Does cheap represent good value for money?

“What a waste of money.”

It’s something we’ve all heard someone say. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve all done it at some point in our lives.

Buying that jumper that never saw the light of day.

The gym membership that got about as much use as a sun lounger in Antarctica.

Or forgetting you were subscribed to that ‘It willl change my life’ monthly service you never ended up using.

But don’t feel too bad because your money spending mistakes probably pale into insignificance compared to the one below:

In 2005 ITV bought the social networking site Friends Reunited for a reported £175m. Then Facebook popped up in 2006. Uh oh.

ITV sold Friends Reunited for £25m in 2009. The website closed down in 2016.

At the bottom of this article we’ll share a link on how to make your cash go further from Mr Moneysavingexpert himself, Martin Lewis.

Across the south-east, we see people wasting their money by using estate agents offering a cheap fee to sell their property, BUT getting their client a lot less for the property due to a lack of skill or will. We've heard the phrase 'Pay peanuts, get monkey's.' Countless examples can be remembered.

In property this difference can cost sellers tens of thousands of pounds in some cases.

Cheap is Not Cheerful

Look at this simplified but relevant example.

An agency says they’ll charge you a 0.5 per cent fee to sell your home, which they put on the market for £100,000.

You’ve chosen them over an agency that charges a 1.5 per cent fee. To save a few quid (on the face of it)

But the cheaper agency only gets an offer of £90,000 – blaming the market, telling you this is the best you’ll get for the biggest tax-free asset you will ever own. After their fee you have £89,550.

In a parallel world, the other more motivated and skilled agent gets you the asking price of £100,000. They apply more money and effort into marketing your property, the quality of their staff are better and they are better negotiators. The more they achieve for you, the bigger their commission.

They take their well-earned £1,500 fee leaving you with £98,500 — nearly £9000 more.

So, the ‘cheaper’ agent, on the face of it looked to be saving you dosh, ended up wasting it.

We hope that’s given you some valuable food for thought.

Let’s Talk

If you have any property related questions, please get in touch we are qualified to help.

Oh, and here’s a link to that money-saving page that might come in handy ;-)

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/chat-tips-gold/