See title.
I constantly feel like any interaction with a sales person is just a big con. Whether it’s a car, insurance, an apartment, internet, or a specialty item that I’m interested in but not an expert on. I always feel completely lost and uncomfortable and like no matter what decision I make I’m making the wrong one.
I don’t buy anything new. Reviews are more accurate after they’ve been around for a few years and marketing bots are on to something else.
I bought a truck earlier this year from a dealership. I went to four places with an idea of my needs. A couple of them were so high pressure and loaded with shit, man. Unfortunately the best truck for me was at one of the scummy places so they got my money. I love the truck, it’s perfect. But I hate that they think their tactics worked and wish I could’ve made it clear I was trying to avoid dealing with them, and only went back because the product was good. NOT because they were some super sales force
For apartments I try to stick with smaller landlords that have just one or two properties. They tend to place more value on keeping the place occupied so they’re less likely to raise your rent.
When your lease is up have a backup plan for where you’ll go if you can’t come to agreeable terms
The downside is putting up with a lot of poor building maintenance/ diy solutions. I don’t want to say slumlord. But basically… cheaper rent is worth it though because it’s my largest expense by far
First if all, you’re not wrong. Depending on the financial risk in play, the anxiety and trust get tossed into a tizzy.
When I say financial risk, if I’m buying a car, we all already know that that’s a whole racket. Buying a house, even bigger $$$$ involved. Buying a staple commodity, like a loaf of bread? Meh, it’s no biggie.
One big factor in play is our emotional side.
I’ll make a suggestion here. Feel free to ignore.
There’s a book by Dr Robert Cialdini on persuasion. From what I recall, he got into learning how humans react to certain things, because he felt that he himself was duped into doing/buying things that he later realized he wished he hadn’t done/bought. He wanted to better understand the process so that he could be more aware and less vulnerable to the grift. He ended up going into psychology and… well, specializing in the subject.
One sec, there’s a website that gives a nice intro to this:
Influence by Cialdini is really good and reasonably deep. Presuasion (also him) is more accessible and focused a lot more specifically on manipulative sales tactics.
If you read both of those and still want more, Nudge by Richard Thaler is pretty good as well.
Edit: one extra that’s not about in person manipulation, but how you’re manipulated before the interaction by branding: Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom.
I have a few things that help me when making these decisions.
- There might not be brand loyalty, but there is store loyalty. I know a few places around that have sold me good stuff in the past and I usually check there first. A brick and mortar store, even if you buy from them online, has an interest in not thrashing their reputation by selling you junk. Eg, I tried several electric shavers, but the one I currently use is one of the only ones a local big-name store had. The ‘best reviewed’ one I found by searching online sucked.
- No internet connected anything.
- Old technology is usually more reliable. I got an infra-red electric stovetop with knobs instead of paying extra for an induction one and I don’t regret it. It was the only one they had because apparently no one wants knobs instead of touch sensitive buttons, but it still works perfectly years on and I’m still fairly happy with it. You never want to be first in line for anything.
Subscriptions to “Consumer Reports” or “Choice” magazines are always helpful, and their reviews are very reliable, but you won’t always be able to find the stuff they’re recommending.