16 Darn Good Reasons Why Buying High Quality Products Is A Smart Idea
Don’t confuse high quality with luxury. High quality products aren’t just for snooty elitists who want to show off their bling.
A Mercedes S500 may be a luxury sedan with aspects of quality, but it’s really just an endless money-pit with astronomical depreciation. A Toyota Avalon, on the other hand, is still surprisingly luxurious but will last waaay longer and hold its value. It’s essentially a Lexus with a Toyota badge.
A savvy consumer knows the difference and chooses well-made products to streamline and stabilize their busy life. Here are 16 reasons why paying a little more for a well-made product is often a very smart move.
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Better Customer Care
Brands that build their reputation on high-quality products are playing the long game. Therefore, customer care is key. Their goal is to build a brand following of die-hard fans.
Excellence breeds more excellence. Companies with high-quality products typically reflect the same excellence in other areas of their business beyond the products themselves. It’s a healthy Corporate DNA thing.
Some companies that have done this well are: L.L Bean, Eddie Bauer, Land’s End and Orvis.
You’re Rewarding Honest Businesses
Reward the good guys! These are honest businesses who care more about their reputation than gaining an extra 2% profit margin. It’s called character- a rare commodity these days.
Buck knives is a great example of a mom and pop shop that has stood the test of time based good old fashion business ethics.
Also, when you buy high-quality products you send a message to the wider market that goes something like this:
“STOP SELLING US CRAP THAT BREAKS! If you want MY money start making stuff that’s actually worthwhile buying!”
Premium quality stands head and shoulders above the sea of compromise in today’s marketplace. By the way, that’s why WellRigged.com exists..to help folks find top quality products in a marketplace of so much compromise.
Keeps More Jobs At Home
Many premium domestic companies have managed to survive and thrive by going upmarket and produce levels of quality that are not attainable on a mass produced level.
This of course means more jobs stay at home, more money stays in our economy and quality control is held to much higher standards because everything can done under one roof.
Darn Tough Socks of Vermont is a great example of this. Darn Tough produces very high-quality Merino wool socks and guarantee them forever even if you wear them out. They employ plenty of folks in their little town of Northfield, Vermont. (More on Darn Tough Socks here)
More Reliability
In a recent post on why Land Cruisers are so reliable, I asked my readers the question, “If you had to choose a vehicle to drive solo 300 km into the Sahara and back…which would you choose?”
Higher-quality products pay off big time in terms of reliability. This is especially critical when your safety is at stake or the item is in frequent use.
High-quality products bring a level of reliability that also reduces maintenance costs, down time and stress as well.
Right now I’m thinking of all the cheap flashlights I keep getting as Christmas stocking stuffers..if they do work after a couple of weeks..they start flickering randomly even on full batteries. Just kill me! What good are they when you need them? I’ve solved that problem! Here’s a good place to start if you have that problem too.
Premium Features/Multitasking
While this certainly isn’t always the case, top quality products are often intentionally designed to do more than one task quite well or work within a very well thought-out eco-system of products. (like what Apple is to the tech world.)
For instance, Kitchen Aids are legendary for enduring quality. Plus, they offer all kinds of attachments so you can grind meat, stuff sausages, process food, juice…etc.
Speaking of multi-tasking, the Leatherman Wave is the holy grail of multitools. It’s worshiped by tradesmen and outdoorsmen alike. Sadly, the Leatherman Wave has also made Batman obsolete.
Longer Product Support/Parts Availability.
In a recent audit we did of 120+ companies with lifetime warranties, a significant number of Outdoor/Sports apparel companies offered at-cost or low-cost lifetime repairs to their garments in addition to their warranties.
Replacement parts and product service on long-lasting products typically are measured in decades. Zippo lighters are a good example of this. You’ll never have to worry about your Zippo becoming obsolete.
When it comes to vehicles this is especially true. The parts availability window for Toyota Corollas is basically forever compared to say a new Dodge Dart. It’s a no brainer.
Environmental Sustainability
Every year over 300 million pairs of sneakers are thrown out in America. Imagine if everyone decided to buy decent quality shoes that lasted 3 or more years?
The simple fact is that higher quality products typically last much longer which means that there is far less waste in our landfills.
High Quality products are far more likely to be serviceable too. That means they can be repaired multiple times instead of just getting thrown out. For instance, these three goodyear welted boots can be re-soled over and over again. We’re talking about decades of use!
Some Companies go the extra mile:
Patagonia is probably the best at this. They have a used clothing program called Worn Wear as well as a garment recycling program just to keep their products out of landfills. Pretty good!
Polar Bottles offers free replacement of bottle tops and handles for life just to keep folks from throwing away their bottle because you lost or broke the cap.
Better Warranties
You wouldn’t believe what how far many premium companies go to cover their products. For instance, my ESEE 6 Knife is covered forever even against breakage, no questions asked, no receipt required. That’s more like an insurance policy!
