Mythbusting: You get what you pay for.

00 on 05/05/2014 - 15:56

The phrase "you get what you pay for" is used quite often in OzB posts.

This cliché suggests that if you do not pay much money for something, it is probably of poor quality.
With the opposite being if you pay well for something, it is more likely to be of good quality.

Similar to "what goes around comes around" it's thrown about as if it were some universal truth.
As with this just-world fallacy, perhaps there's cognitive bias that suppliers always fairly give you "what you pay".

The posts on OzB itself demonstrate this isn't always true. Otherwise there would be no real 'bargains'.
Despite this, it is still frequently quoted.

So what are the greatest examples of getting what you did not pay for?
In either direction - a huge overpayment for poor quality or a massive saving on something high quality…. let's bust this myth!

General Discussion

Comments

  • BuyoTheCat on 05/05/2014 - 16:16
    +24

    We are going to need explosives, firearms, more explosives, and a few pretty girls to bust this myth

    • 2ndeffort on 05/05/2014 - 16:40
      +3

      Not sure if it will help bust the myth but keen to follow your methodology….bring on the pretty girls!

    • ProjectZero on 05/05/2014 - 16:51

      wait… "a few dozen pretty girls"

      fixed~ =D

      • BuyoTheCat on 06/05/2014 - 08:47
        +1

        you are just being greedy

    • pyro love bird on 06/05/2014 - 15:54
      +1

      And Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman

      • imcold on 07/05/2014 - 09:43
        +2

        Well why not just submit it to myth-busters its a lot easier and they do all the investigation and thinking for free.

      • hahaboy on 07/05/2014 - 20:03
        +3

        OzBargain probably can't afford to hire both people, so we can replace Jamie with a walrus.
        http://i.imgur.com/6Oh0z.gif

  • mskeggs on 05/05/2014 - 16:34
    +32

    I bought a key chain bottle opener for 5c at the Salvo's 25 years ago. Even then, 5c wasn't worth stopping to pick up.
    Still have it on my keys.
    It's my favourite bargain ever, because I get to sound like an old man whenever I talk about it.

  • rvsure on 05/05/2014 - 16:34
    +3

    All those ScoopOn 1c deals during Christmas period is one example for getting what we didn't pay for. Many OzBargainers scored movie tickets and gift cards.

    • WT on 06/05/2014 - 13:54
      +3

      many of us got those crap watches which ended up in the bin

  • Ughhh on 05/05/2014 - 17:08
    +6

    I think "You get what you pay for" mainly only really applies to no-name cheap crap, like cables on ebay.

    The $250 (-$50 after cashback) Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is no different in quality compared to the full priced ~$370 ones.

    • fruit on 07/05/2014 - 12:52
      +5

      You mean that $2 HDMI cable I got off eBay isn't any good?
      Or that $2 usb cable?

      They all work great for me, enjoy your $1000 diamond studded HDMI cable.

      • Ughhh on 07/05/2014 - 20:46
        -1

        The $2 HDMI cables are good, I would buy them too (never bought a HDMI cable for $1000 btw, or even at 1% of $1000), but I wouldn't expect the build quality to be fantastic. I can tell a difference between the ebay ipod cables and the genuine cable.

    • Thaal Sinestro on 08/05/2014 - 02:11
      +1

      Cheap generic AV cables from Ebay are very good value for money. They do the same job as cables 6 times thier price in Brick and Mortar Stores.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/05/2014 - 17:51
    +8

    Tupperware.

    I bought 3 cheap water bottles (2 x $1 ones, 1 x $4 one) at Woolies at the start of the school year and an expensive $30 Tupperware one for me (it was the only one that suited what I was looking for in the shape/volume - figured it would be a good 'investment').

    Tupperware one started leaking about 3 weeks later, despite it being looked after and not misused in any way.

    Woolies ones are still going strong, despite daily abuse by my kids.

    To further compound the dissatisfaction, I've contacted Tupperware twice via their website contact form and once via their Facebook page to enquire about how to get a replacement under their supposed 'Life time guarantee'. A month later and I've still heard nothing back.

    So much for paying extra for a superior product and superior customer service.

    • Geewhizz on 05/05/2014 - 17:54
      +1

      Go to the dealer that you bought it from.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 15:49

        I can't find her contact details :(

        • OzJD on 07/05/2014 - 22:04
          +2

          Any tupperware distributor can get you a replacement.

