nabeelkhan
Head-Fier
So I'm a member of two communities (1) the headphone/IEM community and (2) the Fragrance Community (see basenotes.com). In both communities I notice a trend of blind buying and collecting more than needed.
I believe everyone is allowed to do what they want with their money. But I do often wonder if we as a community should do more to help people avoid putting themselves into debt to fund these purchases, if we continually purchase to keep a community and the associated conversations alive, and finally, if we are chasing marginal gains (more so when doing sidegrades)? In the Fragrance Community at least you can purchase small samples of full bottles at a reasonable cost which allows you to scratch the FOMO itch without taking a massive hit.
With that being said, hoping to create a thread to share some money saving tips (especially for noobs and relative noobs like myself). Here are mine;
1) Don't jump on the hype train. Wait a couple of months till you can read more reviews and people report back with any issues faced with build quality
2) Don't buy blind anything over $50 (unless you really can absorb it financially). Try and test it out at an audio store, or seek out someone who will loan it to you. I've been burnt blind buying items and then having buyers remorse
3) Take reviewers points of view with a pinch of salt. I'm not accusing reviewers of a lack of integrity, however they (i) probably do not have enough time to pick up all the flaws (ii) they might have a sense of buzz/excitement during the the time they have the product, hence their reviews might be coloured (iii) what works for others may not work for you. i.e. IT01, a lot of reviews claimed excellent isolation, for me the isolation was very poor, especially on the London Underground (where I do most of my listening)
4) Do you really need something with a similar sound signature as something you already own, and are happy with? Don't sidegrade
5) Limit the amount of headphones/IEMs you have in your collection, keep an upper limit i.e. 5. If you want to add something, sell something
6) Use companies with a 30 day return period. Amazon is pretty good for this, in the UK hifiheadphones.co.uk is also very good for this. I've taken a big loss on selling items, sometimes up to 40-50%
7) Never buy anything on Debt. Credit cards are the worst form of loan and it's a slippery slope to having a lot of debt. Save up, the interest rates on Credit Cards are horrendous
8)Have a sense of perspective; look at other things you could spend the money on i.e. a holiday, new clothes, saving for retirement. Don't prioritise IEMs/Headphones over life
9) Shop around. Like anything, don't impulse buy, if you are patient you can probably find a better deal
10) Try and buy something with a good resale market, if you buy Chi-Fi be prepared to take a hit reselling
That's my list, if others have anymore, please do add
I believe everyone is allowed to do what they want with their money. But I do often wonder if we as a community should do more to help people avoid putting themselves into debt to fund these purchases, if we continually purchase to keep a community and the associated conversations alive, and finally, if we are chasing marginal gains (more so when doing sidegrades)? In the Fragrance Community at least you can purchase small samples of full bottles at a reasonable cost which allows you to scratch the FOMO itch without taking a massive hit.
With that being said, hoping to create a thread to share some money saving tips (especially for noobs and relative noobs like myself). Here are mine;
1) Don't jump on the hype train. Wait a couple of months till you can read more reviews and people report back with any issues faced with build quality
2) Don't buy blind anything over $50 (unless you really can absorb it financially). Try and test it out at an audio store, or seek out someone who will loan it to you. I've been burnt blind buying items and then having buyers remorse
3) Take reviewers points of view with a pinch of salt. I'm not accusing reviewers of a lack of integrity, however they (i) probably do not have enough time to pick up all the flaws (ii) they might have a sense of buzz/excitement during the the time they have the product, hence their reviews might be coloured (iii) what works for others may not work for you. i.e. IT01, a lot of reviews claimed excellent isolation, for me the isolation was very poor, especially on the London Underground (where I do most of my listening)
4) Do you really need something with a similar sound signature as something you already own, and are happy with? Don't sidegrade
5) Limit the amount of headphones/IEMs you have in your collection, keep an upper limit i.e. 5. If you want to add something, sell something
6) Use companies with a 30 day return period. Amazon is pretty good for this, in the UK hifiheadphones.co.uk is also very good for this. I've taken a big loss on selling items, sometimes up to 40-50%
7) Never buy anything on Debt. Credit cards are the worst form of loan and it's a slippery slope to having a lot of debt. Save up, the interest rates on Credit Cards are horrendous
8)Have a sense of perspective; look at other things you could spend the money on i.e. a holiday, new clothes, saving for retirement. Don't prioritise IEMs/Headphones over life
9) Shop around. Like anything, don't impulse buy, if you are patient you can probably find a better deal
10) Try and buy something with a good resale market, if you buy Chi-Fi be prepared to take a hit reselling
That's my list, if others have anymore, please do add
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