How to Avoid Costly Impulse Buying

I've done this a hundred and fifty times and lost everything in my bank account to an item not worth half of what I paid for it. To avoid this happening to you follow these seven quick tips to avoid cleaning out your wallet for something worth nothing more than pocket change.

1. No matter the item or what you think it should be worth, check to make sure.

I bought a Mysterious Valentines Card for 43,000 NP thinking some idiot had put it up way cheap because they USED to be worth 200,000 NP. I was so excited! I'd make SO much money! Its total worth now? 30,000 NP. My bank account? Empty.

2. All that sparkles is not gold. Don't ever assume just because an item falls into the same category as more valuable items that it has the same or similar value.

Paint brushes, worth more than most any other item, right? WRONG! I was totally wrong, I bought a cloud paint brush from an auction for 60,000 NP thinking I'd sell it for twenty thousand more, only to find it was outrageously overpriced. No desert paint brush, that's for sure! I had to start rebuilding the pieces of my obliterated banking account.

3. Be wary of clothes.

I was browsing the shop wizard when I saw a Faerie Bubble Bracelet. Not really thinking it through, I quickly bought the item because I already had a Faerie Bubble Necklace on one of my pets. I just knew it would match perfectly! I then proceeded to find the cheapest price, one thousand neopoints, and bought the pretty item. I checked my inventory to put it in my closet to find it wasn't wearable! My neopet did NOT get a new bracelet! :(

4. If no one else has already got it in the shop or at the auctions, it's most likely not worth it.

You can't really tell at the trading post because you can't see other offers, so that makes it slightly more risky. On the other hand, in shops and at the auctions you are most likely snipping, but at the trading post the user selects which offer to accept so you have more time. It balances out. Either way, play it safe.

5. If there are tons of items like it being offered for sale, it is most likely worth less.

The quantity of items in circulation often controls the cost. If there are a hundred thousand of it, it is much easier to find. If there are ten, it is MUCH harder to find. If the item is newly released, it is worth slightly more, but if it comes from something everyone can attain easily than its price plummets. The price also varies by quantity, number of uses, and the price to attain it outside of the player market.

6. Just because it cost 90,000 NP in the official store doesn't mean it is worth 90,000 NP on the player market.

The Neopian stores are often (though occasionally not) overpriced considered the player market value. To find the true price, look at demand, and what everyone else is pricing it at. After viewing five different prices, you have a general idea.

7. Don't take risks.

If you're not sure, then don't trust it. Unless you're a newbie, you generally know the cost of items. What category does it fall into? Is it retired? Is it one use only? Ask those questions to assess the price.

8. Consider profit.

If you're a restocker, auctioneer, or a trader, decide if you could actually sell this item. What would happen if you can't? Are you willing to lose the neopoints? If you want it to use and keep it, then this won't apply to you.

Everyone selling anything in Neopia is trying to make some neopoints, so they try to sell it at the highest price they can. When you make a mistake and buy an item when it is vastly overpriced, they do a happy dance. My point is everyone is trying to make the most of an item.

So it's pretty rare to impulsively buy something you really know nothing about when you consider value; you rarely get a great deal. If for one time you do get a great deal, you must have really lucked out. Truthfully, the more neopoints you have, the harder it is to avoid spending them. So when buying you really have to focus to avoid being sidetracked by these, "to good to be true," offers that come up everywhere. When you pay attention, you avoid similar scenarios like this one: You take a month to earn neopoints for that paint brush when you see the cutest petpet in the trading post and you think quickly, "That thing is worth twice that much! If I buy it and resell it I can buy two paint brushes!" The thing is, if you're not careful, just as in life, you can lose everything for nothing. You can come from millions to zip in ten seconds or less. So follow these tips; don't buy unless you KNOW for a fact that it is totally worth it!