Ask Lemmy

A bicycle

Plastic bags. Zip-Loc or Hefty all the way. All the store brands I've tried are just trash.

I'm bias due to my profession, and regularly get attacked for this point on the Internet by people who think they know better, but glasses.

My eyes aren't even bad, but when I wear them, holy shit is there a difference between the high tech new stuff and basic lenses.

Anyone that tells you online glasses are just as good has never had a 600$ pair from a real (not chain) optical. Anyone who says they have got ripped off by Pearl vision or LensCrafters.

YouTube premium. I'm too old to hassle with extensions, and I really don't like ads. And I like to support my content creators without going to twitch or clicking on any links in their descriptions.

Anything that I will experience the use of a lot. Computer, shoes, daily bag, etc.

I think a daily takeout coffee that lasts just half an hour a day, on the other hand, is an expensive luxury.

Mattress. Spend the extra to get the one that feels best for you if it comes down to that being part of the purchase decision. Thank me later.

Pet food. I have done a lot of research into the pet industry in general and there are a lot of things being sold for pets that are literally unsafe for them. Like cages that are too small, treats that aren't safe for them, chew toys full of toxic shit they shouldn't invest, food that is the equivalent of McDonald's every day, etc

Don't get me wrong, there's good quality pet food you can get fairly cheap and bad quality pet food you can get that is very expensive. It comes down to research. But if you're just grabbing whatever is cheapest is most likely setting you up for potential health issues down the line.

This is speaking as someone who has experienced this with both cats and rabbits. The cheapest food for rabbits is usually full of alfalfa and whatever else weird ass colorful shit they threw in there that is not healthy for adult rabbits. And cat food is usually too high in carbs, too high in salt, or both. Diabetes and kidney failure in cats fucking sucks, it's not worth it.

HOTAS for flight simulators. I had a few cheap ones, but getting a quality one is simply worth the extra 50-100$.

It's pretty niche and it's not "a little more"..more like double...but as an equestrian I will always go big name for a saddle. Spent too many years compromising and there is SUCH a significant difference that I will never go sub $2000 for a new saddle.

Shaving cream and razors

💀

Motor oil and oil filter. I only use mobil 1 and their extended life filter.

Edit to add: I don't know of any shop that will use that oil/filter so I do my own oil changes and even with the "expensive" oil (5 qt. jug from walmart is about $29 and free delivery) it is much cheaper to diy this than have it done.

ETA: Just looked up that price and I was off by $2 so updated it to $29.

Everything. Almost.

I'll go for $20 sunglasses because I lose them constantly and Costco cheap for a lot of stuff because they have enough customer service (that I won't exercise) to think it's not bottom of the barrel, but there's just a bunch of stuff where the money you save by buying the cheap version disappears when you have to replace it.

Specifically in terms of spending more than most would, my ereader is up there. It was like $700 for the discounted "refurb/open box/whatever" version, but it's 13.3" with great sharpness and Android so I can get content from a broader variety of services without jumping through hoops. It wouldn't be worth it for most people, but I've read enough books through it in the time that I owned it that I don't regret it at all (and wish I spent more for the newer version that has a light).

A good backpack.

I looked a very long time after my backpack of 10 years broke and found one with a lifelong warranty that feels like I‘ll have it for at least 20 years.

Electronics.

Generally speaking, electronics are the one thing that almost always follows the "you get what you pay for" rule. To a point, though. Headphones, for example, are better the more expensive they get. Up until they're about $200, that is. Anything higher than that is just wasted money.

So I'm a writer, and I've paid like $50+ for a software called Scrivener. I like Google Docs for the odd write up here and there. But when I'm writing something fiction, non-fiction, fanfiction, Google Docs slows TF down. That and Scrivener has different pages for each chapter, and character pages. I love it.

It's super expensive but I've been able to move the key from my laptop to my PC and I have it on another PC, I even bought the iPad version for $30aud. Like it's expensive but you only pay once and if you enter Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month -- you write 50k words in a month) you get a 10% discount and if you win you get 50% off. There's people who have won before who give out their win code.

Highly recommend Scrivener for my writing stuff.

toilet paper

Ketchup. Brand name only.

Generally I'd pay a little more for almost everything, unless I'm absolutely sure the cheap thing I'm about to buy has been a staple in the community and got recommended a tons. I found midrange priced stuff to be the sweet spot that give you a lot more quality and longevity compared to the cheap stuff, while not landing on the other end of diminishing return and overpay for something that's overkill for my needs.

Coca cola and Heinz ketchup.

Bounty paper towels.

Everything else is a fucking waste of paper.

Shoes! I buy expensive brands lightly used via ebay. So I spend the same amount as I would on a shitty pair from a random department store, but I buy Magnanni (best sneakers EVER), Allen Edmonds, etc... They last for years instead of months.

Tooth paste, shampoo, some car parts, phone, and shoe.

Only good bread.

Fudge stripes! Store brand fudge stripes are terrible! They're like fake chocolate flavoured chalk!

I don't like supporting brands in general, and don't often go for these (lil cookie/biscuit thingles with chocolate on the bottom and striped across the top) but only the name brand is tolerable :-\

Art supplies

Cannabis. Quality typically scales with price.

Television. I absolutely cannot stand TVs with bad picture quality. I look at it for hours every evening so it’s worth it to get something that doesn’t bother me.

Steaks. But still in a cheapish way. I was thoroughly disappointed in a ribeye I ordered at a restaurant once. Since then I wouldn't order one of those in a restaurant, but I will buy my own. Ribeye is my go to. Sous vide is the cooking method. Cannot be beat.