Ever see a product that you desperately wanted to own -- when you never knew it even existed before you saw it in the catalog or online?
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keobooks (
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June 25th, 2010
When I was a little kid, I wanted to play the harp more than anything. Of course, the big harps were in the US$5000 -$10,000 range, so that wasn’t happening. I lated saw Celtic and Folk harps that were smaller and less expensive but still in the $1000 price range. While much cheaper, still not worth going out and getting just to fulfill a childhood fantasy.
Well, yesterday, I stumbled across this make-it-yourself harp kit—that was only US$129!! The base board is made out of cardboard and while the rest of it is wood, it’s not fancy at all. I looked up online and saw that it got good reviews and I found someone playing the harp on youtube. It sounded really good.
Now suddenly I can’t get the harp out of my mind. I WANT this harp. It’s all I can think of. It’s like I grew 30 years younger overnight and my inner little girl wants this harp, and I’ll pine for a while and maybe let myself have it, even though money is a little tight, 129$ to fulfill a childhood dream doesn’t seem SO bad.
Anyone else fall in love with some store item they never knew existed and just couldn’t stop thinking about it? Did you buy it? Was it worth it?
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12 Answers
You are experiencing the effects of effective and powerful advertising. Before you place an order, visit a store that specializes in such instruments or a luthier. Find out what the advertised price is likely to give you compared to what a fair market price would give you.
Then make an informed decision. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Proceed with caution.
Actually, this one had almost no advertising at all. I found it when I was looking up different kinds of harps available (for someone else’s research at work)
http://www.celticharper.com/what2get.html
And I found their company site mentioned by this source as a good “first harp” to get if you just want to goof around. They had not much in the way of advertising, so I looked up on youtube to so I could get a listen—the player was obviously an amateur who was just showing off his harp and not someone paid by the company. I found some reviews of it (outside sources) and they were fairly positive.
I’m not going to mention the name of the company, just cause I don’t want to appear to be spam advertising. I just thought the harp looked way cool and sounded decent—even when someone not so good was playing it.
I sorta did that. But I saw the object of my obsession in real life not a catalog.
When I was about 9 years old I saw an antique cash register and became obsessed with wanting a cash register.
So much so that 30 + years later I would still find myself slowing down in the cash register aisle at Costco!
I never did get one, although I came close on a $99 model.
I managed to reason with myself and leave it and the fascination behind.
This was fairly common for me, back in the days before the Internet. Mostly computer stuff because you never saw computer stuff advertised outside of “specialty” magazines.
A welcome mat which reads, ”Come back with a warrant.” I desperately want one, but they’re so awesome that I suspect it would quickly get stolen.
@keobooks Many of these kits are great, but what you get depend entirely on your own skill and care. My business partner built an 11 course lute from a kit. Took her two years, but it looks and sounds beautiful. She has since built two others from scratch, using the kit as a model.
A mango corer. I just found out they exist outside of my head, and I ordered it. It makes me so happy…
@papayalily OMG! There is such a thing? Where did you find it? I feel that ole “must have it” lust building as I type :)
@papayalily—now that’s great. I love mangoes, but I hate getting that pit out. Also—I don’t know about anyone else, but if I do it wrong, it makes the whole mango taste foul.
I usually wait six months to a year before indulging in a frivolous want, but that’s something that I KNOW I’d use—that’s great!
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