Are you a snob?

[porsche4life]

Quote de VINMAN

Would anyone consider themsleves a "snob". I mean in the way that you only would partake in a partical thing/ brand and look down on anything else?



Such as..



Beer snob

coffee snob

food snob

vehicles..

tools..

etc, etc...



One of my friends jokingly called me a Coke snob, because I refuse to drink anything but Coca Cola.



I honestly cant think of anything id call myself snobish about.

Just the opposite. I take pride in getting my money's worth and enjoy finding a generic or lower priced item that can do as well as the high priced snob-bait.

I cringe when I hear people say "you get what you pay for" and wonder who the hell they are trying to impress.



Case in point:

I buy gas at a local arco station. Across the street is a shell station and the shell prices are typically 30 to 40 cents per gallon higher, for the exact same gas. Yet people will line up to pay more.



And here's the funny part: as of June 1st, both of those stations will be owned by the same company and the gas will come from the same refinery, but the price differential will remain due to marketting strategies.





2nd case: I authorize the purchase around $50k worth of tools per year at work and I never approve anything made by snap-on. Overpriced hype. There are many brands of tools that are just as good for half the money.

No... You are a cheapskate... . There are some things that just aren't the same and if you still proudly buy the other because its cheaper.... Well....


As far as the gas station thing. There's a pretty damn good chance that their fuel has been coming from the same place all along. Here there is one rack they all haul out of, yet there is a wide range of prices. The shell Gus for instance are having to give shell at least a .10/gal cut so the unbranded or lesser brand should be cheaper. There is a reason I have worked on several multimillion dollar cstores in the last year, and they've all been unbranded. Guys are realizing that the natl brand doesn't bring much if you build a damn nice store and sell your gas cheaper. But I digress....

[sammyg2]

True story: one of my brothers is a south orange county snob's snob.
Has to have the most expensive of everything, even if the parents have to make the payments for him.
A top of the line german luxury coupe wasn't good enuff to impress the neighbors, he had to get the hybrid version.

He'll show up at a party with the most expensive beer he can find, and walk around for hours with the same half-full beer but won't actually drink it. Eventually he'll pour the rest of it out.
He doesn't even like beer.

I tell him he should have one of my curs lights and learn to enjoy it.

[aigel]

Originally Posted by BReif61

I've been told I'm a beer snob since I would prefer a good beer over a Bud Light.

Same here, but if there is only one type of beer available and it has not been open for a day in the warm sun, I will drink it, no complaints! Beats water!

G

[pavulon]

If hoping to never attend another car race held on an oval makes someone a snob, then I guess so.

[vash]

Originally Posted by aigel

Same here, but if there is only one type of beer available and it has not been open for a day in the warm sun, I will drink it, no complaints! Beats water!

G

i think i went 20 months without a single drop of booze. none. hot camping trip, had the doctor's ok for the occasional beer. my brother bought a suitcase sized box of keystone for his friends. i pulled one out the ice, and took a sip. i got "movement" down there..it was fantastic. the second sip was much less dramatic.

[scottmandue]

I have been called a beer snob because at hooters I won't drink miller lite and order Widmer hefeweisen... I prefer local microbrew... however in a pinch, on a really hot day, I will chug a ice cold American beer.

I am a coffee snob... however I don't drink fufu coffee drinks... prefer to make my own, fresh ground beans, French press, black or maybe a touch of cream/milk.

Car snob, I buy platinum plugs and synthetic oil... however I can only afford to drive/maintain a Hyundai and Miata.

I live in a really, really nice neighborhood... but only because I inherited the house.

Not sure if I am a enigma or schizophrenic

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

No... You are a cheapskate... . There are some things that just aren't the same and if you still proudly buy the other because its cheaper.... Well....


As far as the gas station thing. There's a pretty damn good chance that their fuel has been coming from the same place all along. Here there is one rack they all haul out of, yet there is a wide range of prices. The shell Gus for instance are having to give shell at least a .10/gal cut so the unbranded or lesser brand should be cheaper. There is a reason I have worked on several multimillion dollar cstores in the last year, and they've all been unbranded. Guys are realizing that the natl brand doesn't bring much if you build a damn nice store and sell your gas cheaper. But I digress....

I go for the best bang for the buck. The "smart" buy.
If something is cheaper but not good, I won't buy it.

And I know exactly where the gasoline they sell at that shell station comes from, I help make 3.27 million gallons a day of it. The company I work for owns it.

The gas sold at the arco station is made by the BP refinery down the street, which I will be involved with after my company takes it over.
The two gas stations mentioned previously are exclusively supplied unless one of the refineries is having problems and can't meet the commitment. In those cases it is common to buy from another refinery on the spot market but they still sell it to their own refinery even if they didn't make it.

After the 1st of the month nearly all shell stations in So Cal, the entire ARCO brand, the tesoro brand, and the USA gasoline brand will be owned by the same oil company and all the gas from those stations will be made in the same process units.

