#42 – It’s Sale Time! How to shop for value, not just discounts

The real question is never about price. It’s about you and the value you can get from what you buy.

400 gold florins. I’m going to do something great and I’ll earn 400 florins! That was probably the number that Michelangelo, on behalf of Cardinal Jean de Bilhères-Lagraulas, had in his mind when he went to negotiate the purchase of the block of Carrara marble to carve the Pietà. He travelled personally to the Apuan Alps to visit his trusted suppliers and carefully select the best block, without imperfections, without impurities. Then he added all his value as a sculptor and an artist.

We know that he finally negotiated for the block around 100 gold florins, which equivalent to approximately 90,000 euros today.

But the real question is: how much value did he create from that block?

The price is what it is — often, it can be negotiated, but it’s never fully under our control. Value, on the other hand, is subjective. It depends on you and on what you’re going to do with what you buy.

Stop fixating on the price tag. Don’t buy a shirt for €120 just because it used to cost €200!

Many people believe they should buy when the price is “right” — but what does that really mean? Is it when the price is definitely below market value? Is it when it’s just a little higher than production cost?

These are ways to define a fair price — but they don’t answer the real question: how much value will you get from what you buy?

Think like Michelangelo: focus on value.

Practical exercise

Next time you go shopping, try this. Before looking at price tags, ask yourself how much you will get from that product. I mean, be the one who sets the value. Only after having done this, look at the price, to check that it is lower than the value you have set. Only in this case you should buy.

Put value first!

The price is simply the amount you put on the table to free the value that you have already seen in it.

Post scriptum: after his “Apuan” shopping, Michelangelo later received as much as 450 florins for sculpting the Pietà.