I was telling a friend this weekend (before I got sick, and now I’m hoping to type out this tale before the Dayquil wears off…) that I recently walked into Target and paid full price for a new blender. And then I realized that was significant enough to warrant its own post.
Yes, Virginia, sometimes I don’t wait for something to go on sale. I know. Crazy, isn’t it?
In the case of the blender, well, our ancient blender was on its last legs, and my daughter has taken to drinking smoothies on school mornings. Her lunch period is at 10:30 (don’t even get me started on that…) and she says that if she eats anything else at breakfast, she’s not hungry enough at lunch time to eat her lunch, and then she’s starving at the end of the day. So, smoothies it is! I punch up the nutrition by adding salba and spinach to our concoctions of orange juice, yogurt, and frozen fruits. Frozen fruit is hard on a cheap blender, so I knew I needed a decent one rather than one of those $19.99 specials. And I could’ve waited for a sale, but we use it five days a week, and I was worried the blender we were replacing could die at any moment.
So I bought it. For full price. (I got this Oster, both because my research showed it to have great reviews particularly with pulverizing frozen fruit, and because it matches my new stainless kitchen appliances nicely.)
The way I see it, getting as many bargains as I do offsets the occasional time I want/need to “just buy it.” I felt a flutter of guilt and then it passed. The moral of the story is that sometimes it’s okay to “just do it” (provided you can afford it, of course). Other things—off the top of my head—for which I will pay full price, on occasion: Local/organic foods, the perfect bra (sorry guys, but fellow women will understand that one!), and my work computer (because Macs don’t really ever go on sale).
So tell me—what will you pay full price for, regardless of your propensity to find the best deal on everything else?
My “school” shoes. I buy one pair every year, and wear them everyday, all day while I’m teaching. I don’t care what they cost. When I find the ones that are “just” what I’m looking for, I buy them. No matter.
what I’m about to pay full price for is a cover for my newly potty trained sons bed. . . yeah, pretty self explanatory. but I can at least start planning ahead for my daughter. . . I didn’t expect him to do nights at the same time as days. . . guess I can’t complain too much.
Not much actually, need trumps want, in the price wars.
My husbands work boots and gloves. What I save on “my” stuff we can get what he needs, so he can continue bringing home the bacon.
I know all about those lovely ‘lunch’ periods. My childrens’ schools were so overcrowded that recess and lunch periods started and ended with the start and end of school. DD had recess as her first period, and a 9:30 ‘lunch’. DS’s high school lunches were at 9:30 one year (school started at 9:00…) and 3:00 another. Teachers with classes around noon started allowing students who brought their lunches to eat during class.
For the blender, when the Oster dies, invest in a VitaMix. I paid more than the cost of one replacing blenders that died every year, and never did a great job on smoothies, then the price of the VitaMix I’ve been using steadily for five years now — and it is still under warranty.
I have that blender (in a slightly different finish) and I love it. It’s LOUD, but I’ve found that putting a folded kitchen towel under the feet reduces that somewhat, and it does do a fabulous job at smoothing fruit.
I paid full price for it (but at Sam’s) and it was worth it.
Good Morning. We’re also a morning smoothie family. I often add V8-Fusion juice to add an extra dose of veggies to our diets. MKW
There are only a few things for which I will gladly pay full price. I’ve paid full price for each of my four beloved pairs of FitFlops (although the first pair was purchased with gift return credit, I’ll admit). Certain essential food items are always purchased whether or not they’re on sale: milk, Very Vanilla Silk for my coffee, Silk yogurt. Just about everything else, though, from food to clothes to household goods, is purchased on sale, with a coupon, with a member’s discount card, or off the clearance rack.
I pay full price for my sushi, too, but we’re such regulars at our sushi joint that we always get freebies like bowls of miso and desserts. Just say no to discount sushi.
Full price items I’ll pay for:
Good shoes that fit my w-i-d-e feet well.
Spray-on sunscreen.
Ingredients for the special meal.
Books. (If I can’t find them used)
Any tool I expect to use more than three times.
Btw, I can’t believe you didn’t buy the Blendtec blender.
(http://www.willitblend.com)
I’m fortunate enough to live in an area with a lot of really great locally owned businesses, many of which I would be really sad to see disappear in this tough economy, so finding great sales and deals for stuff I can’t buy from a local merchant offsets paying full price for the things I can “buy local.”
I second paying full price for a good bra! I found one that finally fit really well (tough for me to do) and it was $66. I didn’t even blink. That baby gets line dried and will last a while, far worth the sticker price. I also will pay full price for a great fitting pair of jeans. The price has to be reasonable to start with though (<$75).
Funny, because I was just thinking about posting the exact same thing! I didn’t buy a blender, of course, but last night I spent THIRTY FIVE BUCKS on a new backpack and water bottle for Nutmeg at Whole Foods.
I’d wanted to buy her school backpack on sale at Wag’s last week, as part of a Register Reward deal no less. But neither of the Walgreen’s I visited had the fairy backpack pictured in the ad. And there I was, after 10 p.m. the night before school starts, in Whole Foods, and there were those darling Crocodile Creek backpacks with matching water bottles.
This morning, Nutmeg was literally speechless with love for her new backpack. Which makes me feel a little less crappy about not getting her to school on time on her very first day of kindergarten.
