Why I Buy - Moleskine

There are many products and services out there that I could easily spend my money on, and they would do the job just as easily and efficiently then the majority of the more expensive alternatives. However solely depending on pricing, or aesthetics isn’t always the primary factor in making the decision to buy a particular product. There are hundreds of products and services that we all buy everyday, and the chances are that most of those purchases don’t require much thought at all but are just general impulses. I think I can speak for the vast majority by saying that you don’t make all your purchases in the same way. What I mean by that is, when you decide to purchase a holiday, it requires a different form of questions and thought process in contrast to buying deodorant. Therefore for my chosen product/service I’ve chosen to talk about Moleskine. Moleskine is essentially a company that sells notebooks, notepads etc. however just like another company today they’ve broadened their horizon.

Moleskine is the go-to brand for notebooks and all things stationery in my eyes, and has been for some time. It would be fair in saying it is like Apple Inc. in that Moleskine charge ridiculous prices for notebooks in which you could find for £0.99p in WHS, or another store of that kind. Regardless of that, I still buy their products, and I’m sure many other people do too. Simply because they’re the best at what they do, just like Apple. I recently bought a new addition to my ‘collection’ of Moleskine products, which was a standard A4 soft back notebook, not exactly the most exiting of products I could have chosen but thats why I chose it. I didn’t buy it because I wanted to join a ‘community’, or buy into the brand, or even for a status symbol. I simply bought it because I liked it the most. Don’t get me wrong, it was rather expensive for a notebook, priced at around £14.00 and it holds no more pages then another generic notebook. It was the best looking notebook that I could find, with a sophisticated, smart and elegant black cover with a sort of sepia toned paper that is easy on the eyes as well as being of a much higher standard then the typical notebook. It’s the small things, the things that most people wouldn’t even think about when buying a notebook. The features make them easy to use, with an elastic strap so it doesn’t open up in your pocket or bag, losing inserts or whatnot. It has an extra section at the back to place another loose bits of paper, with the added ease of finding where you left off with a ribbon bookmark. Reading this to myself it sounds rather obsessive but these are the sole reasons why I  purchase Moleskine products. The quality control is second-to-none, not only that but it has a history. I mean I didn’t buy it because of the history, but theres always a nice feeling when you know you have something that surpasses the base value, almost a sentimental value but not as personal. 

The range of their products are vast also, whatever sort of paper you want, squared, lined, plain. Branching into pens, bags, folders, phone cases etc. There is no reason to buy another brand, just like Apple. Why would you want something else? It has everything, the style, its user-friendly, and you’re not ashamed to let people know you have one. I suppose that could make me an up-market buyer, or consumer, but I don’t buy it to make a statement or be noticed. You get what you pay for when making purchases, and it’s the same thing here; for me, previous notebooks in the past get damaged easily, the paper quality is poor, they’re ugly to look at and just appear of a low-standard, buy you could probably buy fourteen of these for one Moleskine. But they just don’t compete, Moleskine is one of those brands that look nice anywhere fitting in with all types of decor and style, almost like a piece of furniture or in this case more of an accessory. You can just place it anywhere, and it looks like it belongs there. What other notebook  can you say the same about? 

Having thought about it, you could say that I’m brand loyal to them now. But thats not because of their marketing techniques, or whatever bonuses that gives me. It’s because they are the best of what they do, and never disappoint in any way, each one of their products are made to last, and are made to look, feel, and be used in a simple, elegant and easy way. Their adverts however, are quite interesting which I didn’t think would be possible as its just a notebook, though they’re intriguing and almost make you realise why you need one of their products. The best notebook adverts I’ve seen anyway, having said that however I wouldn’t say I'm swain by advertising. If I don’t want to buy something I won’t, and won’t be manipulated by an advert to do so.

I think my generation has built up a sort of immune system to advertising media, in the sense that we’re not easily persuaded by adverts or opinion. We’re very much our own people/persons and will buy/do something if only we want too. Although, overall I think I’m slightly overcritical about certain items, and then not so much about others. I suppose it depends on what product/service it is, and what the alternatives are to compare it too. If you can’t compare it to a higher standard, then that is the highest standard and thus you can’t be too critical. Take Apple products for example, you can’t start to say whats wrong with their products because they’re the leading products in their markets’, but you can criticise the lower alternatives. I don’t mean to say Moleskine is of the same standard in terms of market dominance as Apple, but share many of the same characteristics. Moleskine might has seemed like a boring and unimaginative choice of product/service but I thought I could show another alternative to what I think is the ‘Apple’ of the ‘notebook world’ and not only that but best describe how I buy, why I buy and what type of consumer I really am.

http://www.moleskine.co.uk/