It’s fun show up to a car dealership and take a test drive. While an obvious ploy to get you to fall in love with the car and purchase it on the spot, there’s a practical side to it. You’re about to make a really big purchase and no matter what you read about the car, you won’t know if it’s right for you until you know how the seat feels, how it breaks, the turning radius, and generally “how it drives.” Imagine the potential car buying remorse you’d feel if you didn’t have this opportunity. While most of our other purchases aren’t nearly this expensive, we can take a lesson from this approach. 

One way to test drive an item is to borrow it. Borrowing can help us reduce unfettered excitement, lessoning the impulse to purchase. Granted, you need to know someone one who has that product and they have to be willing to let you try it out. If you can’t take it home with you, have an in depth conversation about it and conduct a test drive at their place. 

The idea of borrowing or renting instead of buying is starting to become easier, stretching beyond the friend or neighbor who owns the object of your desire. Often we think of borrowing as only something we do at a library. But there are dish and tool lending libraries hosted by community groups popping up. Apps and websites have been developed to coordinate similar efforts. Libraries across the US are utilizing their borrowing infrastructure to lend out non-media items. 

The purpose of many of these options is to replace the need to buy the item. But they end up serving as great ways to test drive. Occasionally I’ve purchased a reference book after borrowing it from the library, once I knew it was useful enough to keep on my shelf. And there are books I almost bought instead of borrowing, and was so glad I didn’t buy them.

Another test drive strategy is to buy a less expensive, trimmed down version of the item. Often you don’t need all the bells and whistles. Then, you can sell or give away what you tried but want to upgrade. Warning: This can backfire if you end up keeping the less expensive version because you think, “why not have two?!”. 

With the base model strategy, you may discover that top-tier products have far more bits of functionality than are necessary for your needs. We often pay extra for functions (including size) that aren’t necessary. Therefore, we overpay. Purchasing a base model or less expensive version can prove to be a better option long term, rather than be a temporary test drive.

Another option is to use a placeholder for the item; something you already have that can give you a sense of whether you need to make a purchase. For example, if you were considering buying an e-reader, you might try reading an e-book on your phone to see if you like reading books digitally. Or if you wanted a riser for your laptop, try a pile of books first. This strategy is helpful when organizing. I encourage clients to use boxes or bins they already own to makeshift their new organizing system. After it’s clear what possessions they’ll keep and where they’ll keep them, they can purchase organizing products that will suit their specific needs.

The stuff test drive can be completed using an array of different tactics: borrowing, renting, buying a cheaper, pared down version, or using a placeholder item. The end goal is to minimize purchases and, when purchasing, have a better sense of exactly what you want. Drive before you buy.