September 22, 2025 • 9 mins
Think you’re getting a great deal? Maybe not.
On this week’s Skipping Stones, Seth Roberts talks about the hidden costs of bargains. From family “freebies” to cut-rate gear, cheap often comes with strings attached.
Through personal stories from business and life, Seth explains how spending a little more can actually save time, stress, and energy in the long run.
If you’ve ever wondered whether chasing deals is really worth it, this episode will change how you think about value.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
What in life deserves our time and attention and what
things don't.
I hope that, as we considerthat question, along with other
topics on this, show that we canall learn to live our lives
just a little more intentionally.
This is Seth Roberts.
Thanks for joining me onSkipping Stones.
Few things feel better thanknowing you got a good deal on
(00:29):
something.
It's evidence of your superiornegotiating abilities, but maybe
we're getting ahead ofourselves.
What do we really get out of abargain?
I've lived in the world ofbusiness for years now and I've
tried to get good deals fromvendors, and many, many people
have tried to get good deals outof me.
(00:49):
There are a lot of ways to makea deal, but I find that, no
matter what deal you make, youare going to get what you paid
for and, honestly, I don't thinkI've ever gotten the better end
of a bargain in my life.
If someone is telling you theyare giving you a bargain, they
are either lying or they aregetting something in exchange
(01:11):
for giving you that bargain.
Often, what a person gets is akind of unnamed obligation from
you that they can call on.
It might be insurance againstmistakes that they've made.
It might be an impliedexpectation of loyalty to them.
Maybe it means they're going todo the work for you but it's
going to be on their timeline,or you may simply be getting a
(01:35):
lower quality product.
I hate accepting free work.
In spite of that, I stillaccept free work fairly
regularly from family members.
I love them and I'm grateful,but there is a cost.
I'm truly indebted to thesepeople Maybe not financially,
but metaphorically I certainlyam.
(01:55):
If they ever need anything.
My conscious demands that I bethere for these people in my
life, even if it comes at a costof great sacrifice, even if
that sacrifice ends up beinggreater than the things that
they've done for me.
In a way, the free work I'veaccepted is the most expensive
(02:16):
work I may ever have to pay for.
On top of that, free work comeson their timeline not yours.
Comes on their timeline, notyours.
As time passes, I found myselfgravitating towards
intentionally paying more thanmaybe I have to, because in the
long run I find I end up gettingthe better end of the deal.
(02:36):
That way I could buy somepretty nice stuff from Walmart
and I often do, but if I reallyneed a reliable tool, I find
that if I search outpurpose-built, high-quality
brands, the thing is just goingto work better most of the time.
Obviously, I can't alwaysafford the thing I want, and in
some cases, more money doesn'talways mean better.
(02:58):
A Toyota is going to beat out aFerrari in terms of reliability
100% of the time, but if yourintention is to have something
that's going to turn heads,you'd be hard-pressed to find a
better vehicle than a Ferrari todo that.
Earlier this year, I bought alittle two-man tent and you can
(03:19):
get a two-man tent for under$100, but for whatever reason, I
was feeling spendy and I saidnah, I'm going to buy this
overpriced tent from REI forcloser to $300.
I felt a little dumb for that,to be honest, but I was there
and I was literally going on acamp out that night, so I said
whatever, as it turns out, thatrandom tent I bought was the
(03:43):
nicest tent I've ever slept in,by a wide margin, and I think it
was worth every penny.
At the same time, I bought anoverpriced sleeping pad and,
would you believe it, I think Iliked my camping pad almost
better than the mattress I sleepon at home.
There are people in my lifethat are very close to me that
(04:04):
almost live for the opportunityto get a bargain.
In a way, I think it's workedout for them.
But from the outside, lookingin, I often see these people
dealing with a lot of headachesthat come from trying to get the
best deal.
For my company, I spend a lot ofmoney trying to make us look
professional.
I can't say for sure that thisis the right thing to do, since
(04:27):
in theory, I could be saving alot of money by doing things as
cheap as possible.
In theory, I could be saving alot of money by doing things as
cheap as possible.
That being said, I spend a lotof money to have our employees
drive newer, professionallybranded vehicles.
Our customers are a relativelysmall group of people, so brand
awareness is not the reason Ichoose to spend so much on our
fleet.
The reason I do is becausecompanies that spend a little on
(04:58):
things like vehicles andbranding send a signal that they
are not going to be gonetomorrow.
I pay for that nice fleet ofcars because when we drive up on
a job site in a nice,professionally for certain.
But I do know that many of ourlarger clients that do not have
the time to waste onfly-by-night vendors are willing
to pay a premium for reliableand professional service, and
(05:21):
the only way they have to makethat judgment call is to take
note of the little things likehow we conducted ourselves, how
we showed up to the job and theimage we project.
