A Nation of Shoppers
Chuck Carey
Somewhere in the early 1990's the price became more
important than the product. Whether the merchandise
is a screwdriver, a car or a million dollar building,
quality and length of service life have become secondary
to "how much I stole it for".
From the booming 1980's to the busted 1990's, we went
from yuppies to scavengers who only respond to the
bargain. Just as we forgot that the economy could slow
down in the 80's, we have now lost sight of the fact
that things can , and always do, get better. Two benchmarks
for a study in extremes.
Something was lost when we blinded ourselves to the
unique characteristics of the product. That something
is value over time. The present slavish attachment
to "generic" label discounts is just as artificial
as was the brand-worshiping 80's. Are the cheapest
always the best deal ?
Where is the balance ?
It's in the recognition that not all screwdrivers,
cars or buildings are created equal. Some will perform
for 25 years, some will fail in four. To steal the
latter means nothing. To not recognize the former is
ignorance.
Many commercial real estate buyers now, programmed
by the past five years, are bound and determined to "steal
it"
and are often drawn into low quality situations that
need 6 figure upgrades simply because they are cheap
today. It's actually easier to sell a distressed commercial
property now than one in good condition in a quality
location with good earnings. Not all "cheap" purchases
can be turned into class A buildings with any amount
of money. What's that saying about a sows ear ?
In our "zeal for the deal" we sometimes lose
the priority of quality and the long term benefit that
it returns. It's good to be guarded but have we forgotten
that the best is sometimes available for a few dollars
more ?
