What Else Is Worth Paying A Little More For?

Every car and appliance Steve Ballmer owns.

I'm more willing to pay more for quality products in general. I look at the overall quality of an item and weigh its value compared to similar products. I'm willing to pay more for everyday products that I just want to work and don't want to worry about. My Mac just works. My PC needs constant attention and is a pain to manage.

How about a doctor? Do you want someone competent or do you want Dr Nick from the Simpsons.

Things that I will always pay more for:

Charmin Ultra Strong toilet paper
Breyer's All Natural Ice cream
Organic produce
Good bourbon

I've got one - automobiles. I've been buying Toyotas for the last 10 years for the same reason I use Macs - they just work! I purchased my RAV4 new in 2000, and 90,000 miles later I've never had to do a thing to it! Just oil, tires and a couple of batteries.

TiVo's better interface is worth paying for over the non-TiVo DVRs many cable companies provide.

The short answer: any product that provides a "superior" experience. The long answer: Apple is worth the extra money partly because of what your article says, but that's because Apple gets that its product is (1) an experience and (2) an advertisement because of the experience. I'm teaching an advertising class, and I lectured on the integration of marketing and advertising a few classes ago, and the bulk of the lecture was about Apple because it has integrated its business culture touchstones into every part of a customer's interaction with Apple. This includes the melding of the hardware and software (unlike Dell & HP), the marketing of the computers and how every reviewer describes them in the same 3 words: "Simple, elegant, cool," the incredibly well-trained Apple Store employees, and even tech support on the phone.

Others that get the "product as superior experience" groove are Disney & Google (and notice how all of these companies populate each other's boards) at the upper end of recognition. I ran into a great-looking product a few weekends ago called Control4 - a home media system that integrates itself into all rooms of the house and can be controlled remotely (or with an iPhone - talk about getting it). There are others that I can't think of right now, but they focus on high quality, superior experience, and tight integration across all parts of the company to make the brand synonymous no matter how a customer interacts with it.

I've crashed every Mac I've ever owned within 30 minutes. Comparably, Macs and PCs are about the same to me. Why pay more for a Mac then? My new PC, running Vista of all things, cost half as much as a comparable Mac and I haven't had one issue with it (if you can believe it). I've crashed every PC I've ever owned within 24 hours...except this one. Be cheap with computers. Spend more for Honda's.

Awhile back I bought a used Porsche 911, 17 years old and 225,000 miles. That sounds old and worn out, right? Over the next four years I put another 130,000 miles on it with very little maintenance, and sold it for a few thousand less than I paid for it. Yes, it was a fun sports car, but it was also a very reliable daily driver - undoubtedly more reliable than any American car of the same periods, and better even than most Japanese cars of the period.

Like Apple, Porsche had and has a small market share. But there is a value as well as an aesthetic that make the machines more valuable and more reliable.

(And when Ballmer says that a PC costs $500 less, he is not counting the $100 anti-malware cost that must immediately be paid.)

My sister spent $90 on a Timbuk2 messenger bag for me, after I'd been through several backpacs - incredibly durable. She also bought my family a Panasonic cordless phone system which runs circles around the feeble GE model I had (noting a pattern here? Yeah, my sister is pretty good to me.) I paid $1800 for the 1st gen Intel iMac 3 years ago. Haven't spent any time troubleshooting the "registry" or tyring to figure out how to uninstall the anti-virus software because it was slowing the machine to a crawl - none of that. The trouble-free nature and it's longevity makes it worth every penny I paid for it.

My sister spent $90 on a Timbuk2 messenger bag for me, after I'd been through several backpacs - incredibly durable. She also bought my family a Panasonic cordless phone system which runs circles around the feeble GE model I had (noting a pattern here? Yeah, my sister is pretty good to me.) I paid $1800 for the 1st gen Intel iMac 3 years ago. Haven't spent any time troubleshooting the "registry" or tyring to figure out how to uninstall the anti-virus software because it was slowing the machine to a crawl - none of that. The trouble-free nature and it's longevity makes it worth every penny I paid for it.

Spending the extra money on a cruise instead of wasting it on an Apple is one of the quality things I am willing to pay Extra for. I pick and choose what products i will splurge on and what ones I really dont need to throw money at(Apple)I then have Plenty of money left over that my friends that buy Apple do not have.I can in turn go cruising or traveling while they sit at home and play on their Mac's Cheesing!!! Kinda Sucks to be a snob sometimes.LMAO i know so many people with Mac's that drive shitty little broken down cars and can't afford to do anything but Hey they are making sure APPLE gets Paid and if it makes them feel superior and better then the "other uninformed little people"-in their eyes(DEFinition-Bigots-many many Apple fanboys are bigots-not hating or judging it is simply a fact-they hate us I do not hate them)

Nice story Cruising. That's such a silly made up story, it made me laugh. If your "friends" who supposedly bought Macs and now mysteriously can't afford anything, even if it were true, have bigger problems than buying a computer. How would buying one iMac break someone so that they can afford nothing else in their lifestyle?!? Yeah right. Go try and brainwash somewhere else you loon!

Good Beer! I pay for quality not quantity. Some people can't see that and think it's dumb to pay more money for good beer. Aw well...

I always thought it was stupid to spend more for a mac, until I got one. They really are nicer to use and if you live on a computer all day you will appreciate the environment. They do really save time effort. When I work on a pc it feels like I'm trying to work with a weight on my fingers....a lot of drag.

As for other products? Subzero fridge, crumpler bags. I think volkswagens are like apple sometimes.

I would pay extra for quality, like anyone else. For me that would include
a German engineered car,
durable jeans,
Apple products because once you put the money down, there run hassle free. Shoes... I bought a pair of Reaction sneakers in Dec. 2002 and until Dec 2007 they were as good as the day I bought them... and I wore them everyday for 4.5 years! (sick, I know!)
I would also pay a premium price for bathroom hardware, that which stands up to corrosion.