FREE ADVICE

Worth The Price?

This is me offering free advice to my fellow pickleball players.  They say that people who pay for advice often feel obliged to take it.  So, no worries here.  Psychologists say we think if we spend more for something we’ll value it more and have less regret owning it but think again.  My favorite thing in my closet is a worn, jean jacket I found at Goodwill for $15 bucks.  I put that sucker on and feel like I just won the lottery.

However, I often fall victim to that stupid thinking.  Recently, I ordered two, pickleball paddles.  One cost $25 more than the other.  Almost immediately I liked the cheaper one better, but I kept using the more expensive one, feeling I should give it another chance simply because it was more expensive.  As I write this, it sounds stupid but something in my brain says if it’s more expensive, it must be better.

Like I said, stupid thinking.  The same thing almost happened when I purchased a new icebox—whoops—refrigerator last month. (Do not go into Lowe’s and ask to see their ‘iceboxes.’ They will immediately send you to the hunting/fishing section). They had about 8 models to choose from ranging from 1,500 to more than 4,000.  The expensive one had lots of extras and from what the salesman bragged, could almost prepare my meals before I even opened it.  I chose the cheapest model, though.  My thought was, ‘Why pay more when cold is cold?’   

Countless studies show that we’re all high-priced biased.  A well-known one involved two bottles of wine which cost $14 apiece.  Phony labels were attached indicating one was twice the price of the other. More than 80% of tasters declared the higher-priced wine was better.  Even when the labels were switched again, tasters still declared the higher-priced one had ‘more flavor’ and a ‘richer body.’ 

The best advice I ever received came from my grandmother and it didn’t cost a penny.  Fast forward 50 years and now I’m the one giving it.  Someday, we’ll all be getting our advice from AI: a robot with a circuit board for a heart.  That has me wondering if mine would hold more value if it cost more?  At least four of my woman-hours go into each week’s blog and I publish weekly.  What’s that worth?  I have no clue.