Customers making a purchase at a store. - File

Hindsight, the common saying goes, is 20/20 vision, and that goes not only for situations where a person has made a decision regarding the course of his life but also a particular purchase.

And just like how someone who has made a decision about a choice of career or a choice of partner often looks back and wonders 'what if?', many persons who buy an item constantly second-guess their decision, reducing their satisfaction with and enjoyment of what they do have in the first place.

Accountant Marie points out that, with major purchases, while it is natural to wonder what could have been, once the correct approach has been taken towards making the choice in the first place then it is best to 'buy and forget'.

Careful consideration

"It is a natural human tendency, to agonise over what could have been and just how we could have maximised the value for each dollar spent. However, the process of choosing in the first place should be based on a careful consideration of the options available and full knowledge, or as much as possible, about the items that are available. Once this is done there should not be anything to really worry over," she said.

"What really gets to people is options that they did not explore or information that they did not have in the first place, so the common thing is someone saying 'if I did know'," Marie said. "If they are at fault, then they have all right to be dissatisfied; if it was factors outside their control, then they should set their minds at ease."

One of those factors is technological developments which, in a world where there is something new almost every day, often make today's hot new product tomorrow's 'old' item.

Being dissatisfied because of these reasons is something that Raymond, who works in an electronics and computer store on upper Red Hills Road, St. Andrew, is familiar with. "People come all the while and ask when the next version of this software is coming out, or when a hard drive with more memory for the same price will be available," he said. "And six months after they finally make up their mind and buy something, they come back and say 'you did not tell me that this was coming out and I could have waited a little longer'."

"I always tell them that if you were to watch what is coming and how prices would fall, you would never buy anything," he said. "You buy based on your needs and what is available at any particular time. Many times the features on a piece of equipment are nice, but really, how much of them are you going to use? Do not look at what a cellphone or a computer or software can do, but what you want it to do and then you will be satisfied."