Helping people understand the price.

I know this is probably not the first post about this, But what do you say when people think it is crazy to spend more than $20 on a light?:shakehead How do you justify this?

Point it at their eyes?

Brainwash them! How long did it take you to justify spending $20 or more on a light? It took me a while, but now I do it all the time .

I do this with my phone.

"Applesnail, why do you have this big ugly phone?"
"It's not a big ugly phone, it's a normal phone in a cool case. Watch!"
*Throws phone at the ground*


I like shining it in their eyes, or turning off the lightswitch and walking away...

Tell them stories about being in a rainstorm in the mountains 60 miles away from the nearest town with a 15 dollar flashlight and having it go dead on you when you need it most.
Or do what i do with my G-Shock. Throw it as high in the air as you can.

I try not to talk about the price with people that won't understand. My brother asked how much my Sunwayman V10R Ti with Kuku Trit tail cost. " A lot "

I usually only talk about cost with someone who understands the value of good tools and seems like they might actually be interested in buying one.

IMightBeWrong said:

Point it at their eyes?

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I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that!

Regarding the original post - it depends on what you are showing them. I find if you let folks handle a few lights see how flexible (and bright and relatively tiny) a quality light can be, they get that it isn't going to cost $20. And if they don't - who cares? It's your $.

Ask them how often it gets dark.

Don't say anything... they won't understand...

Ask them how many $$$ they left in the bar last month (or on cigarettes if they are smokers)...

Look for a parallel/analogous item they spend more than necessary on, a watch, shoes, their car, etc.

Example: Why did you spend $40k on that SUV/$500 on that watch?: A $3k used car would get you to work too/A $10 Timex would also tell you what time it is.

They answer about reliability, performance, capacity, aesthetics, etc...

And then you point out that your more expensive light is more reliable, has higher performance, and so forth...and that they chose to tell what time it was with a more expensive watch, and you chose to see where you're going at night with a more expensive flashlight.

Most of the people that I would have the conversation with are actually LEOs and I ask them how many $15 lights they've bought in the past 2 years and how many of those still work.... I also throw out the fact that many times when they step out of their vehicle, all they have is the equipment they have on their person.
I actually had one friend tell me that he was more than satisfied with his Wally World light :shakehead....

I took it out of his hand and said"Imagine this happened during a foot pursuit" and tossed his light onto the cement about 6 ft away.
....killed it..

I gifted him one of my lights and everytime I see him he tells me what a great light it is and how he can't believe he never bought a quality light before..

Tana said:

Ask them how many $$$ they left in the bar last month (or on cigarettes if they are smokers)...

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Good idea, just don't ask them this while you're smoking and drinking with them at the bar.

HSG said:

I took it out of his hand and said"Imagine this happened during a foot pursuit" and tossed his light onto the cement about 6 ft away.
....killed it..

I gifted him one of my lights and everytime I see him he tells me what a great light it is and how he can't believe he never bought a quality light before..

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But did you throw the light you gave him 6 feet away first?

speedywheelz123 said:

I know this is probably not the first post about this, But what do you say when people think it is crazy to spend more than $20 on a light?:shakehead How do you justify this?

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I usually don't even try. I attribute comments like that to a lack of real world experience.

The world is crawling with idiots.

AaronG said:

I try not to talk about the price with people that won't understand. My brother asked how much my Sunwayman V10R Ti with Kuku Trit tail cost. " A lot "

I usually only talk about cost with someone who understands the value of good tools and seems like they might actually be interested in buying one.

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I totally agree. Usually when a co-worker or friend ask I just smile and say "a pretty penny".

I tell them! I like to see the look on their faces when they find out! T h a t m u c h! It's like my Viair 12v compressor. People will say, "That's quiet. How much did it cost?" "About $400.00, I reply!" "That much!" "Yup! Similar cheap units sell for $50.00 at some stores." I tell them "When your 150 miles out in the desert and you have to air-up to drive on 200 more miles of asphalt road, how long do you want to wait for your tire to fill? After that I talk about 100% service cycle. The cheaper one has a 30% service cycle. Then there is the old saying, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

I don't try to justify it and I kind of agree with them in many cases.

gcbryan said:

I don't try to justify it and I kind of agree with them in many cases.

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This is my favorite reply so far, by far!

I know it may be a boring response, but I simply point out that everyone has something they are familiar enough with that they want the best, and understand the differences between acceptable, mediocre and best, not to mention getting the best fit for themselves.

Spend the same amount of money on plastic scale model kits and you end up with far more space taken up for things one does not really need (in that amount). Why spend the money in the first place? Why not?

Others spend insane amounts of money on optical accessories for cars - I couldn't care less (after all, I work in a car company). But it makes people happy. Same thing with flashlights.

Cheers
Thorsten

Everyone thinks I am crazy for spending so much on flashlights, but they are also the ones to ask for it the quickest when they need it. The simple fact of the matter is you can't really get them to understand, they have to learn for themselves. But people spend crazy amounts of money on other stuff which appears stupid to me, case in point girlfriend bought a Loui Viton purse prolly spelled that wrong obviously cause I am not a chick and dont care, that cost $300 and from what she said that was a super deal. So it all comes down what you like and how much you value it, not someone else.

Why do I buy expensive flashlights, tools, watches?
Because I can! I do not even try to justify the purchase.

As long as somebody has the money to spare and buys whatever makes him or her happy, then it's a good purchase. Just as I would not buy certain things for a high dollar does not mean that somebody else will not enjoy that purchase.