“Sometimes he feels bad that someone has spent a lot of money on something he can easily find for half the price,” I explained. “And sometimes I feel that way too.”

My coworker was slightly appalled at the comment. “But a gift is a gift. It’s free!” he exclaimed.

It took me several hours to really understand what he meant. Because to me, a gift isn’t simply the physical object. It’s the effort and the thought put into finding the gift. No offense to those well-intentioned friends (of course, I always appreciate the gesture), but I have received many gifts that have been misinterpreted for me. Soaps, perfumes, etc….when they don’t know that my feminine side is purely undeveloped and I don’t care too much about those little things.

Finding the right price is often part of the journey and the fun of purchasing things. Ebay? Amazon? Craigslist? That obscure online game store? Others? Coupons? Fatwallet? Gotapex? Black friday?

Several years ago, I was so proud of the fact that I got season one of 24 for less than $15. And yet could I feel ok giving that as a gift? That I spent less than the usual market value? Would I feel obligated to spend more?

What is the value?

For Chris’ birthday, I wanted to buy him the special Target edition of Transformers. The one with the DVD case that transforms. Unfortunately I read online that the DVDs had sold out. And I had read that the day of the sale. So rather than running to the nearest Target, I went on craigslist to search for anybody selling the Target edition. I decided that I would be willing to pay a little more for the limited edition from someone who was trying to make a profit. So I got the new packaged DVD (after a sketchy exchange). Chris was thrilled, except that we found out later that Target did not sell out and the price was steadily dropping. He always felt guilty that I paid over-market price, but to me…at the time, it was the happiness that I got it in time.

Diamonds is a girl’s best friend, but I am also fine with CZ.