Briggs & Riley Luggage, Darn Tough Socks, Busse Knives have similar warranties. For more check out this article.
Yeah, higher quality products do cost more but it’s nice to know that you’re butt is covered in the unlikely event of a product failure.
Companies with well-made products aren’t afraid to back them with solid warranties. They’re confident and proud of their products.
Its a Better Plan for a Rainy Day
No one knows what tomorrow brings. Over 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Many don’t realize just how much well-made products can actually cushion them during hard times.
Let’s just say Joe and Nick worked at GM plant.-you know where this is going. Anyway, (surprise surprise) they lose their jobs.
Joe owns an 7-year-old Chevy Cobalt he got through employee pricing. Nick owns a 10 year old Toyota Camry. With all the bills racking up who do you suppose will be worrying most about unexpected car repairs? Joe of course! That crappy Cobalt is a ticking time bomb of financial misery.
Choosing high-quality products is a savvy move for people who understand the rainy-day principle.
Cost Savings Over Time
No, you don’t always save money when you go up-market. However, since well-made products generally last much longer, your cost savings can be quite substantial especially with items you use frequently.
Let’s say you’re a health freak you basically exist off smoothies. Don’t buy a Nutribullet. You will be replacing it ever six months. Go for a Vitamix or a Blendtec like these ones.
They will blend anything, last far longer and make far better smoothies than any Nutribullet or Ninja blender could.
Point is this: If you use an item on a routine basis, you’ll likely save a lot more money by paying extra for the better quality unit up front.
Superior Product Satisfaction
via GIPHY
- It’s the satisfying ca-chunk as you close the door of a well-built car.
- It’s the effortless slice of perfectly weighted chefs knife in hand.
- It’s the rich patina of your full-grain leather that tells of stories of where you’ve been.
- It’s the effortless glide of a reliable pen that has never failed you
- It’s the relentless relentless march of a decades old watch that still keeps perfect time.
That’s what quality brings.
No “Resellection Cost”
Simply put, “reselection cost” is the time, energy wasted researching in order to replace disappointing or broken products.
We all know the internet is full of fake reviews and misleading marketing so finding the truth about a product is like chasing the end of the rainbow. Its a painful process for quality conscious consumers.
You’ve been there. Does anyone on earth make a really good can-opener? Yes, actually. Sure, you could try three crappy ones from Walmart or you could just get this one and never waste your time again.
The point is, re-researching and re-buying so unnecessary if we had just chosen better quality product from the get-go.
Better Over-all Functionality
“Anything you can do I can do better.” That’s generally what high-quality products do. They just do it better.
Do you know how many “waterproof” boots there out there? Plenty! Go ahead and step ankle deep in a puddle. 9 times out of 10 after 3 seconds a weird cold sensation will begin to spread around your foot.
On the other hand, slide your foot into a pair of Danner Acadia boots and your feet WILL stay dry. They just do it better.
Eventually even when your high quality product does reaches the end of its useful life, you won’t need to research a replacement. You’ll already know that you’re going to get another one exactly the same anyway.
Higher Resale Value
In general, if a product lasts longer the market will reward it with a stronger valuation over time.
So, if you plan on trading in your car every few years minimize your losses by choosing a vehicle with a rock-solid reputation aka..Toyota/Lexus.
Pride of Ownership
Every time I hold my ESEE 6 knife, I congratulate myself for being a smartypants. It’s a truly fine fixed blade survival knife.
Flashlight geeks nerd out when they possess the brightest flashlight in the world.
Whatever it may be, every time you look at wise purchase you will be reminded that you aren’t an idiot at all and that, in fact, you’re a freaking connoisseur in your own right. That’s something to be proud of.
Yes, you may catch yourself sipping coffee and nodding your head as you stare with satisfaction at the wisdom of your quality purchase. It’s quite normal.
Independent Mindset
This is a more subtle bi-product of choosing higher quality products. I can’t say which comes first, a non-conformist mindset or the desire for quality. Either way its a noted trait of savvy consumers.
All I know is that people who value high-quality products, won’t settle for the cool-aid of the masses. Often(but not always) the best-quality products are actually not well known to the wider market.
For instance, RedOxx makes some of the most rugged duffle bags in the world. Their a smaller outfit by, man it’s tough to beat them. Here’s an example of one of their best bags that I own.
Peace of Mind
Crap happens & idiots do things.
I can guarantee you if that dude had thrown a Pelican Air case nothing at all would have been damaged. They are baggage handler-proof.
Peace of mind is a big deal especially when it comes to protecting valuables and personal safety. Unfortunate incidents happen but you can sure as heck mitigate them by choosing durable, well-built products.
Did I miss something?
Comment Below if you think I missed a good reason why folks choose high-quality products.
High quality and endurable products are what WellRigged.com is all about.
If you are a quality-conscious person browse around…you’ll probably be inspired.
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