When is a bargain really a bargain?

Bazaars, mall sales and ukay-ukays all sing a siren song about the cheap thrills waiting to be discovered inside. But have you ever given any thought about what makes an actual bargain? There’s more to a bargain than a huge discount and a rock-bottom price. Let’s say you bought a skirt on sale for P500 instead of its original P1,000 price tag, but you never wear it for a number of reasons. That’s not a bargain, that’s a waste.

When we’re confronted by these so-called “bargains,” we get too carried away by the dirt-cheap prices to consider the usefulness and value of these items in our life. I myself have been a victim to impulse bargain-shopping countless of times, only to realize a few weeks later that I don’t have much use for my new purchases. Buying bargains you don’t use is not just a waste of money; it’s also a waste of time and space. They just end up taking space in your closet, and you’ll have to expend energy to sell them on eBay or at a garage sale. It’s even worse when you buy a cheap garment that falls apart after a few washes because you’ll end up spending more for a suitable replacement.

It’s always a good practice to measure want, value and need before you head to the cash register. The next time you browse through the sales rack, use these guidelines to make sure that every peso you’re shelling out is money well-spent.

Quality comes first

Cheaply made clothes from fast-fashion stores aren’t real bargains. They’re just cheap, made of inferior materials and shoddy construction. On the other hand, watch out for well-made items sold at affordable prices – these are the true bargains. Check if the item fits well, then carefully examine the materials, seams and construction. Quality items are lined, sewn with serged seams or double-straight seams, and are made of cotton, silk, linen or leather (instead of polyester, nylon, acetate and other synthetic materials).

Apply the cost-per-wear formula

Sometimes the true value of any purchase can be measured by the “cost per wear formula.” Let’s say you’re eyeing a pair of black ballet flats on sale for P1,000. You estimate that you’ll probably use it at least 100 times this year. Take the price of the flats, and divide it by the number of times you’ll wear it. The cost per wear comes down to just P10 per wear. The more you use it, the lower the cost per wear gets. By the 1,000th time you take it out, the ballet flats would have already paid for itself.

Try applying the cost-per-wear formula on the items you already own. You may discover that splurging on pricier basics was a good call, and the clothes you thought were a bargain wasn’t such an amazing deal after all.

Consider the rest of your closet

Those hot pink pumps may be marked down by 80 percent, but if you have to buy new dresses and tops to make it work, then it’s not a real bargain. If you’re really after a good deal, go for items that complement what you already own.

Would I get it at full price?

Unless it’s a designer item that’s way beyond my means, asking this question is the true acid test of a “bargain.” It’s easy for anyone to give into the impulse to buy cheap items, but is the garment itself attractive or is actually just the price tag? To measure how much you really want a sale item, ask yourself if you’d buy it at the original price. If the answer is no, then maybe you don’t really need this in your life.