So I'm certainly not getting abargain on these vehicles that I
spend all this money on, butthen again, maybe I am because
there's costs to pay when youdon't do some things.
(05:43):
If there's no money to spend,then of course we have to
accommodate as best we can, butoften we have something to gain
when we are hustling all of thetime to find a bargain.
I made the decision a long timeago to not pay attention to
sales promotions for the simplereason that I knew if I did,
then I would buy a bunch ofstuff when I did not need it.
(06:05):
There's an argument to be madethat I would have needed it
eventually, but I know if I wasconsistent about deal hunting I
would accumulate more and morestuff that I didn't use and
probably start losing track ofwhat I had.
Bargain hunting requires energy.
It requires much more mentalenergy than just buying what you
(06:27):
need.
You need to keep track of whatyou have and what you're going
to need at all times, because itisn't always obvious when you
have and what you're going toneed at all times, because it
isn't always obvious when youhave oddball extras all over the
house taking up space.
Sometimes that energy might beworth it.
But don't fool yourself intothinking you're getting a
discount, because what youreally have is another job.
(06:48):
For some people, chasing a dealis thrilling, so in a way they
truly are getting something outof the effort.
But chasing a bargain willalways demand something of you
that is more than just the price.
I make my family cringe when Itell them that I usually default
to whatever is more expensive.
I'll take a minute to decide ifit really is worth whatever
(07:11):
extra they're asking, but beyondthat, I just run with it.
At this point in my life,getting a good deal on something
does not mean paying less moneyper se.
It means I know exactly whatI'm getting out of the agreement
and I'm doing it anyway.
It means the people I made adeal with are not going to cut
(07:31):
corners.
It means the thing I bought waswhat I needed, not because it
was on sale.
Today.
Getting a bargain to me meansthat no one is holding it over
my head as emotional leverage tojustify future mistakes or to
call favors later.
The true cost of a bargain isnot the price at all.
(07:52):
It's the extra work you putinto getting it.
It is the implied IOU you gaveto someone.
It is the fact that you are thelowest priority on their list.
It is that you spent an hour ormore every week trying to find
a sale or a coupon that kept youfrom doing other things.
Sometimes finding a bargain isnot an option for us, but rather
(08:14):
a necessity.
But even if it is, just makesure you don't go into it with
your eyes closed.
All the hidden cost of abargain may be worth the price,
but don't pretend like you arenot paying extra in other ways
in order to get it.
This is Skipping Stones.
(08:40):
You can find this podcastanywhere you choose to listen to
podcasts in other ways in orderto get it.
You would like me to speak on?
Please feel free to email me atinfo at skippingstonessrcom.
New episodes will be releasedweekly, every Monday.
What in life deserves our time and attention and what
things don't.
I hope that, as we considerthat question, along with other
topics on this, show that we canall learn to live our lives
just a little more intentionally.
This is Seth Roberts.
Thanks for joining me onSkipping Stones.
Few things feel better thanknowing you got a good deal on
(00:29):
something.
It's evidence of your superiornegotiating abilities, but maybe
we're getting ahead ofourselves.
What do we really get out of abargain?
I've lived in the world ofbusiness for years now and I've
tried to get good deals fromvendors, and many, many people
have tried to get good deals outof me.
(00:49):
There are a lot of ways to makea deal, but I find that, no
matter what deal you make, youare going to get what you paid
for and, honestly, I don't thinkI've ever gotten the better end
of a bargain in my life.
If someone is telling you theyare giving you a bargain, they
are either lying or they aregetting something in exchange
(01:11):
for giving you that bargain.
Often, what a person gets is akind of unnamed obligation from
you that they can call on.
It might be insurance againstmistakes that they've made.
It might be an impliedexpectation of loyalty to them.
Maybe it means they're going todo the work for you but it's
going to be on their timeline,or you may simply be getting a
(01:35):
lower quality product.
I hate accepting free work.
In spite of that, I stillaccept free work fairly
regularly from family members.
I love them and I'm grateful,but there is a cost.
I'm truly indebted to thesepeople Maybe not financially,
but metaphorically I certainlyam.
(01:55):
If they ever need anything.
My conscious demands that I bethere for these people in my
life, even if it comes at a costof great sacrifice, even if
that sacrifice ends up beinggreater than the things that
they've done for me.
In a way, the free work I'veaccepted is the most expensive
(02:16):
work I may ever have to pay for.
On top of that, free work comeson their timeline not yours.
Comes on their timeline, notyours.
As time passes, I found myselfgravitating towards
intentionally paying more thanmaybe I have to, because in the
long run I find I end up gettingthe better end of the deal.
(02:36):
That way I could buy somepretty nice stuff from Walmart
and I often do, but if I reallyneed a reliable tool, I find
that if I search outpurpose-built, high-quality
brands, the thing is just goingto work better most of the time.
