I’ve spent a fair number of time in computer and photography shops, and also been in the retail side for the latter. Here’re my tips for retail stuff!

1. Always know what you’re looking to get. Do your own research first. If you need to rely on the sales person to make a recommendation, you’ve already lost. There’s always a community of enthusiasts to rely on. Find them.

2. Always do a price check with various reputable sources first. That way you have a rough idea of the price range.

3. If add-ons of any kind are being recommended, say no and research first. Don’t fall to pressure tactics to get them. If the salesperson is geniunely being helpful with the add-ons, they’ll be happy to let you come back another day to get it. If they’re saying you have to act now, it’s a high-pressure tactic to sell higher-margin products to pad their bottom line.

4. If a similar but alternative product is being hawked at you, again, do research first then come back. There’s always a motive behind that. Sometimes it’s just a need to clear stock of an otherwise decent product, but usually it’s because the profit margin is higher, there’re sales targets to hit etc.

First if all, you’re not wrong. Depending on the financial risk in play, the anxiety and trust get tossed into a tizzy.

When I say financial risk, if I’m buying a car, we all already know that that’s a whole racket. Buying a house, even bigger $$$$ involved. Buying a staple commodity, like a loaf of bread? Meh, it’s no biggie.

One big factor in play is our emotional side.

I’ll make a suggestion here. Feel free to ignore.

There’s a book by Dr Robert Cialdini on persuasion. From what I recall, he got into learning how humans react to certain things, because he felt that he himself was duped into doing/buying things that he later realized he wished he hadn’t done/bought. He wanted to better understand the process so that he could be more aware and less vulnerable to the grift. He ended up going into psychology and… well, specializing in the subject.

One sec, there’s a website that gives a nice intro to this:

https://www.influenceatwork.com/7-principles-of-persuasion/

I mean, you have the right attitude. I also feel like everything these days is a scam. It used to be that someone was just trying to get a fair shake for the value of their labor. Buy a refrigerator you get a quality, supported, and long term product worth the money. Now, it feels like I am getting something specifically designed to squeeze as much money from me as possible.

My two cents on ways to avoid the swindle.

• Abandon brand loyalty of any kind. A good brand will become a hollowed out shell only focused on profit
• Buy tech that is relatively new. The first few years of a new production product are usually the best engineered. The best VHS tapes were made when the tech was new. Same thing for new laptop designs, or M.2 Ssd, etc. Later in tech cycle they cheapen everything to make more profit and design in failure to keep you buying.
• Assume money and greed is the reason for company behavior above all else. That will properly contextualize and answer most questions you have for why things are the way they are.