    • Third_Gear on 06/05/2014 - 14:28
      -5

      You really shouldn't reuse those water bottles as they are made to be disposed of. Heaps of links out there with more info about why…mostly about poisons leaking as the bottles get used and what not. Should always have proper BPA free bottles for daily use.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 15:48
        +1

        Eh? They are all reusable bottles that I'm talking about. The $1 ones are the cheap BPA free school ones they bring out every January - usually $2 but go on special every second week.

  • sm007h on 05/05/2014 - 18:08
    +8

    You mean, I really can change my life around if I buy this cable?
    http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Digital-Audio-Ethernet-Connect…

    • Charlatan on 06/05/2014 - 08:58

      Does that thing actually have some purpose/reason for its price?

      • sm007h on 06/05/2014 - 18:10
        +5

        It gives you this warm squishy feeling on the inside when you hook your Bose speakers to your B&O TV. It also tells tradespeople to charge you triple their normal rate so you can feel like you are getting bang for your bucks.

    • Riczter on 06/05/2014 - 21:49
      +3

      That one's no good, it hasn't got antivirus like this one does.
      http://www.zdnet.com/this-xbox-hdmi-cable-has-anti-virus-pro…

  • nephilim on 05/05/2014 - 18:09
    +1

    Those 90cent coles tuna cans, John West and others can jump of a bridge with 2.50 Vietnamese tuna.

    • mafmouf on 06/05/2014 - 16:15
      +4

      Coles tuna… tried it once to save 10c… so much disappointment… and mush.

      • Freighter on 06/05/2014 - 16:20

        I agree, I was buying the 5 for $4 Coles tuna from memory, but the plain ones are just horrid - too salty or something, I don't know. Now I just spend the extra 10 cents and buy one of others (John West or Safcol) for a much nicer taste.

        • mafmouf on 07/05/2014 - 08:25

          It's not like it was salty or anything. It just seemed like the worst cuts of the tuna were blended and stuffed into the cans. I saw some really strange things inside too. Other tuna I find have at least chunks of tuna, not mush.

  • silverrat23 on 05/05/2014 - 21:05
    +1

    Tarocash collared shirt and tie for $10, thanks to the $50 voucher posted sometime ago.

  • cpho on 05/05/2014 - 23:39
    +1

    Thai market iPhone cables! Got one for $2. Still going strong, even through iOS7. Should've bought more…

  • johnn on 06/05/2014 - 01:44
    +11

    At the risk of losing my OzBargain license, I will have to respectfully disagree on this one.

    These quasi-truths were never meant to (nor should they) be strictly applied in every sense, but rather they are mentioned such that the underlying wisdoms should be considered.

    I don't think most people, particularly on this website, equate higher prices to always being amazing quality or vice-versa. But nor do I think that most people can argue that in overwhelming circumstances that cheaper made products are usually on-par or better than more expensive products- this being across all product categories.

    Hence, the conventional wisdom that when purchasing cheap products the risk involved is quite often much greater than the given savings. The biggest risks of course being that it is simply not fit for purpose, it is defective, or it has a much shorter lifespan. Myself being a constant traveller and occasional mountain climber, these risks are greatly amplified to the point of being life-threatening.

    Yet even for the regular person, risk is an important consideration which is often underestimated and not understood. Countless examples exist out there, for example people buying new cheap knives every year instead of initially investing in a more expensive set which will last decades.

    If anything, I see some slight confirmation bias at play here- especially on a forum full of professional cheapskates who would more likely chase and remember greater deals than the general public. A few select outlying examples of good bargains/horrible overpricing does not quash the norm.

    I can certainly say that over my entire lifetime thus far, the number of times I have purchased cheap products and received better quality than (well-researched) more expensive products has been a rather minor incidence on the greater scale. A sort-of modified mantra which I live by is that I look to purchase good quality products at cheap prices, as opposed to simply buying products at cheap prices.

    But yes, if you would like to bust the myth that these statements are always true, then yes, I will concur. But it still does not belie the notion that it is still widely applicable in many, if not most, circumstances.