Obviously, I can't alwaysafford the thing I want, and in
some cases, more money doesn'talways mean better.
(02:58):
A Toyota is going to beat out aFerrari in terms of reliability
100% of the time, but if yourintention is to have something
that's going to turn heads,you'd be hard-pressed to find a
better vehicle than a Ferrari todo that.
Earlier this year, I bought alittle two-man tent and you can
(03:19):
get a two-man tent for under$100, but for whatever reason, I
was feeling spendy and I saidnah, I'm going to buy this
overpriced tent from REI forcloser to $300.
I felt a little dumb for that,to be honest, but I was there
and I was literally going on acamp out that night, so I said
whatever, as it turns out, thatrandom tent I bought was the
(03:43):
nicest tent I've ever slept in,by a wide margin, and I think it
was worth every penny.
At the same time, I bought anoverpriced sleeping pad and,
would you believe it, I think Iliked my camping pad almost
better than the mattress I sleepon at home.
There are people in my lifethat are very close to me that
(04:04):
almost live for the opportunityto get a bargain.
In a way, I think it's workedout for them.
But from the outside, lookingin, I often see these people
dealing with a lot of headachesthat come from trying to get the
best deal.
For my company, I spend a lot ofmoney trying to make us look
professional.
I can't say for sure that thisis the right thing to do, since
(04:27):
in theory, I could be saving alot of money by doing things as
cheap as possible.
In theory, I could be saving alot of money by doing things as
cheap as possible.
That being said, I spend a lotof money to have our employees
drive newer, professionallybranded vehicles.
Our customers are a relativelysmall group of people, so brand
awareness is not the reason Ichoose to spend so much on our
fleet.
The reason I do is becausecompanies that spend a little on
(04:58):
things like vehicles andbranding send a signal that they
are not going to be gonetomorrow.
I pay for that nice fleet ofcars because when we drive up on
a job site in a nice,professionally for certain.
But I do know that many of ourlarger clients that do not have
the time to waste onfly-by-night vendors are willing
to pay a premium for reliableand professional service, and
(05:21):
the only way they have to makethat judgment call is to take
note of the little things likehow we conducted ourselves, how
we showed up to the job and theimage we project.
So I'm certainly not getting abargain on these vehicles that I
spend all this money on, butthen again, maybe I am because
there's costs to pay when youdon't do some things.
(05:43):
If there's no money to spend,then of course we have to
accommodate as best we can, butoften we have something to gain
when we are hustling all of thetime to find a bargain.
I made the decision a long timeago to not pay attention to
sales promotions for the simplereason that I knew if I did,
then I would buy a bunch ofstuff when I did not need it.
(06:05):
There's an argument to be madethat I would have needed it
eventually, but I know if I wasconsistent about deal hunting I
would accumulate more and morestuff that I didn't use and
probably start losing track ofwhat I had.
Bargain hunting requires energy.
It requires much more mentalenergy than just buying what you
(06:27):
need.
You need to keep track of whatyou have and what you're going
to need at all times, because itisn't always obvious when you
have and what you're going toneed at all times, because it
isn't always obvious when youhave oddball extras all over the
house taking up space.
Sometimes that energy might beworth it.
But don't fool yourself intothinking you're getting a
discount, because what youreally have is another job.
(06:48):
For some people, chasing a dealis thrilling, so in a way they
truly are getting something outof the effort.
But chasing a bargain willalways demand something of you
that is more than just the price.
I make my family cringe when Itell them that I usually default
to whatever is more expensive.
I'll take a minute to decide ifit really is worth whatever
(07:11):
extra they're asking, but beyondthat, I just run with it.
At this point in my life,getting a good deal on something
does not mean paying less moneyper se.
It means I know exactly whatI'm getting out of the agreement
and I'm doing it anyway.
It means the people I made adeal with are not going to cut
(07:31):
corners.
It means the thing I bought waswhat I needed, not because it
was on sale.
Today.
Getting a bargain to me meansthat no one is holding it over
my head as emotional leverage tojustify future mistakes or to
call favors later.
The true cost of a bargain isnot the price at all.
(07:52):
It's the extra work you putinto getting it.
It is the implied IOU you gaveto someone.
It is the fact that you are thelowest priority on their list.
It is that you spent an hour ormore every week trying to find
a sale or a coupon that kept youfrom doing other things.
Sometimes finding a bargain isnot an option for us, but rather
(08:14):
a necessity.
But even if it is, just makesure you don't go into it with
your eyes closed.
All the hidden cost of abargain may be worth the price,
but don't pretend like you arenot paying extra in other ways
in order to get it.
This is Skipping Stones.
(08:40):
You can find this podcastanywhere you choose to listen to
podcasts in other ways in orderto get it.
You would like me to speak on?
Please feel free to email me atinfo at skippingstonessrcom.
New episodes will be releasedweekly, every Monday.
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