Dematerialization: Buy Smarter Part 1

A prequel to dematerialization is not having to get rid of junk in the first place.
How do you do this? Well it simply involves buying smarter.

• Buying smarter means that you consider and research a product before making a purchase
• Several factors should be considered in trying to buy smarter including but not limited to: Price, Brand, Reviews, Need and Resale Value
• Price: It's better to buy something that costs a little more but will perform better in the long run. (Ex. Instead of going to Payless for cheap shoes that are meant only to last for one season, pay slightly more for something that is timeless and well made that will last for a long time)
• Brand: Certain brands carry certain reputations. They offer better warranties, performance or quality. Just because you recognize the brand, doesn't mean it's a good brand. You must do your research. Certain expensive brands perform well but are created to break after a certain amount of years so that you have to buy another!
• Reviews: There is no excuse not to research what you buy! My favorite site is Epinions because it offers opinions from consumers like you on an incredible range of products. Beware of people touting products in forums! Some of them are paid to say how great brand X is. Also ask people you know about their experiences with certain products (ex. digital camera: what do you like about it, what don't you like about it, has it broken, what is tech support like?) People love to give their opinions.
• Resale Value: If you get bored of something can you resell it and get some money back? Products that are highly rated with good brands generally have excellent resale value.

Important Tip: Skip a technology! Yeah it will be a bummer not having a DVD player: but guess what? It took VCR's about 20 years to become obsolete, and DVD's will be obsolete in less than 10 so your DVD collection will be very worthless very soon. It's all going to move to a digital format (just like MP3's).

Don't believe me? Check out CinemaNow to buy and rent movies right now without a DVD player or waiting for the rental to arrive by mail.

Buying Smarter: 1
Buying Stupider: 0