    • johnn on 06/05/2014 - 01:46
      +8

      A relevant quote from John Ruskin

      “It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought as incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

      The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

    • cwongtech on 06/05/2014 - 20:53
      +12

      A sort-of modified mantra which I live by is that I look to purchase good quality products at cheap prices, as opposed to simply buying products at cheap prices.

      Completely agree. I call myself a frugal highroller. Not going to burn my cash.. until its on sale.
      And I define a sale price by lower-than-current-market-prices for a limited time, obviously not by RRP. That's for amateurs, we're professionals here, we don't run by RRP.

      • johnno07 on 07/05/2014 - 00:17
        +3

        Frugal high-roller. This perfectly describes me. If you don't mind, I'm going to use it now too haha.

        I own a ton of quality, high-end "stuff" that I've generally paid very good prices for. The key to this is a combo of research and patience.

        I go into serious research mode on any product I'm planning to buy that costs about more than $20. This might be overkill, but I actually enjoy filling my brain with current market prices - as I'm sure many Ozbargainers can relate. 10-15 minutes of Googling will put you miles ahead of most salesmen in a store.

        Patience - unless you need to right away, you can hold on for a price drop. Check pricing trends (on Ozbargain, CamelCamelCamel, Steamprices etc) and way up your odds of getting a price drop before you need the item, with the chances of the price hiking up at the point where you must purchase. In saying this, I still do impulse buy from time to time - but only after researching.

        • mskeggs on 07/05/2014 - 20:31
          +4

          And how good does it feel when you have been on the look out for a new something for a few months then, BAM, it shows up 60% off on OzB.

  • Mumbles on 06/05/2014 - 04:12
    +3

    High powered LED torches and LED headlamps. I bought one of the $6 LED torches that occasionally appear on OzBargain.

    There is virtually no difference in terms of risk because the design is so simple and has limited points of failure.

    The LED chip is the most complicated component and is the same quality no matter what product it is found in.

    LED torches (and head lamps) sold in bicycle shops, camping stores, gun shops can be 4 to 10 times the price!

    I think its a matter of charging "what the market can bear".

  • Gdsamp on 06/05/2014 - 08:02
    +3

    Most definitely the case when it comes to bicycles.
    Those $50 Dunlop ones from Big W are complete trash. Poor brakes, gears and a heavy frame make them almost unrideable.
    Even those $200-$300 Diamondback bikes are not as good as the ones bought from proper bike shops (read: big brands like Giant, Trek, etc), where the cheapest bike is at least $400.

    • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 12:04
      +3

      We bought some of those $99 black Dunlop mountain bikes on clearance at BigW last year. Just something cheap for our teens to ride on the beach. When one was ridden up a very slight hill, the pedals started to spin forward, without the rear wheel moving - as if the rear cluster were tightening up from not being put on tight. But as I watched it kept spinning, until the thread that the cluster screws onto was completely stripped. It was still in warranty and the bike had only been ridden twice before, over a very short distance. Then I noticed: "30 days warranty on wheels."

      I'm sick and tired of all this mountain of junk pouring in Australia. A couple of decades ago, even the cheapest rubbish bikes were better quality than what they import today. Just as well they're buying all our resources to manufacture this junk just as fast as it comes back, or else we'd sink into the ocean from the weight of all the landfill.

      • Speckled Jim on 06/05/2014 - 15:19
        +3

        With all the recent discussion of tightening up cycling laws in Australia, this issue is of greater importance.

        The focus is presently on rider behaviour, motorist and pedestrian attitudes, liability of all parties and the way forward with regards to safety. There's much discussion of cycling lanes, registration and licensing, but nothing on the cycles themselves.

        Australian design rules (ADRs) do exist, but aside from defining what a bicycle is, who knows what the performance, quality and safety standards are? I don't, nor do I know if such details exist.
        These need to be revised, widely disseminated and enforced.

        As for the long-running quality drop? Yeah, it's real. Part of the problem can be traced to dwindling local manufacturing (eg Repco, Cyclops etc). The only benchmarks now are those of cheap imitation, where if they can cast and bend the metal just so, it will sell. Depth of engineering is absent for the sake of rushed volume production, which is ironic when you consider where most of the cheapies come from.
        For the young, I'm alluding to the ubiquity of cycling in China before they sold out to the US.

