Cheaper vs. Value
There are countless reasons we might choose to stay in a particular hotel. Maybe it’s closer to the highway, or it has a restaurant in the lobby. Perhaps the parking is better, or it has a pool that the kids will love.
And sometimes, we choose it simply because it’s the cheapest. After all, a hotel is a hotel is a hotel, right?
This raises the balancing act between “cheapest” and “value”. While “cheapest”—in the sense of dollars spent—is an absolute, the grey area arises when we consider value.
After all, in the morning when you and your sore neck (thanks to the institutional pillow) leave the musty, questionably smelling room to go line up at the suspiciously noisy elevator, you start to wonder: Was the cheapest option actually worth it?
The math works something like this:
You spend money on the price. What you get in return is the value.
Think of the cheapest meal at the not-so-clean restaurant. And on the flip side, the $6,000 handbag. Both come with different prices and distinctly different values.
Changing lanes, consider the home seller debating between Realtor A and Realtor B, along with the price-versus-value conversation.
Is the “cheaper” Realtor going to bring you the highest value? And what is the highest value?
For most, the highest value is a combination of the highest net proceeds from the sale, coupled with the smoothest, most hassle-free selling process.
If the experienced, full-time, strategic, highly skilled Realtor can only sell your home for the same price as the “cheaper” option, then sure, in the absence of value, go with the cheaper price.
That’s how things work when you purely compete on price. But what about when the same two Realtors compete on value.
What if that highly skilled Realtor with the higher fees can sell your home for more money, while also providing a strategic, far-less-stressful experience? This is the Realtor who invests in the process: bringing in a stager and a cleaner, hiring a professional photographer and videographer to curate an attention-getting digital presentation and advocating and negotiating fully and adeptly in your best interests. They provide a seamless process, answering questions even before you knew you had them.
Sure, buy the cheapest shoes on the rack, but when the dust settles, the value might just be what you—and your sore feet—remember.