Do you have buyer's remorse over big purchases?

[Svnla]

my dad is like that, and I don't understand it at all... he buys DVD's all the time, but rarely ever watches any.

I'd say 90% are still shrink-wrapped, and at least 5% of the opened ones are because I borrowed them to watch at my house.

I bet he was like me "well, one of these days, I will sit down and do a movie marathon watching plus I can watch them anytime I want and I can sell/give them away later". <sigh...sad panda>

In my defense, they were all on sale ($10 or less, most were $5 or so, except the TV shows such as The Simpsons, 24, etc.). I never purchased them in full sticker price. At least I know better now so I haven't buy any lately. Now you know why Best Buy is in trouble financially.

 

[ponyo]

i usually just do a lot of research on big purchases. sometimes to the point that i over-analyze things. but i can't think of anything i've purchased in the past few years that i had buyers remorse on.

Over analyzing and researching can lead to confusion and buyer's remorse. I do that often when I'm looking at vacation packages. I'll search for trips and read the reviews on TripAdvisor and become more confused where to book. I started using Costco Travel couple years ago because Costco only carries limited offering and selected destinations. Costco does a good job of filtering out the junk, and I've been happy with the price and value of their vacation packages.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

no, I never have buyers remorse because I just set the good enough criteria and buy something that meets that. Something "better" is always around the bend, and too much choice is a bad thing IMHO (analysis paralysis).

With that said, if I know a product refresh is coming (for phones, etc) then I'll wait, but only if I know its coming. I recently bought a camera and the next revision came out a week later and it didn't bother me a bit.

 

[Billb2]

what I do is to "pretend" I have already made the purchase. Then, when I wake up the next morning I decide if it was a good idea. Works for me.

 

[purbeast0]

Over analyzing and researching can lead to confusion and buyer's remorse. I do that often when I'm looking at vacation packages. I'll search for trips and read the reviews on TripAdvisor and become more confused where to book. I started using Costco Travel couple years ago because Costco only carries limited offering and selected destinations. Costco does a good job of filtering out the junk, and I've been happy with the price and value of their vacation packages.

yeah i don't get buyers remorse but i definitely can start to get confused as to what to purchase sometimes.

vacations i've actually never had buyers remorse for, and i've spent some bread on vacations heh. i just booked a trip to the keys a few weeks ago and i was having trouble deciding on what hotels to stay at though, but that was mainly due to me just not knowing which ones have beaches and stuff down there.

 

[TallBill]

No

 

[NutBucket]

I don't know if there's a single purchase I regret. I do somewhat regret spending so much money on concert tickets in previous years. And I do regret dumping a ton of money into an engine swap for a car I no longer own. Ironically after I completed the swap I sold the car less than 2 years later and bought a new one. Obviously I came nowhere close to recovering my investment.

 

[JackBurton]

No. I do a ridiculous amount of research before making large purchases. And when I say "research," I'm normally just reading about my interest and decided to jump in (ex. A/V, guns, cars). It's not the opposite, whereas I want something and then research. I usually want something because of my research.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sometimes, though things like house and car are needs not wants, so I never felt remorse when I bought them, but when I built my huge file server that came up to almost 4 grand... yeah, I still have a bit of buyer's remorse over that one. I just have to convince myself that it is to help me train so I can keep up with IT stuff. Of course, for that to become true I also need to build a couple VM servers. LOL

 

[Engineer]

No. I have quit buying stuff altogether.

 

[NutBucket]

No. I have quit buying stuff altogether.

Spoken like a true engineer. I can never achieve this.

 

[BUTCH1]

Oh yea, 2 days before the Patriots epic loss to the Giants in 2008 I had just blown my entire tax refund ($1,500) on a "47 Phillips flat-screen. I was actually going to return it to Sam's but it was a bear getting it into the car to get home so I kept it, the curse continues, the Pats have been to the SB the 2nd time and lost again to the Giants and have not been back since, I'd sell it but with prices like they are now I'd be lucky to get $400 out of it so it stays...

 

[SlickSnake]

I'm more like this: I research the eff out of things, but then still feel bad afterwards.

Latest regret is a box fan that I barely use. It was only $25.

Right now, I want to blow $4500 on an infrared camera. I don't think I'd regret it one bit considering it's a toy + potential career. It's still hard to swallow blowing that amount of money. The stupid/sad thing is that I had absolutely no problem blowing that much or twice that amount on college for years.

A $4500 infrared camera is a potential career?

Either you want to be a wildlife photog, or you want to sneak around at night while getting your rocks off and working for Cheaters.