        The familiar duopoly is also at play where department store bikes are concerned. Just as Coles-Myer and Woolworths are tightening the screws on grocery manufacturers and suppliers, they're doing the same to others (such as bicycle suppliers). This race to the bottom guarantees great profits and dividends to shareholders, but puts the poor mug consumer at risk. Most buyers aren't experts. Their modest requirement for something "basic" is almost always unsafe in one or more respects when purchased from Target/BigW/Kmart etc.

        I believe* you must either become familiar with what to look for in a bike + learn setup and maintenance OR buy from a specialist who should have better quality stock to begin with, can set it up for you and service it if required.

        *Says he who bought a Russell Ingall cheapie from SCA

        • Thaal Sinestro on 08/05/2014 - 02:16

          Registration and licensing for bicycles and cyclists? How typical of the nanny state. The totalitarians running our country will never stop until personal liberty is completely abolished and everything is tightly regulated by penpushers.

        • Speckled Jim on 08/05/2014 - 10:25

          Think it's bad now? It's nothing compared to what will inevitably follow.

          Some is old news, some current and some yet to come

          There's a growing push toward The Singularity among technologists, futurists and multinationals.

          Transhumanism has been creeping into popular culture with films like The Matrix trilogy, Tron Legacy and Transcendence; the end-game is a world where everyone is neural-linked to "The Beast" for the ultimate in hive-mind efficiency.

          Just a few years ago, keen nightclub patrons were selected for priority VIP entry — kids were lining up for RFID implants. All in the name of convenience.

          We can substitute "convenience" for:
          - security,
          - safety,
          - innocence, presumption of (Habeas Corpus) and
          - prestige.

          They can also be combined for more persuasive compound benefits! I'm sure they will be.

  • exc3113nce on 06/05/2014 - 09:04
    +2

    $5 singlets from Cotton On with free delivery - so comfy and lasted ages.

  • Tcm9669 on 06/05/2014 - 09:33
    +3

    I got a free domain, for 2 years. I did not pay. just as good as my other paid domain :)

    Paying $1.417 per litre on petrol in the morning, and in the evening it's $1.599. Same petrol :)

    Bought a near new mouse worth $149 for $49 on eBay. Same mouse.

    Bought car side lamps for $2 off ebay, saw SAME PACKAGE AND BRAND in a shop selling for $15

    $0.99 ipod and micro usb cables, opposed to average $10 in shops. Same thing, works as good.. still going solid after years of use.

  • Speckled Jim on 06/05/2014 - 10:41
    +6

    The Checkout had an acedemic explain the closely related phenomenon of over-researching products, and the futility of always seeking "The Best". He advises, Good enough is almost always good enough.

    There are always exceptions, and his assertion accommodates them. So in most cases (TVs, cables, noodles, baking flour etc) I believe he is correct.

    It seems to knock the discussed axiom on its head. If you can get "good enough" for a bargain, you'll still get more than you paid for.

    If I Could Say One Thing: Barry Schwartz

    • hahaboy on 07/05/2014 - 20:09
      +1

      Love the checkout. Great quality programming, that actually teaches you something as well.

    • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 18:10

      Need more detail! lol

    • mls82 on 06/05/2014 - 18:13
      +1

      Never heard of them before. Brilliant reviews!

  • mysticbiscuit on 06/05/2014 - 17:04
    +1

    How about those Monster HDMI cables?

  • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 17:40
    +1

    Best Bargain is 10 dollar sneakers
    Not sure if anyone remembers the FILA vouchers a few years ago
    took that into the shop at haymarket
    found shoes that were already discounted
    used the voucher and got the shoes for 10 dollars
    The RRP for the shoes was 120
    soo $110 dollar saving

  • urzu on 06/05/2014 - 20:01
    +1

    SONY PRODUCTS
    My biggest disappointment was my Sony VAIO Duo 11 (I didn't pay for it, thankfully, if was given to me from work). Even though I love Japan and do my best to live their brands, Sony just tramples on my hopes.

    The laptop had many issues: rubbish track pad, screen that got color burn in after a few minutes, keyboard that repeated keys randomly amongst many issues.

    My Xperia Z Ultra was also a huge letdown. My first one had a stiff and non-clicky volume and power button. The replacement had dead pixels and bright pixels.

    SONY, I want to love you, you're just making it hard!

