Impulse buys? Success rates?

[Desert Strawberry]

The mistakes thread, and my most recent round of purchases have gotten me thinking about our failures.

 

I just noticed that most of our flops are things I purchased relatively quickly. I typically agonize over purchases endlessly before settling. But every now and then, I don't.

 

I would say my impulse buys have a 70%-90% failure rate. Not that I didn't try to power through them anyway, tears and all. 

 

What is your success rate with not-so-well-thought-out purchases? Better than mine?

[Crimson Wife]

Impulse buys that I've seen, not that bad.

 

Buying something sight unseen, pretty lousy.

[twooakharborhicks]

Yeah, my impulses usually get the best of me.  I buy writing programs every time one catches my eye and we hate them all. Unfortunately, even when I agonize over something it's not guaranteed to work.  I need to figure out that just because everyone else thinks something is great doesn't mean my kids will.

[SorrelZG]

 

Lively Latin was an impulse buy that turned out to be one of the best choices I've made about anything (curricula wise). SCM history was an impulse buy that was exactly what I needed for 12 weeks. So, it didn't work out for a whole year but it was priced well enough and profited me enough that I don't regret it.

 

Too often I should have really stuck with my original "no" impulse and not given it more thought. Unfortunately I too often research and think things to death and then regret the purchase AND all the time I spent on considering it. :P

[boscopup]

Most of my impulse buys have worked out well. CAP Writing & Rhetoric Fable was a hit with my son, and that was impulse buy. Sonlight Core D was a used impulse buy (saw the IG used really cheap and snatched it up), and that was a hit. I can't really think of any impulse buys that haven't worked out. Though I don't have many impulse buys. I usually research, research, and research some more. :D

[Jess4879]

When we first started homeschooling I bought every.single.workbook I found on sale.  We used none of them. Now I tend to over-research things, which really isn't always helpful.  I will over think something and buy it because I get so focused on the parts I like about it that I don't see the big picture.  We have a lot of extras that we didn't need in the first place.  I am a work in progress.  :001_smile:

[Butter]

Impulse buys have never worked out for me.  There's a convention coming up in May here and I was initially thinking I'd go, but then I realized I'd be sure to pick up something I just "had to have" and it would end up a dud.  So I think I'll skip it.

[Plink]

This is the reason that I am so disappointed that CBD no longer has their warehouse sales. All of my impulse buys there were long term hits, probably because I could touch the materials and really see whether they would fit us well.

 

Online impulse buys are a disasterous failure. Even well researched online purchases are 50/50.

 

Oh, how I miss that sale!

[MerryAtHope]

I've definitely learned to think things out. If I haven't already decided how I will use what I'm getting...it tends not to get used. Even if my plan is "leave it on the coffee table and hope the kids get interested," that's better than no plan, LOL! So...I've just learned to make myself answer that question before buying.