 am
I have phone feature choice issues. I live in the UK and travel frequently to Canada and the USA. So I need a quad band phone. Thing is, I don’t need it to do anything other than make calls and send text messages. But the most basic quad band phones come with a TON of other features. It’s infuriating. Every time I touch the darn thing it tries to do something I either don’t want it to do or have no idea how to stop it.
April 19, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Sounds like there’d be a market for a “no bells and whistles” consumer product page. I work with a lot of online resources whose interfaces change at the drop of a hat — I call this phenomenon New and Not Improved…
April 19, 2010 at 12:34 pm
One of my biggest frustrations is when I try a cheap (or other brand) that doesn’t work well or doesn’t taste good and then I FORGET and buy it again. You know marketing is working when!
I think sometimes I make good decisions when buying sometimes bad. I usually look on kijiji and bought a flat screen for my husband at $750 new SONY with a one year warranty on it. THat was probably the best decision. A decision I kind of regret is buying my car on kijiji at $800 knowing that it needed a lot of repairs. Well taht was beginning sept and I thinK i’m gonna have to sell it and cut my losses. The bright side is that the car was indeed needed for a job and i didn’t have much cash and we have another car so I don’t think we need 2 cars anymore (my contract ended). I’m still kicking myself in the ass for it though!
April 19, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Wow Gail! This one totally hits home for me! Before I make any purchase, I research and compare to the point where some friends and family would call me obsessed. I’m really looking for the best value for my dollar. I’m not afraid to spend money on products or services when I can determine that they are worth it, but my worst nightmare would be to feel as if I have wasted my money when I could have found a better deal.
It seems as though people are almost in competition about this. If you find an item for a good price, there is always someone who will tell you that they found it for cheaper. If you really did find the cheapest price, others might claim that the product is of inferior quality and may not last as long. I suppose this is the magic balance that I try to find – the best quality and the best deal.
The other posters are right, though… With so many variations of products on the market, it has become unreasonable to expect that one person can possibly compare each feature of each product. And – who wants to spend their life doing this endless research? I already admit that I spend too much time on this, and I’m realizing that it is definitely time to let some of this go.
April 19, 2010 at 1:43 pm
I get really flustered trying to pick out greeting cards. TOO MUCH CHOICE!!
Not only is it too much choice, but I feel they are expensive for something that will likely be thrown in the garbage.
The food choices we have available it to the point of rediculous IMO.
I live in Nova Scotia. We have premium seafood. Why does our groccery stores carry scallops from Argentina when we have a whole industry of scallop fisherman right here? It just seems so wrong to me. Not only from an economic stand point, but environmentally. I choose to vote with my dollars.
Why are my eggs & butter coming from Mississauga? – not gonna do it. Thankfully there is a small selection of local eggs and butter.
I must get around to writing letters to Sobey’s and Atlantic Superstore…
April 19, 2010 at 2:52 pm
@ Allison & Mrs T & Rita – re: cellphones have too many options, can’t find the one you want that’s just a phone..
You all do realize that your basic complaint is that you don’t have ENOUGH choice of cellphones, and are actually advocating having more choices (ie a simple phone) right?
April 19, 2010 at 3:28 pm
@ Allison & Mrs T & Rita — I had the same phone angst. I want to dial home when I have to. I want home to be able to dial me. If I thought walkie-talkies would go far enough, I’d be happy with that!
We had these improvement-stupidness issues when we were ready to replace our truck. The kids had outgrown the tiny back bench seat in our Ford, and the box was barely big enough for the 4 bikes. Shopping was TORTURE! Even ignoring the outrageous pricetags we could NOT find a truck that was TRUCK-LIKE. We will be driving in mud, we will be VERY dirty when we get back in, we don’t need a “smooth car-like ride” or plush carpet interior with power adjust seats! Goodness gracious! It would get destroyed in 2 weekends! And ALL the newer trucks have tiny boxes in the 4 door versions unless you go for the behemoth-whale model… ugh $$$. As it turned out, the only truck we found that was big enough (but not too big) with VINYL flooring and a bare-bones set of features was almost as old as the one we were replacing. Good news, it was cheap too. It just drove us crazy that we couldn’t find a newer one that fit us so well. We had the money saved for it, we were prepared to dish it out for the right truck… WAKE UP MANUFACTURERS!
April 19, 2010 at 4:24 pm
I like having choices. And I would definitely like the option of a no-frills cell.
April 19, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Usually when I am overwhelmed with choice, I take this as a sign that I don’t know yet what I really want or need, and go home to re-consider. Sometimes I need a salesperson to help me find what I want or need, because I do not know enough about the product — when buying a bicyle some years ago, I knew exactly what I did *not* want, but had no idea how what I wanted would look.
I try to be enthusiastic about what I buy and chose things that will make me happy every time I see/use them, or in case of groceries, the one time I prepare/eat them. With durable items, I spend a lot of time to look around for just the right thing. Not comparision shopping, just watching out for something great. With groceries, as they need to be bought, I try a lot of new things to find something I love, and then stick with it. I haven’t yet tired of the organic locally-grown tomatos offered by exactly one (weird) guy at the farmer’s market…
It I lack enthusiasm, stuff does not get bought (especially as my parents and many of my friends have cupboards full of unwanted stuff, and are usually glad to get rid of some of it), or, if I really need to have it, I buy the one with the second-lowest price. That is more superstition than experience, but it works for me and having a formula to follow stops second-guessing.
And sometimes it’s just buying the least bad. Which seems to me a lot easier than trying to buy the best, or even something sufficiently good.
April 19, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Are the options the problem or is it about the insecurity of making a decision?
My problem is usually options that I can live without if I do not know about them, but once I know the use of each options, I usually think of all I could do with it… unless it cost tooooooo much!
April 19, 2010 at 11:50 pm
@Geoff
Yes, guilty as charged,
we do want more choice– the choice of simplicity. There are some of us who don’t need the extras, but we are forced to waste our time searching through all the product only to discover the simple version doesn’t exist and in the end, buy something that isn’t what we really need.
I went shopping for groceries after work tonight and just went with the basics: meat, veggies, fruits, dairy. The middle aisles are scary. (It’s funny how they can market lifestyle healthy products but if you read the fine print they contain palm oil and MSG and a lot of other junk.) But at least in the grocery store I can, for the most, part ignore those middle aisles and keep it simple.
@ Annie A.
I have started a list of things that I wish there were a “no bells and whistles” or streamlined versions of (cell phones etc ) or things that should be standardized (eg interac keypads, seat belts etc.) I would be thrilled if someone would start marketing a basic, efficient version of various electronic gadgets.
I’m pretty techno savvy but I’m tired of the obsolescence mentality of manufacturers and the marketplace that is forced upon us. I’m also sick of flaws in design. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the elderly and those who are techno challenged to get by in this increasingly techno discriminatory world. Hmmm, maybe Neo-Luddism is beginning to sound rather appealing.
April 21, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Oooohhhhh don’t even get me started!!! LOL You have to know who you are and what you really want/need out of ANYTHING you are shopping for…don’t blame the product/person if you are not happy…look in the mirror, and get to know yourself for goodness sakes!!
April 21, 2010 at 3:45 pm
My bro. and hubby has this thing with me that the 1st item I pick from shelf is the item I’m going to buy. No matter how many choices there is. And usually 99% of the time their correct:):):)
June 17, 2010 at 5:07 pm
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