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Comment by mmel | Hacker News Reader

I've always found the most joyous part of consumerism is the researching for a particular product pre-acquisition, rather than the product itself post-acquisition.

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It is the most engaging part, but almost to the point of obsession to me. So much that I often have to tell myself, especially with electronics/technology, "just find a good product for a reasonable price".

It's one reason I especially like The Wirecutter (as well as a few other sites for non-tech stuff). Is their recommendation always going to be the absolute optimum for me under all circumstances? Maybe not. But I probably will be fine with it (especially if I take a quick look at closely related models).

Channel your obsession! I'm the same way and it grew into the most comprehensive database of flashlights around: http://flashlights.parametrek.com

Oh that is awesome

That's very inspirational! I've often thought of putting my useless but extensive knowledge about something obscure to good use, but never did.

I think this is a subset of "dreaming of what it'll be like once you've reached a goal tends to be more pleasurable than reaching that goal".

Wow, strangely it's the exact opposite for me. I wish I had something which knew my tastes and preferences so well that I didn't have to spend my time digging through the mountains of excess to find what I need, and it would just know "this is what you want"

I agree . I was shopping around for laptops for a week and it was addictive (like a game) . I ended up not buying anything but I still had a good adventure.

"An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit." -- Pliny the Younger

"Rarum id quidem nihil enim aeque gratum est adeptis quam concupiscentibus." : https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger

Definitely...to find the absolute best product for the least amount of money. Can spend days doing that. Often it also shows you if you REALLY want or need something and that is kind of rare. I doubt I do more than 5 purchases a year that are not food, includes clothing, electronics maybe once every 2-3 y if at all.

And I thought I was the only one that enjoys sitting back, opening countless tabs on my iPad and researching various options for hours, days or weeks (depending on the significance of purchase) as soon as I have decided that I in fact want/need the new thing.

It's easy to find the high end and the cheapest option of a product category, but there's always the sweet spot that provides fantastic quality for a reasonable price. Identifying that product is a task I love.

I like that, too, and since my discretionary salary is not very high, I sometimes spend weeks comparing products, just to make sure I'm not regretting it afterwards. It's a lot of fun and often surprising how huge the differences in quality can be within the same price range.

I built the same habit in childhood. What's interesting is even as an adult with a comfortable salary, I still apply the same framework. It's easy to overlook that part of the cost of buying something you don't like is frustration plus time to return it to the store and then do more research too along with the opportunity cost of waiting on trying the next alternative. Sometimes I just buy my top 3 options and return the 2 I like least to speed that up. I'd also consider myself a minimalist, so I think "Do I really want to own, store, and maintain this product for years to come? And can I spend a bit more now to find a BIFL version in the same category?"

Yes, all the warts become apparent after you have acquired something, the gloss soon wears off.

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