“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.”<\/p>\n
My coworker was slightly appalled at the comment. “But a gift is a gift. It’s free!” he exclaimed.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
What is the value?<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Diamonds is a girl’s best friend, but I am also fine with CZ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“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 … Continue reading