There's often a problematic relationship between quality and price, but generally it's a fair assumption that the more you pay, the better the quality. I mean, why pay more if you can get a better deal for less. Fundamental stuff really. People knew this even before Adam Smith.
There are exception though. Watches, for instance. Check out these, from Argos: £199.99…£69.99…£4.99. The correlation between how good these watches look and how much they cost is, it seems to me, quite clearly inverse. And if you want a really ugly watch, then it's hard to beat the Zenith Men's 96.0529.4035/51.M Defy Xtreme Tourbillon Titanium Chronograph Watch, retailing at Amazon for $86,999.99 (referred to here).
Of course looks may not relate entirely to quality, but it's a major part of it. You need your watch to tell the time accurately, and last a few years. And you want to be able to glance at it and see the time immediately without having to try and work out which buttons to press or what all those other distracting displays signify. Simple and elegant, that's it. Beyond that, unless you're bothered about a watch that continues functioning when you're 1000 metres underwater, or looks like a piece of medical equipment strapped to your wrist, then cheaper here is clearly better.
Which is why I'm now happily wearing that £4.99 Constant Men's Quartz Watch, purchased just the other day from Argos after an unfortunate accident immediately after taking this picture caused the glass of my previous (more expensive) watch to shatter.
The only other (male) items I can think of with a similar inverse value/quality ratio are razors. Why anyone buys anything more expensive than those yellow plastic disposable Bic things at about ten to the pound is a mystery. Those ridiculous expensive double or treble bladed razors are always getting clogged up. Useless.
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