For those of you who know my husband well – you already know that he is cheap in some things, and spendy in others. For all the dollars he saves on no-name peanut butter another dollar is spent on audio visual, technical or photography needs.
The path from identification of need to the actual purchase is long and filled with hours of research, tedious conversations (depending on your perspective, I guess) and endless nerd reviews.
We start off with “I’m thinking of buying X” which leads me to know that he has been thinking about it for a couple of months. For example, he has talked about replacing our server about 3 or 4 times, meaning it has been processing in his brain for probably 6 months. Now that we’re both employed again, I am certain I will pick-up his laptop soon and find 16 open Internet Explorer tabs with consumer reviews and technical specifications on servers. One day he’ll mention a budget, soon we’ll discuss income that could be generated from the server we already have. And then, once all the specifications are decided, the comparison shopping will start.
It’s long. And it is almost completely opposite to me. I want. I see. I buy. Or sometimes: I see. I want. I buy.
Emile painfully sold his TV when we left Ontario. He suffered from what all of us do when selling your used items – you remember how much you paid for it, how you got it, the good times and it always feels like they should be paying more. He stroked it goodbye and sadly turned and walked away.
So, here we are in Vancouver with no ability to watch TV on a big screen. This was much more of a concern to Emile than it was to me – I’m happy watching on a laptop, seeing a movie or even going outside. Emile recognised the need to expedite his process and had already moved into the research phase of TV pruchase. He let me know about a large budget. I cringed – sure spend that next year, but this year when all of our funds seem to be going to into IKEA shares? Hmmm.
I must have approached him in a weak moment, because when I suggested buying a cheaper TV for now, he sounded almost interested. When I mentioned searching for a used TV, he didn’t sneer.
To demonstrate the potential market I typed “Sony 50 TV” into Craig’s List only to find a local guy selling a mint condition Sony 55″ TV for less than 40% of a new one.
Emile was silent.
He was still.
Then he firmed his shoulders, gritted his teeth.
And then he said “Send an email to see if it is still available.”
October 27th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary: A “new” TV sits in our apartment and $1500 remains in our bank account. No research or process. Just buying – and that I can relate to.
The Daily EO 