    • jzdhgkd on 06/05/2014 - 22:39

      Sony cameras are great =)

      • SavatteDodo on 07/05/2014 - 09:42

        and the PS4, that is enough to love Sony.

        • mousie on 07/05/2014 - 16:36
          -1

          where the games?

        • SavatteDodo on 08/05/2014 - 08:44
          +1

          Transistor PS4
          Action , RPG
          Supergiant Games
          May 20, 2014

          Wolfenstein: The New Order PS4
          Shooter
          Bethesda Softworks
          May 22, 2014

          Watch Dogs PS4
          Action
          Ubisoft
          May 27, 2014

          Murdered: Soul Suspect PS4
          Adventure
          Square Enix
          June 6, 2014

          EA Sports UFC PS4
          Fighting
          Electronic Arts
          June 20, 2014

          The Elder Scrolls Online PS4
          RPG
          Bethesda Softworks
          June 2014

          Madden NFL 15 PS4
          Sports
          Electronic Arts
          August 29, 2014

          Destiny PS4
          Shooter
          Activision
          September 9, 2014

  • Reggie74 on 06/05/2014 - 20:39
    +3

    Over the years, my wife & I have picked up some cheaply priced end of season clothing from the big shopping chain brands like K-Mart, Big W, Target & Best & Less. Once the end of season hits & they transfer clothes from their usual fixtures to the portable racks we don't mind sorting through them. For example I picked up a nice black jacket from Target with it's normal price of $49.99 down to $14.00. With any item of clothing I buy I checked it all over & it was in great condition. Often some of the excess end of season clothing isn't the best of design hence why it hasn't sold but there's usually some kind of treasure in there to be had. For me that's definitely getting what I paid for.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 22:30

    I know I'm preaching to the converted but:

    1. iPhone and general comp cables - often $40 cable from dick smith is identical to the $5 one from msy/cpl and maybe even the $1 one from ebay

    2. HDMI cables - there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to pay more than $5-$10 for HDMI cable for normal householder use. Sure the high-end ones (eg. Monster for $100 WTF????????) have better shielding etc, but you wont notice the difference unless you have a $15,000 kit and $10,000 speakers.

    • fruit on 07/05/2014 - 12:55
      +3

      $5? Any more than $2 + FREE POSTAGE is too much.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 22:39
    +1

    But OTOH when buying appliances it is worth at least thinking about buying a better one than the $199 unit from aldi. For example we have a large family and go through 5-6 wash loads every day. 12 years ago we bought a Whirlpool "commercial quality" washer made in good ol US of A, and no hiccups so far (touch wood). Although I was sceptical about the quality claims, its proven me wrong. We got a lot of use out of it, and its still going.

    I know this is cheepskate heaven, all Im saying is if you know you will be using a product A LOT think about getting a good quality one.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2014 - 22:45

    And to make it 3 in a row: The best value product I ever got was a small 12" Hitachi portable tv from my first ever pay packet. That was 37 years ago!!! We would still be using it if not for the damned digital changeover and switching off of analog signals.

    Still worked perfectly. You wont get quslity like that today.

  • ESEMCE on 07/05/2014 - 08:22
    +1

    Where's the myth?
    People complain about Vaya's Customer Service more vehmently than they do about any of the big carriers (despite their poor CS records). Vaya's Customer Service is worse but that's where's they make savings that allow them to offer unbeatable deals (perhaps less so than in the past).
    A Cheap knockoff brand iPhone is of far lower quality than the genuine article.
    If you grey import a Camera, even though it came from the same factory and is indistinguishable from a local apart from serial number, you don't get a local warranty, you have to ship it back to where it came from (at your expense) in the event that there is a fault.

    • BuyoTheCat on 07/05/2014 - 11:38

      I only complain about how Vaya charges for their 4G

  • imcold on 07/05/2014 - 09:51
    +1

    Anyway i'm pretty sure the cinema tickets you get with coke codes are nearly just as good as those paid with green stuff from your wallet.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2014 - 13:20

    Check out ABC's The Checkout:

    http://www.abc.net.au/tv/thecheckout/clips/

    And scroll down to "HDMI Cables" clip.

  • sim36 on 07/05/2014 - 15:29

    a product or a service? you get what you pay for may be more applicable to paying for a service. Caveat Emptor!