If I could find the perfect bra, I would pay full price for it!!! WTHeck do I have a defective rack? I have even gone to one of those specialty bra shops and was disappointed!
Clothes that fit well, especially shoes. Anyone who is on their feel all day will agree that a good pair of shoes is worth the price.
One other thing… this isnt exactly the same, but close. There are certain things that come in brand name and generic choices where the brand name is unquestionably better. In those cases I will buy the name brand (full price or sale.. the idea being that it is more expensive than the generic). There are still certain things that ‘you get what you pay for’.
My husband actually found a Mac on sale at our local Mac store. The new models, which weren’t that much different than the last year’s, were released that week and they had two or three of last year’s models on sale for 50%. He was pretty excited.
I’ve been dying for a pair of Dansko clogs. For years. I’ve looked for sale prices. For years. I think I’ll just have to shell out the full price for them. And then enjoy them for the next 10 years.
great choice on the oster. i know because that’s the blender my ex used to make his frozen margaritas every. single. night. (why, yes, he’s an alcoholic. why do you ask? :))
i’ll pay full price for a gift IF i know it’s something the receiver will absolutely love and adore and USE. i usually think of those gifts well in advance of a holiday, though, and so can wait around a bit for a coupon code or sale.
Dansko girl: Check out 6pm.com. I just picked up a pair for 50 bucks.
I pay full price for a new Coach bag every couple of years, but that’s about it.
I pay full price for Behr house paint, although sometimes Home Depot sends me a card for five dollars off any fifty dollar purchase. Also, grass seed. My life is so exciting.
I paid full price for a hybrid car (Toyota Prius). I did research on Edmund’s and the bottom line was that I’d have to pay full price. I did, however, get them to take off the “Vehicle Shield Package” which is just a fancy wax job that cost $900. But having a hybrid when I drive 30 miles to work is well worth it. I’m getting 45 mpg and my gasoline bill is now cut in half.
I will also pay full price for a nice pair of slacks that fit, but that is typically $50 or less for me. I’m also all about paying for a good bra.
Blue jeans. Shoes. House paint. Workout gear. Cheese. Farmers market fruits/veggies. Furniture. Basically, stuff you can amortize over a relatively long period of time and that will give you great satisfaction. Or foods that contribute to your long-term health. (Cheese, a little harder to justify, BUT DAMN, I love cheese.)
Oh, and I paid full price for a Wii, but only after consulting Mir to find out if they ever go on sale.
I pay full price for lottery tickets. Only because I want to win and don’t have a choice! 😉
My running shoes. And jeans that fit me juuuuuust right. I’m so short I usually have to get them hemmed!
a smoothie tip: i add a small handful of walnuts in with mine. adds a little protein and omega-3s! not too much, though, or it will taste like a walnut smoothie. maybe a couple of tablespoons.
i have paid full price for a lot of maternity clothes. the ones that are on sale are usually for the outgoing season and will be useless by the time that season rolls around again. (i mean, let’s hope i’ve lost some of the baby weight by next year!)
A good bra, a good pair of jeans, a good pair of shoes. Things I tend to use every single day where quality and fit matter. I will also pay full price for food because I don’t buy most of the stuff that regularly goes on sale. Meats we are starting to buy locally and vegetables when we can. They don’t tend to offer coupons. ; ) But everything else I try to find on sale, at a garage sale, or second hand somewhere else.
I’m all for paying full price for the perfect bra, if I could ever find it….any suggestions??!!
For anyone who likes Victoria Secret bras, online they have several of the bras 2 for $40 and also you can get 40% off bras already on clearance. I just ordered 2 bras in a hard to find size (32D) for $41 shipped.
I’ll buy running shoes at full price. I go to a locally owned small store where they measure your feet and watch you walk and run and you try on a billion pairs. You try not to notice how much it costs, but it’s worth it.
Car seats for the kids. I’d rather buy the best I can than what’s on sale.
I’m getting older and pickier about everything. I’ll pay full price for purses, shoes, and clothes, because if by some miracle I can find something I actually like, that looks good/fits/is easy to take care of, I need to snap it up.
Also I’ll pay full price for our homeschool curricula. And Wickles relish.
MY coffee. ugly mug joe brazilian roast. it was on closeout at the local groc and i bought 8 bags (at closeout price of course) but now i’ll pay full price if i can find it.
I grew up near Atlanta and my lunch period senior year was at 9:35. Oh yeah.
I pay full price for certain brands – Cheerios cereal, Kleenex Cottonelle TP, etc.
Full-price? What does that mean? LOL
My son and I are smoothie drinkers in the AM too, and we love to make one with milk, vanilla yogurt, peanut butter, frozen banana and Ovaltine. Yum!
That’s a nice looking blender. I bet it makes great margaritas, too.
My daughter had a 10:30 lunch, too. Amazingly she comes home less hungry than she did last year when she had lunch at 12:30. I like the idea of breakfast smoothies for her, though.
I pay full price for running shoes. I like to support our locally owned running shoe shop, and they are wonderful people who give great service. I’ll pay full price for that!
In middle school, my lunch was at 10:21. In high school, 12:43. No rotations. (Different schools, but same building and same cafeteria.)