Comments on: Should You Buy from People Like You?

By: Russ

Russ — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:47:14 +0000

I would have difficulty limiting myself to my own peer group on purchases for the same reason that I would not hire a bunch of colleagues or employees that think the way I do. I thrive on the exchange of differing ideas. If I waslooking for someone who thinks like me to make the decision, the contact, the phone call, or whatever, I would do it myself. There is a certain advantage in working with someone with different ideals and beliefs. They look at things a different way and see things of which I could never dream.

To me, major purchases – such as a house or vehicle – should be made with the assistance of someone with a differing point of view.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:44:32 +0000

Here in Utah you see people buying things from or getting “inside tips” all the time, since there is a fallacy that if we’re all LDS together, we’re not going to be cheated.

While it is nice to be able to buy from someone with similar values and interests, it isn’t always the best thing. And, of course, one always has to be on guard for those who pose as “like you”, but really aren’t.

By: grendle

grendle — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:41:38 +0000

I always buy from people like me. If you can’t trust those that are like you, who can you trust? Besides, those like us understand what we want more than others.

By: Cortni

Cortni — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:22:09 +0000

I wouldn’t necessarily buy from people who “advertise” that they are part of a specific group because first of all, they could be lying just to get some business from a certain group of people and secondly, just because they are a certain race, religion or even age gender doesn

By: Meg from FruWiki.com and All About Appearances

Meg from FruWiki.com and All About Appearances — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:28:56 +0000

Great post — I hadn’t really thought about this before.

I definitely believe in networking with people that share common interests, but yet something about this just doesn’t sit right with me. I guess the problem is that you then limit yourself in order to give preference to people that you don’t necessarily even know, but who stand out because they share something in common — and maybe not even that much in common. Also, I’m not a big fan of preferential treatment based on things like religion, politics, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. On the other hand, though, I think we all do give certain groups preferential treatment, even if we don’t realize it.

By: Rachel @ Master My Card

Rachel @ Master My Card — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:39:00 +0000

I must say that I tend to look for the best deal regardless of the company background too. I see no reason why people are less likely to be scamming me just because they are similar to me in any way.

By: Will

Will — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:23:18 +0000

To me, one of the biggest drawbacks to the “buying from people like you” concept is that when in that cocoon, people’s defenses tend to be lowered, and they give their “peers” the benefit of the doubt.

Scammers are, of course, privy to this. Regularly, stories break of running scams targeting those communities.

That’s why I favor getting the best deal over buying from my peers. As long as you don’t go contrary to my belief and values, you stand as good a chance as the next person.

By: Zachary

Zachary — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:15:40 +0000

Christians buying only from other Christians seems to be antithetical to the idea of outreach to the broader community and to those who are not Christians. Christians are called to be missionaries to a lost world, not to isolate themselves from that world.