Consume in the past and you will be happier and richer

By Leroy Jenkins on March 31, 2008 11:13 AM | | Comments (0)

 
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In an era where Sony, Apple and Microsoft are pushing forward their latest toys, consumers have become beta-tester.  We taste, eat, digest all their crap, then we burp a review online in our blogs.  Consumers generate tons of free auditing material for the corporations.  And we do it pro-bono, for free!  They use our generous contributions to get the pulse on the effectiveness of a newly release or to generate a wish-list for their upcoming releases.

The corporations are winning to those who buy hot items because the trigger that made them buy is not fuelled by a NEED but more by a COMPULSION.  Compulsive buy are often replaced when the new generation of the same product is release.  It's exactly the opposite when a consumer buy some time later, in which the trigger to buy is fuelled by NEED, hence increasing the emotional response by a feeling that the purchase was really worth it and needed. 

How to beat the system?  The solution, always consume in the past.  I would say maybe 2 or 3 years, just enough time for the dust to lie down.  You will save tons of money by buying not-so-hot-anymore-but-well-rounded product and save more by avoiding upgrades and new generations releases that usually follow a few months after launch (also well planned ahead by corporations in a 1 million dollar marketing plan).  

If you still not geting my point, maybe this will help.  I just recently bought a zune (the big bulky one, not the thin new one) for $80.  The new firmware upgrade is out: looks way better and the interaction much improves then the manufactured firmware.  I follow this purchase with a WI-FI router for $9.99 so I can synchronize the Zune and the PC wirelessly.  I also got a Digital Picture Frame for $79 that will also work wirelessly so I can upload pictures from my cellphone or from any PC via Internet.  And finally, I got the slingbox for $70, so I can watch my cable TV anywhere on the web. All those are well-rounded, already upgraded, sold at cost and at lost products.  This is a smart consumption behavior.  Why?

  • All those products are still on the market (not back-order), even after being release a long time ago.  That's a sign of quality.
  • Because the hot waves already have settle, there's no chance I will get cut in the turmoil of the next-hot-generation
  • I'm buying them because I NEED them.  It's garanty to last me for a long time.

BlueRay/HD DVD: wait!  Iphone/Verizon Voyager: wait wait!  Zune/Touch Ipod: wait wait wait!

--Leroy

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This page contains a single entry by Leroy Jenkins published on March 31, 2008 11:13 AM.

Educational! was the previous entry in this blog.

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