Value and price do have a relationship. Recently we bought an outdoor antenna, it was the lowest price one we could find. Value not so much. Seems the electronics were made in China, and they have lasted all of a couple days. The merchant was gracious, replacing the bad part. The replacement lasted just as long. If it doesn't work, it cannot be a good value. So lowest price was not the best value.
Is it the highest quality? Again, not necessarily. We are in the mattress business. There are a number of high quality manufacturers out there, high quality does not equal value.
Value is a combination of price and quality. It is an intangible for the most part, since it is hard to equate those two items. That's what makes it hard to define value. Each person has different expectations of value. And value can differ for different purchases. The antenna case, if the electronics would last a year or two, perhaps we would judge that as value. However, the bottom line is, have your expectations been met? The answer here is no, so it is a low value, with a low price.
Some mattress manufacturers trade on quality, but also their name. They figure that the brand is worth extra money. This is true to a point, because it makes it easy to spot quality if the brand stands for it. It is a benefit to the consumer. But digging a little deeper, often times we can find the quality at a lower price than its brand equivalent. When a lesser known brand is trying to make an impact in the market, the best way is to keep quality high and prices low. If there is an alternative like this, it should provide the best value.
In our case we use a lesser known brand, Comfortaire. The major competitor has more mall stores. The major brand has average quality, and over the last several years have removed components from their mattresses that the consumer would not notice in the show room. These components do serve a purpose, they increase the longevity of the product. Comfortaire has not removed these components, and their pricing is actually slightly less than the major. They are the better value.
In the same segment, there are also those that sell, primarily on auction sites, a vastly inferior product to either the major, or Comfortaire. However, they are extremely cheap on price and low on quality, which moves product; the consumer is not getting a value.
The good news is that in today's world we have more tools to explore value, the primary one is the Internet. What ever product you are looking for a simple search for that company plus the word problems will give you an idea of other people's experience. In our industry there are sites, like SleepLikeTheDead.com that will diagnose different offerings. There are organizations like the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports that can give insight as well.
Any product you are looking to buy, first consider your own expectations. Then look for companies and their alternatives that you believe would meet those expectations. Lastly, consider the customer service offered by individual companies offering what you are in the market for.
So value equals price and quality and customer service based on your expectations. Now go out and find some value!
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