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Any time there's a major purchase to be made, my wife and I argue about how much to spend. It's difficult for us to agree on a price range since we have the opposite attitudes that guide our spending habits. In general, I think you're better off buying quality (with the concomitant higher MSRP), rather than shopping for a bargain that can often leave you with buyer's remorse. My wife thinks spending what she considers "too much" is obscene. I read an article recently about a study done on splurging. Researchers found that a high percentage of people experience greater regret when they tried to save their pennies. People who splurged were happier. Makes sense. Years down the line you don't think how great it was that you saved an extra $50 for something. You're probably more likely to think how the thousands of bucks you spent for an "unnecessary" vacation was completely worth it. I really didn't have the money to spare to buy my project car a couple of years ago, but I don't regret getting it. But I do regret that I never bought that 3.0csi when I had the chance! Now I have scientific data to support my point of view. And it explains why I'm often filled with regret when I take the wife's advice to save money. Saving money just doesn't pay in the long run!
The way we shop is changing radically because of e-commerce. You can buy pretty much anything you want online, including car audio products. This year I've purchased everything from books to furniture from different websites. It's great shopping on the web: You can find the best product at the best price without visiting a hundred brick-and-mortar stores. Usually, I don't have a problem with the products I buy or the service from the seller. It's the most convenient way to shop. But that applies almost only to mainstream consumer items. Buy a clock radio from Amazon.com, you plug it in when you get it and you're done. Buy an amp and subwoofer from some startup web company or anywhere else online and you still need to get them installed or install it yourself. Competent DIYers may not worry about the installation, but then there's still the matter of the shortened warranty if you don't have a product installed by an authorized dealer. That, however, isn't the real issue; after all, there are great online stores where you can purchase product, like Crutchfield.com. Incidentally, their customer support is stellar. The problem is that some websites that sell car audio fail to even process your order properly. Some companies aren't authorized by manufacturers to sell their products and yet they still offer them on the website.
Discount prices are tantalizing, but consumers often end with a higher price tag for their "inexpensive" purchase. And how do you place a price on the trouble you have to go through, the frustration of trying to get a refund, or the right product delivered to you? In the end, by trying to save some money you pay a much higher cost. According to my algebra, paying $100 for a speaker that doesn't work as it should (or at all) is a lot more expensive than paying $300 at a reputable shop for one that performs the way you'd expect. Read our special feature on buying on the web. Manufacturers have had a difficult time dealing with the problems created by certain companies that serve neither them nor the consumers who are enticed by the low MSRPs. And think twice before you try to save your dollars. More often than not, there's a reason why you pay more-you get more. If only the wife could understand that. Yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that.