Definitely don't quit your day job over that career fantasy.

Either get it because you want it, or stop fixating over it and move on, but don't get it and expect a job out of it.

 

[Childs]

I usually buy things on impulse then cancel before they ship hoping to get a better deal. I guess the only thing I really regret is not getting the best deal. I just ordered a $1500 NAS, and I'm just about to cancel it because it really wasn't on sale. I could use it, but I don't really need it. I will agonize for another 12 hours or so then probably cancel last second before it ships.

And when I bought my Challenger, that night I regretted I didn't get a V8 version, and took it back the next day and got one. Then a couple days later I regretted not getting the SRT. I would have taken it back again, but I went through so much hassle exchanging the V6 I just didnt want to go through that again.

I think the potential regret is stopping me from getting a house. Such a financial commitment, and I dont want to be stuck with something I end up not wanting.

 

[SlickSnake]

On big ticket items, no because I would do a lot of research on them to get the best price and I keep them like forever such as my vehicle, TV, and tech items such as laptop/computer/cell phone.

OTOH, I still do not understand why I purchased over 1,000 DVD movies/TV shows/etc. and over 99% of them are still in their factory wraps. I also feel bad about my 22" computer LCD monitor (haven't use it for a looooong while) and the Pioneer home audio receiver (still unopened), Nike sneaker (unused). I also have too much clothes IMO.

Other than that, I am good.

I got a brand new Harman Kardon digital receiver still in the box unopened I got super cheap right after it came out. So don't feel too bad. And I think everyone owns a few pairs of shoes and other clothing they haven't worn yet.

And I got plenty of unopened Blu, HD-DVD and DVD sitting around, but my percentages are more like 50% unopened. Why? I buy them because I like them and when they are cheap and on sale and because I know (I know, right?) I may watch them again at some point in time. For instance, I recently bought 17 Blu's at Fry's because they were at least decent movies, and they were $2 each. And they still had plenty more that sucked I passed on. And I buy Blu's at BF sales, and BB sales on used ones from time to time. But I stopped buying DVDs completely, unless they are super cheap music/concert related ones.

And no, I don't get buyers remorse after most large purchases, because I did my homework beforehand and knew what I was getting into.

 

[shortylickens]

Yeah 3 girls in vegas and a case of champagne.

 

[Murloc]

Now that I think of it what's blocking me from getting a SSD for my computer is the fact that there is such a big variety of models (of different ages), controllers, and sizes. I just don't know where to begin to exclude stuff.

 

[Engineer]

Spoken like a true engineer. I can never achieve this.

LOL...you've been here since 2000.....have 20,000+ posts and yet I have no idea who "NetBucket" is. Are you a "name change"?

As for my spending, I paid it all off long ago and never looked back. Only big purchase that I have is my two daughter's college tuition (oldest - 19 - right now and the youngest - 13 - after the oldest is done).

After that, my "purchase" is my retirement.

 

[Imp]

Just ordered a Dyson vacuum. Ten minutes later: not regretting it yet.

Swear to god, if I miss the shipment and they make me go across town to pick the 15 lb package up (only reason I didn't just go to the store), I'll regret it.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Really depends on the kind of use I get out of whatever it is I've bought. Recent purchases have all been bicycle related and I don't regret it one bit as I use my bicycle at least 5-6 times a week. Now when I had an old mustang I was messing with that was a colossal waste of money and time. I regret that.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

No. I have quit buying stuff altogether.

I go back and forth on this. On one hand I want to be responsible and debt free at one point on the other I want to live life by doing what I want. I think I've found a balance but it leans heavily towards not buying anything. Hell just this morning we went to lunch with my wife's family. We found meals at $10 a piece while others were getting $25 steak lunches and we know for a fact they are not in any kind of situation to be blowing $30 on a meal a piece.

 

[Dulanic]

Only my past car purchases I could have driven a previous car for 10+ years easy. But that was a long time ago. Don't regret the most recent because we needed the extra space now.

 

[Brigandier]

I have remorse over every purchase.

 

[HeXen]

I purchased Transformers Soundwave masterpiece edition for $165 among other TF's for my collection. Your damn right I have buyer's remorse. Especially for stuff that just sits there for me to look at. Fortunately they go up in value for some reason as most TF's seem to be hot collectors items.

Stuff I need like house/car..etc doesn't bother me however. I mean hell ya gotta live ya know.

 

[RedCOMET]

My 35 yr old townhouse. Been in the place less than a month and wife is having allergy / asthma attacks that are getting worst even after having head stuff cleaned.