I also meant for this question to include accessories. Do you find that it is best to find the cheapest electronics only to have to constantly buy it again and again because it won't last for too long or would you rather buy something that is more pricy because it will mean you won't have to buy again so quickly. Some things to take into consideration is your level on how much you need technology. Like for instance you might settle for a cheap laptop so you can do school work vs a more expensive laptop that has more features and capabilities needed for the work environment.
I usually purchase things which are cheap because I am a scrooge, but when it comes to electronics and accessories, I say I purchase the branded, expensive ones. It is because the expensive ones, the branded ones, pass through strict QA, so you can be assured that the items last when they should. It is better to purchase a pricey device of a well-known brand and keeping it with less maintenance than purchasing a cheap one but giving you the hassle and headache of purchasing accessories every now and then (or even having the device repaired every now and then) and wasting your money. I think a good branded laptop is a good investment. For me, if my laptop can be used in school and has lots of features, I can still use it for many years to come. I don't mind, in the coming years, if my laptop or electronic device is phased out and everyone else is up to new ones. I just want a functioning one that lasts and won't dig a hole in my pocket. For me, buying cheap devices will actually be expensive in the long run. It is not worth the investment.
We had already tried buying cheap electronic products. It is a yes and a no regarding the cost consideration. Like the wireless keyboard I bought for 250 pesos ($6) that is still okay after 1 year, I think the cost is worth it if it would last for 2 years. But a cheap USB stick we bought in Hongkong fails to work after a week so we lost on that one.
Pricey doesn't necessarily mean higher quality. There are some cheap electronics made in China which are just as good as their pricier alternatives made elsewhere. However when buying such electronics you need to buy a brand that you've used before. I never buy the most expensive electronics preferring instead to buy refurbished electronics because they are cheaper. It's a good way to save some money if you just have to buy a pricier brand.
It depends on how often you will use it. If you only use it now and then, an expensive one would not be a good investment as technology will render it out of date in a few years. If you use it daily then it maybe wiser to buy a more expensive version as it may last longer. I have friends that just use a laptop for email and social media, so they wouldn't need an expensive one versus someone who uses it for photoshop and to work on daily. Refurbished is a good idea, because it is cheaper and is not out of date.
I think it depends very much on the models that you're getting. I have an Apple laptop that works just as well now as it did when I got it - almost five years ago. Yes, it was twice the price of my previous laptop, but it has lasted for almost double the time, and counting, which is of course a good thing. But sometimes, more expensive things might not be worth the money, while cheaper items might turn out to be a complete bargain. There is no way of telling, so you just have to make sure you're careful when buying.
Expensive doesn't mean better. Take my laptop for instance. It's the most expensive in the house, yet my husband's and oldest son's computers, cheapo whim purchases have outlasted mine in every way. I also have a very large, very expensive tv and three smaller expensive tvs in our house. All brand names and all were in need of repair after a few months of purchase. Expensive is the same as cheap now.. and at the risk of sounding super old, "they don't make'em like they used to" lol. It's very true. Even the most well made products don't touch how they were made back in the day.. when customers were kept with quality. If companies went for quality these days, they'd go out of business.
When it comes to electronics, I much prefer to go not only off the price but also off the brand and reputation of that brand. Doing this always works for me because these always last and work way better than cheap, no name brands. I almost always go for Samsung and while it's not the cheapest, it really serves me well. The minute I try to cut corners and go for something cheap, something goes wrong and I always end up having to go back to my trusty brands.
As quality and value for money are always my top priority when buying anything - I think the best approach in order to make sure that you get the best value for money and particularly when buying big ticket items - is to always do plenty of research, compare specifications and read as many reviews as possible on the products you are considering buying - prior to parting with any money. Especially as - although price does sometimes mean better quality as well as better value - it isn't necessarily a good indicator to go by when looking for quality and durability - nor is the name of the manufacturer either - particularly as I've found that all manufacturers regardless of whether they are a well known brand name or not - all have one thing in common - they all have some very good models as well as some extremely bad ones.
I'm really cheap and to be honest I don't really have problems with any electronic devices that I buy. I feel like there are lots of less expensive alternatives to everything these days.
