To spend a lot on something that lasts years instead of similar on lots of cheaper items that don't last?

[babysaurus]

This is a light hearted AIBU, please be gentle!

A friends daughter, 9, hates brushing her hair as its thick and brushing hurts it. She also fights having it washed for the same reason. Her mum has bought detangling sprays and lots of different brushes, "the last one cost me £8", but none have helped enough. I have a Mason Pearson brush which she used (I took it over for her to try) and the difference was amazing. Unfortunately these brushes cost £35+. My friend said she would (not could) pay that much for a brush as its ridiculous, but has prob spent at least that already on cheaper brands.

This prompted a lighthearted discussion with her over buying one off expensive products that last forever (my last Mason Pearson was a 12th birthday present and it lasted till I was 36) and her preference of buying cheaper things but on a regular basis (she has pans that look like Le Creuset but aren't, for example) because paying huge amounts for things when you can get an equivalent for less is apparently the way to go. (Not a purely financial decision.)

So, if you were there too, would you be agreeing with me or my friend...?!

[deleted203]

I'd be recommending this:-

www.amazon.co.uk/Tangle-Teezer-Professional-Detangling-Hairbrush/dp/B00264NW7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368130752&sr=8-1&keywords=detangler&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

They are fabulous!

[babysaurus]

Thanks Sowornout I will do!

[babysaurus]

Ah! It could be a push though at £9! She said she has spent 'close to £50 already'...!

[deleted203]

- tell her that another £9 won't matter then! Honestly, I have horribly matted thick hair in a morning and after washing...and this is the best thing I've ever found.

(I'm not on commission - I just wish I'd had one when DDs were young, because the eldest has inherited my hair!)

[babysaurus]

I will do!

Weirdly this thread seems to have doubled, this is the second version of it. Weird!

[onepieceoflollipop]

I agree , but sometimes I wince when I pay out £££
in my case, I was fed up of buying cardigans etc from supermarkets, I wear a similar style a LOT. The cheaper ones went bobbly. If I spent say £10 they only lasted a few months. If I spent £30 or more and made sure they were not acrylic they lasted for ages.

Oh and yy to tangle teezer brushes - my mum paid

[mercibucket]

who says cheaper versions of le creuset dont last? cast iron is pretty sturdy stuff

[Jacaqueen]

15 years ago I spent £2500 on a sofa. Not a suite just a 3 seater sofa.

I am sitting on it tonight and it looks exactly the same, is just as comfortable and I love it just as much as I did the day I bought it. Later this year I am redecorating the sitting room as part of a major extension/remodelling project. The sofa will be staying. Infact the whole room is being designed around the bloody thing.

So IMO yanbu. As my (and most other peoples) gran used to say, 'Buy cheap, buy twice. Or if we are talking about sofas, ' Buy cheap, buy every couple of years.

[ConfusedPixie]

yanbu. It's the throwaway culture we ive in though, we don't see the worth over time, just at the time we buy it, and are happy to chuck things out to buy new things.

Saying that, it is easier to spendless as it isn't so much of a hit!

Tangle teezers are great :)

[HollyBerryBush]

I spent £80 on a classic suit when I was 17 (1981) ...still fits, never dated, 3 weeks wages so about £1,000 in todays money. Hell, I'd cry if I spent £80 in todays money, let alone £2,5K on a work outfit.

pay once, pay well, buy classic.

[PacificDogwood]

YANBU.

I hate disposable tat, I really do.
And it all ends up on landfill

[LaurieFairyCake]

I'm Scottish and I hate 'wasting' money - if I have no money I buy and use it even when it's shabby or shite

And when I have money I buy the very best so it lasts.

This leads to me having a really ugly Tesco cardigan (which was a panic cheap buy to go with an interview outfit) and a £3000 quid bed - both of which I've had over ten years.

And I also have an expensive sofa which is now 12 years old and totally fine.

[babysaurus]

Strangely, on the first version of this thread (no idea why or how it duplicated) the majority seemed to be of the buy cheaper contingent!

I too have an expensive sofa (well, kind of, I actually got it via eBay for £500 where they are £2500 new) and love it. And with DS and the dog it needs to be as hard wearing as it is. My sister got one from DFS three years ago and has had to replace cushions already.

[BigBongTheory]

Yanbu about the brushes. I and the DC love out FM brushes and they turn around suspiciously to check I'm using one.

We've tried tangle teaser which was a waste of money.

[babysaurus]

Pacificdogwood I used the landfill argument but she didn't seem to think that was a issue. (She also thinks I'm a bit of a hippy so maybe she put it down to that - she's lovely but we often have VERY different ideas!)

[Confuseddd]

Wow Hollyberry bush - that suit was a good buy - 32 years and going strong!

I buy the best I can these days but it does mean going without sometimes and wearing stuff into holes until I have means to buy a decent brand.

[babysaurus]

BigBong what are FM brushes?

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Well not everyone HAS 35 pounds to lay out on a brush. I wish I could...but it would chomp my budget up for the week....I have money for things laid aside and what's left must go a number of ways.

[Laquitar]

I dont understand the bit about the pans. I have tesco iron cast ones and they are good.But before that i had very cheap ones that i kept replacing them. So in my opinion the tesco cast iron are better than the very cheap normal pans but as good as the brand ones.

Sofas yes. Cheap ones dont last ime. Something like table or wardrobes i will buy cheaper ones.

[babysaurus]

neomaxi I asked if it was due to the cost, mentioned in the previous version of this thread, but she said it wasn't, it was just because she didn't agree with spending so much

[Laquitar]

'she also thinks i'm a bit of a hippy'.

You don't sound like a hippy to me

[BackforGood]

You can't make a hard and fast rule for everything. Many, many things it's worth getting something cheaper, even if you have to replace it sooner, but every now and then, the odd thing might be worth spending more. I've not found much correlation between spending more = better value for money though, quite the opposite in fact.
Oh, and I bought detangle combs from Avon for my dc years ago for about £1.99 and they are still going strong despite long years of swimming training and long hair not being a good mix. I'm with your friend - NO WAY would I spend £35 on a hairbrush.

[babysaurus]

laquitar

[MousyMouse]

yanbu if it's affordable.
I would not get into debt, for example to buy a new car if I could afford a cheaper make (maybe used) outright.

[expatinscotland]

I use a Tangle Teezer and a Mason Pearson brush on DD2. Bought the Mason Pearson brush about 20 years ago for myself and it's still going strong.