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2014 - 17:13
    +3

    Got a Microwave oven about 8 years ago.
    Cheapest one I could find, so cheap it doesn't even have a brand name on it. Bought it from some 2-dollar style warehouse place. On clearance. Cost ~$20.

    Brilliant, says I. I'll just get it to see me through moving into the new place, then when it breaks I can get a proper one. 20 dollars for a few months use, that'll do.

    Still waiting to get a proper shiny one as I can't bring myself to throw out a perfectly working item. :)

    I've had a lot of luck with cheap junk over the years. For me, buying something dirt-cheap and aiming to replace it with a decent model in a few months time means the bloody thing will never die, just to spite me…

    • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2014 - 17:46

      Agreed, bought an aldi microwave for about $40 on clearance when aldi first opened ~10 yrs ago, lasted about 7 yrs. Finally died, but got good use out of it

  • Azn310 on 07/05/2014 - 18:13

    Supercheap Auto. If you are a member, they sometimes give you $10 credit to spend in store (twice this year) and you basically get to pick whatever you want. I've got magnetic pick up tools, key rings, tyre gauges, all for free.

    • hahaboy on 08/05/2014 - 01:02

      How much is membership?

      • Azn310 on 08/05/2014 - 13:58

        Club plus membership: $5 and you get $10 credit to spend, so you already net $5 to start with

  • ExpressCoffee on 07/05/2014 - 19:21
    +1

    Bought a jumper from a US website for $18.95 after discounts. The next week it was a new release item in a boutique store in Melbourne Central priced at $119.95.

    Winning…!

  • outlander on 07/05/2014 - 23:30

    My understanding is this saying came about from a person spending less on an essential part and its failure having expensive consequences. But what comes to mind for me, is all the times I've paid what I'm 'supposed to' and ended up screwed. Tradesmen is a classic one. We live in a time of mass manufactured crap, where products are pushed out with known faults to meet arbitrary deadlines. To get anything of real value, you would probably be spending at least 3 times whatever it costs now. Which is why I try to do/make things myself, and ironically probably end up spending 10 times to achieve the outcome.

    The saying might have held true once, but in this era its too easy for somebody to buy the cheapest product and add a few bucks on, or just blatently lie on the packet. I couldn't tell the difference between good bedsheets and bad ones, until I spend $100 on a set. I like them a lot, but I still have no idea where they sit on the spectrum, but I can tell you they only have a thread count of 300, which is a lot less than what most marketers would want you to want.

  • Thaal Sinestro on 08/05/2014 - 02:23

    A massive example of not getting what you paid for: Electricity prices. They doubled in 6 years even though the price of coal halved during this time. Most of Australia's energy comes from the combustion of coal. Extreme rip off. Some of the blame can be attributed to environmentalists, forcing the construction of non-coal power that is 3 times as expensive to generate as coal power. Also greedy power companies (tautology? is there such a thing as a non-avaricious company?)

    A good Example of getting something quality at low price: Digital download computer games several years after their release. Pay less than 30% of the original game cost, for the same game with patches and DLCs included. The only possible drawback is that the multiplayer component may be almost dead after 2 years unless it is a popular title. ANother advantage with buying late is that there may be quality mods available (eg Skyrim, crusader Kings, Mount & Blade Warband).

    • mskeggs on 08/05/2014 - 07:39
      +4

      Even the most cursory use of google will show you almost all of the power increase is due to network upgrades. I think it is also unreasonable to suggest the price of thermal coal has much to do with power cost rises. All the coal based generators use very long term fixed contracts, and the spot price of thermal coal has been all over the place for the last decade, not just trending down. See RBA graph:
      http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/smp/2013/feb/graphs/graph…

      Blaming environmentalists is just parroting Alan Jones or other empty vessels.

      • ESEMCE on 08/05/2014 - 12:57
        +1

        Great Podcast about the cost of power.. (which highlights that unnecessary Network upgrades are by far the main reason for Electricity blowouts)
        http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbrief…

        • Thaal Sinestro on 08/05/2014 - 21:41

          I recently read that China can produces power at 10% of the cost we pay in Australia, using coal imported from Australia. Here in Australia we certainly don't get what we pay for. Why should we have to pay such exorbitant costs for coal mined locally. It is a national asset and prices should be regulated for the national good, not the interest of foreign owned mining companies.

