Too many choices

Yes, can be very confusing.

Our kettle is old and I want to replace it with the most efficient, energy saving one (as advised by my 'friend' Johnson! ;) ) - but it is hard to get the right info to compare them.

I agree, when you look at reviews some give 5 stars others go down to 1 star ... where do you go from there ?

Have you ever tried to buy yoghurt?

Try buying a television. After looking at loads via Argos, Currys and John Lewis
we found a good old fashioned shop who explained everything to us.
Those type of shops are hard to find. Within 100 miles of where we live there are only 2.

HowVeryDareYou

Have you ever tried to buy yoghurt?

Tesco currently has 289 choices (online). Who has the time to sift through all of those options?

I stick with the same Greek yoghurt and add my own flavouring or fruit. Life is too short.

But it must be profitable otherwise they would not stock these products.

Absolutely
From breakfast cereals to sofas, the range of choices stretching over the horizon just puts me off altogether.
And don’t get me started on spectacle frames!

MawtheMerrier

Absolutely
From breakfast cereals to sofas, the range of choices stretching over the horizon just puts me off altogether.
And don’t get me started on spectacle frames!

I spent ages choosing my new spectacle frames from the hundreds in the small local opticians, in the end I chose the ones that seemed most comfortable.

They are anything but comfortable, I really dislike them and am wearing an old pair (with new lenses).
What a waste of money.

We are lucky, though, to have such choice.
Mustn't grumble.

Don't worry too much if you're choosing a new toaster.

From cheap and basic to expensive with various settings, they all seem to have the same elements which toast unevenly and unpredictably.

MawtheMerrier

Absolutely
From breakfast cereals to sofas, the range of choices stretching over the horizon just puts me off altogether.
And don’t get me started on spectacle frames!

So do I. The choice is ridiculous

I cannot cope with 'clutter'. I am not talking about stuff around the house but stuff all around my vision and cluttering my head. I have sometimes walked out of shops, and even, once, a museum, because I was suffering from visual overload and beginning a panic attack. As a result I have devised some strategies to cope with the too much choice quandary

1) Decide what exactly what you are looking for and then eliminate anything that does not meet your exact specification.

2) I find doing the preliminary search on ebay helps, not necessarily because I intend to buy from ebay but because they provide neat listings of products that make it easy to work out exactly what you are looking for.

3) Make a decision to buy the product from a shop you have always found reasonable in the past. Then choose from their range of goods only

When it comes to supermarket shopping. I do not have a problem. I always shop with a list and, where I buy brands, Marmite, for example, I just head straight for where that is and I do not consider alternatives. The same with yoghourt, DH likes Activia (personally, I loathe yoghourt), so it doesn't matter how many brands or flavours they have, they are invisible to me. I just, again, go straight for the product I want.

Otherwise I just head for the own brand, or the cheapest, if that isn't the own brand.

My aim is always to limit the range of goods I have to choose from.

I like to talk to an actual human being when choosing.....

Good idea Monica. I went shopping last week with a friend who wanted a birthday card. She must have sorted through every card in the shop!After 10 minutes I was so fed up I went and sat outside.

Breakfast cereal is another. I only buy a specific type and must walk past loads of others before I find my favourite brand. It doesn't help when the supermarket is changed round, and the search takes longer.

Monica good ideas and I’m a fan of good planning. Always take a list. Food shopping I do online. Anything else I search John Lewis etc and search for ‘popular’ items. I trust my fellow shoppers who are likely to be in my type - sensible women with a budget to stick to with quality in mind.

I believe this has actually been studied and it's been determined that when people have too many options, they actually lose the ability to make a choice.

I agree that looking at what's popular and/or has good reviews is a good idea.

Potato chips!
How many flavors, shapes, manners of cooking them are there!

I just stick to the basics and don't change anything unless needed (brand of laundry detergent, for example)... makes my life easier

kircubbin2000

Good idea Monica. I went shopping last week with a friend who wanted a birthday card. She must have sorted through every card in the shop!After 10 minutes I was so fed up I went and sat outside.

I went into a gift shop this morning and saw a card which simply said “happy birthday you old bastard “. For some reason it made me giggle so I bought it and now can’t decide which of two people to send it to

Lucca

kircubbin2000

Good idea Monica. I went shopping last week with a friend who wanted a birthday card. She must have sorted through every card in the shop!After 10 minutes I was so fed up I went and sat outside.

I went into a gift shop this morning and saw a card which simply said “happy birthday you old bastard “. For some reason it made me giggle so I bought it and now can’t decide which of two people to send it to

I was going to ask if it was me ?

I either see what I want straight away or go through everything.

MawtheMerrier

Absolutely
From breakfast cereals to sofas, the range of choices stretching over the horizon just puts me off altogether.
And don’t get me started on spectacle frames!

I just replace my worn out spectacle frames with the same again.
Have done this since about 1976 - with one variation a couple of years ago. Same make, same finish, slightly more oval!

Lucca

kircubbin2000

Good idea Monica. I went shopping last week with a friend who wanted a birthday card. She must have sorted through every card in the shop!After 10 minutes I was so fed up I went and sat outside.

I went into a gift shop this morning and saw a card which simply said “happy birthday you old bastard “. For some reason it made me giggle so I bought it and now can’t decide which of two people to send it to

As good a sense of humour that I have I don’t think I’d be too pleased if I received a card that states ‘ happy birthday you old bastard ‘ If I felt like that about someone then I wouldn’t want to sending them a birthday card in the first place .?

Just been out buying paint to decorate dining room. Just wanted a blue. So many on the shelf with lots of daft names. Do I want Botany bay , deckchair blue,sea calm, blue lace ? Ended up confused and have come home with peacock blue !!

I have noticed less choice in supermarkets with some empty shelves or else goods lined up along the front of the shelves but with nothing behind.
Reminds me of shopping in the iron curtain countries in the 70 s.

Cheeseplantmad

Lucca

kircubbin2000

Good idea Monica. I went shopping last week with a friend who wanted a birthday card. She must have sorted through every card in the shop!After 10 minutes I was so fed up I went and sat outside.

I went into a gift shop this morning and saw a card which simply said “happy birthday you old bastard “. For some reason it made me giggle so I bought it and now can’t decide which of two people to send it to

As good a sense of humour that I have I don’t think I’d be too pleased if I received a card that states ‘ happy birthday you old bastard ‘ If I felt like that about someone then I wouldn’t want to sending them a birthday card in the first place .?

It’s a JOKE

Lucca

kircubbin2000

Good idea Monica. I went shopping last week with a friend who wanted a birthday card. She must have sorted through every card in the shop!After 10 minutes I was so fed up I went and sat outside.

I went into a gift shop this morning and saw a card which simply said “happy birthday you old bastard “. For some reason it made me giggle so I bought it and now can’t decide which of two people to send it to

I once found a brilliant one - caption said something like, ‘Fred didn’t like celebrating his birthday.’

Picture showed two people approaching his front door - on it was a notice saying, ‘Leave presents on step and bugger off.’ ?