There isn’t a bigger boat

Just after I finished sharing what it’s like to intentionally buy based on value, I thought to myself what a silly thought. We all intuitively buy based on value.

But then I realized that’s not entirely true. We buy based on the perception of value. And our perception of value can be arbitrarily manipulated by ourselves and others.

What made me excited about buying based on value was intentionally putting off receiving a price so that I could avoid the bias inherent in the price itself. Price always detracts from value.

Don’t believe me? Is there something you’ve wanted lately? Describe why you want it, write down the major reasons on a piece of paper. Write down what matters to you, even if it’s entirely intangible. Write down what problem it’s solving for you, or what it will enable you to accomplish.

Perhaps you want a bigger boat. Seems like everyone does. What if you took away the idea of a bigger boat and instead just look at the list of benefits. What if you could go into a store and buy the list of benefits. Regardless the item you walk out with, you’d be guaranteed those benefits.

Now, ask yourself: do I really want these benefits? Are they worth pursuing? What other benefits might be more of a priority than these? Ask what you would be willing to pay to receive these benefits. Ask if there’s something else you could buy that would fulfill these benefits. A boat may not be what you need.

If you’re still convinced you want the bigger boat, go boat shopping. But, before you look at boats and especially boat prices, talk with a salesman about what’s important to you. Go through your list of benefits. Make sure the salesman clearly understands what’s valuable to you.

Then, ask to see some boats that would help you achieve these benefits. But, refuse to hear any prices until you’ve sized up how well the boats would deliver your desired benefits. And only after you’ve done all of this, whittle your choices down to three boats. Ask for prices of these three boats.

Chances are, you’ll be pretty happy with the boat you have because you realize that a bigger boat won’t actually provide any value to you. Or not enough value to justify the price tag.

Or, you might walk away with a much better appreciation of the boat you bought. Perhaps you won’t skimp on your first boat purchase because you know what matters and you won’t find yourself wanting a new boat a year from now.