          According to the ABC article we have too much power now. I thought scarcity lead to price increases and surpluses result in falling prices. Not in Australia.
          As always, we are being ripped off by capitalists, subsidizing them to build infrastructure we don't need. I am sure there is a big kickback in this for the politicans, more bribes (oops I meant donations).

        • pyro love bird on 09/05/2014 - 01:29

          China also pays their workers about 10% as much as we pay ours. If that.

        • mskeggs on 09/05/2014 - 07:17

          Australia produces power at 15% of the cost I pay, see wholesale pricing here:
          http://www.aemo.com.au/Electricity/Data/Price-and-Demand/Ave…

          Works out around 5c kWh.
          We also have a vastly more reliable system, much better pollution controls, health and safety standards etc. Again, you just seem to be spouting Alan Jones style thought bubbles.
          In most states, including yours, power prices are already regulated by the government. Australian thermal coal is never, to my knowledge, sold at spot for power generation, only over long term supply contracts lower than than spot pricing. I'd be interested to be corrected if this is wrong, but based on the multiple errors in your comments I don't think it likely.

          Your last point I totally agree with. The distortive market forces on power distributors is shielding them from market competition, while simultaneously protecting them from the consequences of over investing in infrastructure - but where the government (i.e. the people) own those distributors the excess profit goes back to state revenue. This is a bad outcome in terms of regressive taxation, but if state power companies made lower profits, other taxes would have to rise.

        • ESEMCE on 09/05/2014 - 08:42

          China also have massive pollution issues probably cause they don't scrub their smoke stacks (costs money to do that)
          We pay the global price for Coal, just like we pay the Global price for any commodity. Just cause it's mined here doesn't mean we should pay less than someone else is willing to pay!

          And we do pay less for power.. But the price consumers pay for power is more than just "how much does the power cost to produce+bit of profit for the producer".
          The Spot Price for power isn't peaking as high as it once was..
          However, we pay vastly more for the network than we used to.

  • Baghern on 08/05/2014 - 09:32
    • gone off tangent
  • pyro love bird on 08/05/2014 - 11:57
    +1

    Recently went to the Taste of Perth event, and I literally didn't pay for it.
    I won 2 x VIP tickets from Westfield + claimed 2 x $50 worth of crowns via ninerewards.

    It was fantastic!

    • BuyoTheCat on 08/05/2014 - 12:13

      How did perth taste like?

      • pyro love bird on 08/05/2014 - 16:12
        +4

        Perth tasted okay, Melbourne tastes better

  • ankor on 09/05/2014 - 01:12
    +1

    A whole bunch of clothing from The Mens Shop when the prices were ridiculously cheap.
    Too bad it's just Van Heusen now :S

  • Jaxr on 09/05/2014 - 11:01

    The more I seem to pay for restaurant/take out food the crappier the taste quality.

    I hate paying too much for food then finding I could have cooked better. Especially as I am no cook.

    example the cheap Chinese at my local foodcourt is awesome about6 $7 a dish. Traveling last week twice I paid $16 for the same dish that was all mushy batter and I had to bribe the dog to eat.

  • Grish on 09/05/2014 - 15:17

    It's not a myth, the OP's very own excerpt:

    "This cliché suggests that if you do not pay much money for something, it is probably of poor quality.
    With the opposite being if you pay well for something, it is more likely to be of good quality."

    Is true… Notice the word "probably" and "more likely" - This is saying that it is an exception to the rule that paying less is of lesser quality.

    OP continues to say "The posts on OzB itself demonstrate this isn't always true." - But the excerpt never said it's "always true" it already covered the exceptions by using the words "probably" and "more likely".

    :)

    • ProjectZero on 12/05/2014 - 15:22

      So in other words… its plausible? Right Jamie Grish?

  • Shadow54 on 12/07/2014 - 16:21
    +1

    I once hired a "tradesman" and paid him $100 to "service" my home air conditioner. He turned up with a nylon brush, spent 3 minutes brushing the external filter cover and Hey Presto! job done.
    Paid good money for a nonsence service.

    On the positive side, I hired a plumber to unblock my drain. He spent 60 minutes at my place, did a great job of unblocking the drain and charged me just $60………..

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