Does anyone ever suffer from buyer’s remorse any more?

My wife used to get it every now and then, either if the item didn’t work out the way she wanted it to or maybe it wasn’t quite as good as she had pictured it being in her mind. But not so much any more. I think she’s outgrown that phase of her life.

We’re nearing the end of a little interior renovation project at home, and I wonder if some of the items involved in that will lead to buyer’s remorse down the road, but I doubt it because you don’t have to shop for things like people once did.

Now everything is right at the palm of your hand and you can look as much as you want and review everything long before deciding whether to make a purchase. When you buy something now, you just move on.

You don’t have to go out to look at cars or houses, or really anything these days before you decide to break out the credit card. You can decide online and click, click — it’s there at your front door. That’s why I think buyer’s remorse may be disappearing. But I don’t know if that’s true for everyone.

There’s plenty of online discussion of buyer’s remorse, the causes and ways to ease it. One little nugget I stumbled on is the idea that a money back guarantee helps get rid of the chance at buyer’s remorse because you can always return or exchange products you buy. And online retailers have made that seem a lot easier than it used to be when something arrived in the wrong size or color or whatever.

Another key to buyer’s remorse appears linked to more expensive items. I tried to think back to the last pricey purchase I had to make, and for the life of me I couldn’t come up with anything. I guess that goes to show who makes the major purchases in our household. That’s the way it should be I guess.

I do remember the one thing that I enjoyed buying and it was at one of those big box stores when I was strolling along a clearance aisle. Out jumped an outdoor fold-up table that I had halfway been looking for. It was included in a boxed set that also had a tent, two chairs and two sleeping bags. And the tag read all for the low, low price of $30. Hmm, I thought, all that for $30 — something must be wrong.

But I pulled the trigger and bought it, then walked out with my new purchase in hand and have enjoyed it ever since. I didn’t really need the extra sleeping bags or chairs, but I have them just in case. And the table worked fine. But the tent actually was the best surprise. It has a nifty little setup that makes it easy to get ready in about 5 minutes, plus it’s as light as any I’ve strapped onto a pack to take hiking and camping.

I sometimes set up camp not too far from home, and some people might question my sanity for doing such a thing but I just enjoy sleeping outside in the clear air with nothing like the smell of new carpet to clog up my breathing.

If the neighbors happen to see a tent set up in the woods out back, well they know the wife is out of town somewhere.

I have one neighbor who shakes his head at the mere idea of sleeping in a tent anywhere. But then again he’s had a lifetime supply of doing such while in the military, and I only got a brief taste of that when I was younger so I’m still trying to make up for lost time.

I’ll wait patiently until the temperature drops a little more, though I did see we had a few potential nights of it dipping into the 50s. That’s getting close perfect, but really the cooler the better for me.

That’s when the campfires will come back around again too, and with all the limbs brought down by the violent storms over the past few weeks, I’ve got plenty of material to get a good bonfire going.

Now I recently walked back down the same clearance aisle at the big box store where I made that last tent purchase, and I saw to my surprise the same box was there on sale. But this time the price tag was $139. Hmm, I thought again. Why did I get mine for so cheap?

Now I’m starting to wonder  if there’s such a thing as seller’s remorse

Paris Goodnight is editor of the Salisbury Post.