[flatbutt]

Scotch snob for sure.

[Zeke]

Well, you 2 gasoline experts fail to mention the additive package that distinguished one gas brand from another even if they come out of the same batch initially.

Otherwise, you are telling all these p-car owners that running Arco is what they should do and pocket the savings. I don't agree with that.

Neither have some of my cars. Take the idle characteristics on a 95º day at 50% humidity in a CIS system as an example. Arco don't cut it.

[porsche4life]

Really.... Because I fill my pcar at the local unbranded farmers coop with no additives and it runs just fine... If I'd go pay more for shell gas I'd get additives alright... Ethanol... That negates anything they put in IMHO...

[McLovin]

I'm an anti-snob. I pretty much never buy "name brand" anything if I can avoid it, esp. "high end" name brands.

IMO, with most of those, you're just paying for the marketing.

Also, people buy name brand things because they want to be "associated" with the image that comes with it. I'm the opposite.

For example, designer shirts that have logos on them (I don't even know what those would be these days, since I don't buy them, but for example, the Izod alligator in the 80s), I would never wear that.

The ironic thing is it isn't because "I don't care what people think about me," because I guess I do. I don't like wearing labeled clothing because, well, I don't particularly like the message it conveys about me to others. So I guess I do care.

So,

Coffee - any will do, I'd never spend $3 for a cup of coffee, though, so I think that rules out Starbucks, etc.

Watches - don't wear.

Clothes - LOL.

Beer - Whatever ya got, just make sure it's cold.

Hard alcohol - It's all good.

Tools - Craftsman is fine.

Food - I mostly eat whole foods from the regular grocery store. I dislike "fine dining" very much, the taste is fine but I always feel like it isn't a good value (i.e., I've been ripped off) and it's generally unhealthy. I generally dislike going out to eat at all, I don't get much value from it, and don't really like being served by someone.

Guitars - no preference, I have Yamaha, Gibson and PRS (and many others over the years), they're all good. Better than I am as a guitarist, so who am I to complain?

Motorcycles - Had a Ducati, didn't really like it, I prefer just basic, reliable, inexpensive Japanese sports bikes.


OK, I'll admit my one weakness is cars. The only cars I've owned over the past decade, and probably ever will own for the rest of my life, come from 4 makers: BMW, MB, Porsche and Ferrari. This is a result of a deep seated auto enthusiasm that started when I was around 10 and has never abated. But even those, I keep covered/garaged as much as possible, never take to car shows, never talk about, and keep as low profile as possible.

[BReif61]

Originally Posted by aigel

Same here, but if there is only one type of beer available and it has not been open for a day in the warm sun, I will drink it, no complaints! Beats water!

G

One caveat that plays into this: Ballgames. If I'm at an O's game, I'm drinking Boh.

O's and Boh's... don't get more Bal'more than that.

[Don Plumley]

Snob? No.
Particular and Discerning? Yes.

Example - I love great wine/food. Do I look down on others that prefer pedestrian wine and tasteless food? No. Do I partake in them? Not by choice, but if required for social reasons or to be polite, I don't mention my preferences and simply smile and say, "thank you."

[Hawkeye's-911T]

I'm with Baz. I have preferences but not all are absolute. I guess I am a 'non-snob'

Cheers
JB

[RWebb]

I am a snob at getting my money's worth when buying stuff.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'm too poor to be a snob.

I get a kick out of getting a good deal, and I enjoy quality. I buy most of my clothes at TJ Max because I get expensive name brand stuff for WalMart prices. I buy high quality used cars and do the work myself using quality parts. I use high quality materials when I work on my house, but again do the work myself to save money. I love buying used stuff on Craigslist. As for beer, you'll normally find some variety of microbrew or import in my fridge right next to the Miller Lite. C'mon, you can't drink Guiness after mowing the yard on a hot summer day....

[BernieP]

To many people, the fact that I drive a Porsche (even if it is a 1986) makes me a snob.

Bernie P

[gacook]

In a word, no.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Jferr006

I've become a tits snob.

Oh, same here.







.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

yeah, actually. I overmaintain cars when I'm not building 'em. Tune up parts are all OEM on everything- even the floor mats. Only good stuff goes into cars, period. (quality)

Cars- I will go to the grave driving nothing but REAL German cars, and GM products. Currently have 2x old MBZ (quality) and two old GM (hot-rod quality)

Clothing- good brand name clothes last a long long time, I have my preferences there as well. (quality)

Tools- a combo of craftsman and Snap-ON, the warranty. (quality, warranty)

Quality is where it's at. I fear for the fact that we're going to a disposable society. Harder to find good stuff....

I get accused of being an elitist / snob but then again, my stuff never breaks, and lasts forever. Quality.

rjp

Yesterday I went to my local Harbor Freight to pick up some wire ties. It' a brand new store. It's only been open for a month or so. Every Isle had a sign that said all hand tools come with a life time warranty. Isn't that the same warranty as Craftsman or Snap-On?