Comments on: The Paradox of Choice

By: JOE

JOE — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:36:01 +0000

Thanks, Ryan. Too many choices isn’t always a good thing. “Way too many” is where we usually are.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:32:47 +0000

Good review. I’ve noticed the same things regarding too many choices. I am learning to be a Satisficer. I went to buy my wife a Christmas present this week (a video camera) and I know she loved her Canon camera, which needed replacing about 3 years ago. When we went to buy a new camera we studied, reviewed, and otherwise spent an insane amount of time to save $30 on an Olympus, which she ended up not liking very much. So this week I went to Best Buy and only looked at Canon video cameras, which is what I bought. I didn’t even do much in the line of price comparison, though it turned out it was priced well. She’ll be happy with the camera and I didn’t spend a lot of time or money on the decision. I’m happy too.

By: JOE

JOE — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:14:34 +0000

I recently had a discussion with the manager at my local Costco in which I explained the premise of this book and he said that he never thought of it that way. Costco has very few of most items, sometimes just the one choice. I’ll take that over 30 flavors of shampoo any day. Thanks for reading!

By: TheArabicStudent

TheArabicStudent — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 21:17:25 +0000

When I walk into Walgreens I am literally stunned and it takes me a few seconds to get my bearings because there are so many products looking at you. I wanted some chocolate and I spent about 5 minutes just walking back and forth along the candy isle trying to decide which one I wanted. Lots of choice is a great thing, but it really can be overwhelming.

By: John @ The Financial Ladder

John @ The Financial Ladder — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:07:50 +0000

Thanks to capitalism for the variety and choice. If you enjoyed that book, then I’d recommend a 1980 PBS series called “Free to choose” by Milton Friedman, a Nobel Prize winning economist. Very enlightening.

By: Wise Finish

Wise Finish — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:17:47 +0000

I am definitely a maximizer! Thanks for this review, it looks like a good read.

By: RainyDaySaver

RainyDaySaver — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:15:20 +0000

Sounds like an interesting read. I’m more of a Maximizer, but I tend to fall under the Satisficer (strange term!) heading every once in a while. That usually happens when I’m faced with so many choices, I have trouble figuring out the best deal. It is much less stressful to just go with something that’s “good enough.” The more choices, the more anxiety it causes. Many people like the idea of fewer choices, because it takes the pressure off of them — they can always say, “Well, that’s all they had!”