Message Forums

Hi tich.

           I have an ageing Thomson 10" CRT must be 15 years old at least, great colour picture, and is 12v/mains, but it's due for a change as it is quite a lump compared to today's flatt screen offerings, but I find it quite strange that 10.4" Flattscreens are not found in Currys/Comet etc, they seem almost exclusive to Caravan shops at crazy prices, I did notice that JLP carry the Avtex range, but again prices are silly, like millermicm says, the LCD's are more than likley from the same factory.  

Quote: Originally posted by PigletandTigger on 03/10/2009

---

It depends, something cheap isn't always crud and something expensive isn't always fantastic. At the higher end of the money one is often paying for a brand and advertising.

---

Totally agree here.

Often you do indeed get what you pay for, but certainly not always true. Often you pay a lot for well known brands but sometimes will get an item which is no better than the cheaper versions, & occasionally is actually a grossly inferior product.

Also,  whilst sometimes the `good' make will actually be better,  you may not need the extra protection/strength/life whatever, so if it costs more is still not a better buy FOR YOU !

I do think that there are people whose main reason for buying the more expensive brands is snobbery, rather than because they really are always a better buy.

I would often (but not always) buy cheap if it is like for like.  Awning XYZ might cost £399 from retailer A but awning XYZ might cost £299 from retailer B.  It's exactly the same awning but at a different price and the dealers have the same reputation for customer service etc.  Guess which one I'm buying!

Now Caravan XYZ might cost £13,000 from dealer A, and the dealer has a really good reputation for after service/ putting things right that happen to go wrong etc.  The same caravan from dealer B might cost £12,500 where the dealer has a poor reputation and folk have had problems.  I would think seriously about where I would purchase from - would seriously consider paying the extra £500 for the piece of mind.

Now if you are talking about buying an inferior product for a cheaper price, or a superior product for a greater price, then the individual has to make a judgement call about the quality in relation to the sort of use the item will get etc.  I would not pay for an Isabella awning if I only intended using it for two weeks a year (the rest of the time using a lightweight porch awning) - I would buy an awning that would be cheaper and would not need to stand up to the rigours of keeping the awning up the whole season.  That would be my judgement call.

Although in many cases the difference between cheap and dear is quite small, sometimes that small difference is all that is needed to make something last a lifetime and be a pleasure to use as opposed to failing quickly. In other cases (copies and counterfit) the difference is vast but they appear identical. If you are lucky the only difference is the label. Caveat Emptor.  In my case I prefer good quality second hand to cheap new.

A lot of the time people don't have a clue that what they have bought is complete rubbish; when I first started camping I bought what I though was a bargain gas BBQ from Woolworths (£15). It was only after digging a bit on the web and this forum that I realised that what I had bought was a cheap copy of a Weber Q - I looked at my "bargain" again and saw that it was flimsy, poorly made with cheap materials and badly designed (copied) and that my food was being burned, not cooked, directly by the gas flame and by flare ups of burning fat. I then bought a used Weber Q for £50, the difference was unbelievable - suberb quality which will last a lifetime and superb cooking (it has a cast iron grill that is heated by the gas and it is this that cooks the food not the gas flame). Anyway, my point is that I have seen these crap things being sold for up to £60 and recommended on here  - it must be by people (victims)who subscribe to the traditional "burnt and raw" school of BBQing.

You only need to go to the bins at any campsite to see apparently brand new equipment - tents, tables, chairs cookers all thrown away because it is broken - without exception it is the cheap stuff.

You should aim to buy stuff cheap, not cheap stuff! If camping is not for you you can sell good stuff on, no one will want your used rubbish. It is like the old days when it was cheaper in real terms (largely due to chronic depreciation) to own a new Merc than a new Skoda - but people would still harp on about what a bargain Skodas were as they chugged about with bits falling off them.

Regarding small screen LCD TV's, they are all very similar, but not quite the same - it pays to do a bit of research - caravan dealers sell some good kit but with huge margins, there are some nasty copies on ebay and there is some quality stuff at reasonable prices inbetween - if anyone is looking for a decent 12v (if you have mains buy a domestic one) I would recommend "August" who make good TV's at reasonable prices.

Stop the press.  Here is the news.  When I looked into the business of Dr. Martens shoes being made in the far east, I did a bit of hunting & discovered that the original  Northampton factory is again producing shoes, a limited range of DM classics called the Vintage range, made to original 1960's designs.  Made due to pressure from consumers about this issue.  Yippee!  They also sell a range that are "for life" that are just that.  Repaired or replaced for life.  I take it all back.  Well done Dr Martens.  They are £100 a pair, but you find another pair of English hand made shoes that aren't.

Steve.

As someone who would always normally go for the mosrt expensive maybe im bias  - but I have had to be much more careful in recent years - and have dabbled in buying much cheaper stuff which usually leaves me very dissappointed

-  and I have to agree with the earlier comment - to buy cheap is often to buy twice !!   Cheaper stuff feels cheap - doesnt last as long and usually doesnt perform as well - this applies to anything from a clothing gear to electronic goods.

Seems these days that stuff just isnt made to last at all - Its all bought in very cheap from the far east - and wheras Im not knocking the country of origin - its clear to me that sometimes margins are so tight - that the value of the packaging can exceed the contents.

My moto is - always buy the best you can afford ( preferably home grown )  but never pay just for the name.