OK another really really big thought this morning… I actually wonder if quality is overrated? Which means,
always just check the prices of what is cheapest and best on Amazon. And then, proceed from there.
I’ll give you an example… I recently inherited a mountain bike for free, and it has been super awesome, and also also grateful that Cindy ordered this really really cheap $20 front seat attachment thing for Seneca, and, I’ve been able to write him and buy him to school every single day. Super fun.
Anyways, I had this really really annoying issue in which the rear rim was kind of messed up, and the rear rim was scraping up against the back of my rear brakes for a really long time. I tried in vain using ChatGPT, and YouTube to fix it, and finally about after two weeks of experimenting, I finally had a chance to make it to a bike shop, met the owner Ron who is super awesome, in downtown Culver City next to the Metro E line,  at the Culver City station, and he instantly diagnosed the issue, figured out that actually… I had broken rims, which I totally did not see, and also he instantly saw that my gear sprockets were really old, and also my chain was really really old, that is why it was dragging.
So I suppose the good thing of having his expertise was, rather than digging around on YouTube and Google and ChatGPT four hours on end, essentially misdiagnosing the issue, having the expert the pro was like a godsend because once again… 100% in instantaneous like in five seconds, hundred percent accuracy. I think the problem with ChatGPT AI and the like is that, it could always always always provide you with an answer, but 50% of the time it is right, and 50% of the time it is wrong. So the downside of ChatGPT or AI is that, while it is very responsive and always provides you with an in-depth answer, it does not always 100% accurate.
Anyways, Ron gave me a quote, she had all the materials he needed, and went to work. I’m very happy.
However, the subtle nuance, I went on Amazon really really quick after the fact, because I wanted to respect him and his labor, and I discovered that all this stuff, brand new was insanely cheap. Like Shimano gift shifters, when I assumed that it was at least 50 bucks, I was insanely shocked that it’s only like $15 brand new on Amazon, and is shipped the same day?
Same thing with brand new aluminum rims, and like, now part of you wished that I just ordered all the brand new parts and did the labor myself because at least I would have a little bit of the joy, or the pride or in knowing that I have all totally brand new upgraded components and material materials from my bicycle, rather than, having just like maybe the basic parts?
Which makes me think… I wonder if the maximum up to charge for things in life, it’s all just marketing. For example, I’m still using the $300 iPhone SE, from like what five years ago? And it is still working very well. Which makes me think, I wonder if the iPhone Pro and the other iPhone models, 90% or $800 of it is just marketing costs?
And I think about almost everything else in life, how much money we spend just for the marketing the branding of things.
I’ll give you an example, the Volkswagen group which owns Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi, Ducati, practically all the exotic cars you lost after… It just, once again, a Volkswagen Passat on steroids?
Also, BMW owns Rolls-Royce. So a Rolls-Royce is a century just a BMW seven series on steroids? The same things with the Rolls-Royce SUV cullinan,,, is just a BMW X7 on steroids?
So once again this is a big deal because, I wonder if a lot of profits are made, simply from branding up charges.
I’ll give you another thought maybe a dirty secret, let us consider the Leica camera. Even worse the Leica DLUX camera. ESSENTIALLY IT IS JUST LIKE A PANASONIC LUMIX, WITH A RED DOT. 
For example, it is my theory that Leica Q camera , I’m like 99% sure was co developed by Panasonic LUMIX, so essentially, once again… You’re just paying for more expensive German labor in Germany, and the quality of the materials is less plastic, more brass… But for the most part once again, you’re kind of getting sucked by 80 to 90% of the up charge in marketing because everyone is getting a boner over the red dot? 
This then becomes hilarious because once again, we then get suckered into paying another up charge another thousand dollars for the P professional version, which omits the red dot?
It’s like perfectly shown in the Dr. Seuss sneetches, ,,, first everyone wants the star on their bellies, then they pay money to get the stars removed, vice versa.
Anyways, the general principles I believe in:
- First always check the prices on Amazon even though it makes you look like a dick. If anything, you’re trying to save money for your kid and your family, isn’t that like the most virtuous thing of all time?
- Second, I think maybe the virtue is also, maybe the best strategy is especially in today’s world, to just buy whatever is brand new, the cheapest on Amazon? And if it is really really really really a problem, then, you could upgrade it later?
ERIC