I think either option is alright which is probably why both markets are able to survive since they will always have an audience. In my opinion, the only time you end up really screwing yourself in this scenario is when you buy the extremely cheap products without consideration for what that might entail or maybe just expecting a little bit too much than what it could offer. Also buying into the extreme opposite could also be a cause for worry since you are paying more than the actual value of the product. For me, the additional details for this should also be considered such as the stress it might bring or the trips you have to make as well as the research you'd have to do each time and the amount of hours you have to spend on each.
I think when buying electronic items you should always go for the branded and more expensive ones if you can afford it, because you have usually a 1 year warranty and the assurance of quality and durability as compared to those cheap electronic items. However, right now I am looking to buy a new CPU but I can't afford to buy a brand new one, so I will just buy a 2nd hand one since I have no choice.
When it comes to technology you usually get what you pay for. If something is too good to be true it probably is, that's why it's so important to look at reviews on different places and see what the general consensus is. I'd rather save up and get a good sturdy piece of tech then try the B list of items that may not last half the time the bigger priced item will.
I agree with Denis on the refurbished items. Often times they under go more maintenace and scrutiny then those fresh off the assembly line. In the case of a refurbished item, a tech has taken the time to analyze and see how the item is performing against particular standards. It is just one of the things that you need to know when it comes to electronics. I think buying them is absolutely fine.
I like to save money but I do believe that you can get a good deal on quality products if you shop for them. You can get good quality deals at the spawn shop, refurbished from the dealer and open box deals from the big box stores help you to get a name brand product at a good price.
With something like a smartphone or a tablet, I don't find that it makes much sense to go with the cheapest model. At best, I would maybe consider a top of the line model that is a few months old and has come down in price a little. But beyond that, when you get a cheaper model Android phone you have to deal with the fact that the manufacturer is not going to bother keeping it updated with the latest versions of Android, so it's going to become obsolete much faster. I ran into this problem when I bought a cheap model Lenovo tablet. Within a few months, certain programs would no longer work on it since the version of Android on it was too old, so I couldn't use my banks app nor the app from my cable company, which are two of the reasons I bought it in the first place.
A total yes to me since I've had bad experiences with buying cheap stuff at the electronics store and having them not functional anymore just after a few days or weeks, the most. I compared it to some stuff I bought at a cost and these lasted for many years and the time I disposed them was only when they were damaged due to my carelessness and not because of the quality itself. I think buying expensive electronics is an investment in the long run. You purchase them with a lot of money but get to use and enjoy their great quality for a long time.
This is actually a very neat way of laying things on the table, to be honest. Not many people think of it so deeply and carefully, and just thrust themselves within this core of "cheaper first!" mindset, and it eventually turns out they've made a bad decision in what concerns saving up money... To sum it up, OP, yes, I do believe people tend to "jeopardize" this value, but most of the times, no matter how much you end up buying, you will always be better off with the cheaper, replica option of your original one, trust me.
It depends on what you buy. There are a lot of "budget" high quality brand now that price do come in consideration when purchasing electronics. If the item, say an Android phone from Xiaomi, is cheap, has all the specs and receives glowing review then why would you want to spend money for a higher brand ? A similar case is with ZTE in the UK, they launch a 99 GBP Orange San Francisco (ZTE Blade in the US), a cheap Android phone with AMOLED screen and good built quality when at that time a mid range would cost ~250 GBP. As a result, the device propels ZTE into one of the top manufacturers in China and one of the more well-known brand today. Similarly with AOC TVs, and many more examples. It's not the buying cheap items that hurt in the long run, it's that we need to choose which "cheap" item to go for.
Purchasing cheap can be a something that can hurt the wallet in some cases. Though, at the same time buying cheap can still equal less than purchasing expensive. Take for example you buy a charging cable that cost $1. You have the name brand variety that cost $5. The $1 charger will eventually die within four months while the $5 charger will die in eight months. The fact is even though you will have the cheap charger for less time you will still be paying less than the $5 variety. You have to also remember that most times the cost is purely dependent on the name as the materials are the same.
