[Elecraft] "Cheap Hams" ???

[dyarnes]

Ken and all,

While I agree that hams can haggle over 50 cents seemingly forever, isn't 
that more due to the "ritual" of bargain hunting?  As often as not, someone 
someone "negotiating" like that doesn't really know exactly what they might 
do with what they are proposing to buy, and so they don't want to pay a lot 
for it.  If something is really coveted, the price usually tends to get 
closer to reality.  At the same time, sellers are often just trying to rid 
themselves of excess items, and don't really try that hard to get full 
value.  Getting rid of something is often much more important that squeezing 
another dollar out of the purchaser.

I think Don Wilhelm has it about right.  Hams aren't truly "cheap" so much 
as they are "frugal", and sometimes to excess.  For one thing, I think most 
hams have invested a lot more, probably, than they needed to, and maybe to 
the point where they may be stretching the budget!  Ham gatherings like 
Visalia and Dayton are where you will see a buying frenzy that often boggles 
the mind!

Where I think a lot of hams make their mistake is by "under-buying".  They 
may opt for a somewhat lesser product, or a stripped down product, when it 
truth they really need a somewhat upgraded version (or a different item 
altogether) to really satisfy their needs.  So, later they have to upgrade, 
and at an increased cost, or at least increased inconvenience.  It's not 
that they couldn't really afford the upgrade at first, but they haven't 
really thought things through adequately.  Cost/benefit isn't always easy to 
evaluate.  The morale here is that, once you have committed yourself to 
spending several hundred dollars (if not thousands), don't focus too much on 
spending another relatively few dollars to make it really do what you need 
it to do!  This may seem like a ridiculous metaphor, but consider the 
process of buying a bottle of wine in a restaurant.  One bottle costs $10, 
and you don't know much about it.  Another may cost $16, but you have a good 
idea it is decent quality.  If you opt for the $10 bottle, and it turns out 
to be more like vinegar, have you saved $6, or have you wasted $10???  My 
dad, who could squeeze a nickel as well as anybody, would opt for the $16 
bottle--every time!  He always said the real decision is do you spend 
anything at all, but once you make that decision, you should make sure you 
get something of value in return, and not worry about a few more dollars. 
It's kind of the "penny wise and pound foolish" thing.  I know I've wasted a 
lot of money buying things because they were "inexpensive", and later found 
that there was a very good reason for the low price!!!!

Dave W7AQK