You enter a sort of shoppers’ reverie. And the checkout line? Smooth like butter, and what’s that overhead? A banner displaying the new merchandise that will be arriving next week―you’ll have to remember that. And then a manager comes out and with a friendly smile asks if you were able to find everything you were looking for and tells you a funny little story. With an appreciative laugh, you reach out for one last impulse purchase. When it’s your turn to pay, you’re surprised at first to have spent so much-what got into you? No matter, you hand over your credit card, and are promptly offered help out with your bags.

Do you leave feeling like a deal hound, proud of your shopper savvy, already planning your next visit…or do you feel a little manipulated, spent, and suddenly uncertain that maybe you didn’t need all that after all, and now you’re going to have to go home and put it all away…if you can find the room?

What Message Should We Take Away from Why We Buy?

While Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping contains some practical advice about aging eyesight and how to make it easier for businesses to cater to the whimsies of particular demographics, it hints at, but does not adequately explain the psychological forces at work on a person. Nor does Why we Buy examine the roots behind our evolutionary drive to hunt, gather, and be on the lookout for opportunistic encounters. Perhaps a follow-up could to be written from the shoppers’ point of view:

Should We Buy?

We are privileged to live in a time in which humans are at the top-of-the food chain, but as our numbers swell, we have a shrinking base of wildlife and other natural resources to support us. Imagine what we might learn if our consumer impacts were measured with the same care and precision that has been used to observe shopper behavior for the benefit of the marketer?

For me, the striking but unintended message of this book was how competitive and sly distributors of resources needed to be for their own financial bottom line. This seems to force businesses to compete in a race to the bottom - obtaining resources for the lowest price, while paying the least for labor and externalizing as many real costs, such as environmental impacts, as possible, all while measuring profits in the margins of clever marketing and store appeal. Blogs like Earth Friendly Goodies have helped me sift through the hype while educating and informing me about healthier products. While I think Why We Buy can be a good preliminary glimpse into the world of buying, it is by no means the final word.

If you'd like to discover some of the factors that determine why we buy, try out this interesting read below.

Default By Relevance Bestselling Average customer review: high to low Price: low to high Price: high to low Publication date: newer to older Alphabetical: A to Z Alphabetical: Z to A

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping--Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond List Price: $16.00 Sale Price: $4.99 You save: $11.01 (69%)   Eligible for free shipping!

Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping List Price: $15.00 Sale Price: $4.95 You save: $10.05 (67%)   Eligible for free shipping!

Dear Paco Underhill: Not Why We Buy But Should We Buy is a post from: Earth Friendly Goodies

One downside so far with the Kindle for iPhone is that Kindle newspapers, magazines and blogs are not currently available on the iPhone or iPod touch - maybe they will add that functionality in the future (but then why would you need to buy a Kindle? So maybe not). But there are plenty of free Kindle books for the iPhone (and iPod Touch - geez they should just call them your iDevices it would be simpler to write about them!)

I've been dreaming about the iPod Touch lately (well not literally, unless you count the one where I show up at school naked wearing nothing but an iPod Touch) so this gives me one more reason to take the plunge - if you already have one and have been on the fence about getting an Amazon Kindle than perhaps the Kindle app is your solution.

What books have you enjoyed on your Kindle or iPhone? Please share inquiring minds want to know...

My iPhone Just Got Greener – the Kindle for iPhone App is a post from: Earth Friendly Goodies

Anyway, I was researching eco-friendly Amazon Kindle e-books for a project and I came across Ed Begley Jr's book "Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life". While I don't own a Kindle as of yet (I'm still mixed on whether it is really more eco-friendly than books - not to mention cost friendly) I was very intrigued to read the book. So in my effort to one up the debate of Kindle downloads vs buying books I opted for the debatable most green option of reserving it from the library. While I wait, and eagerly anticipate writing my eco-friendly book review I appeased myself with tantalizing tid-bits from other satisfied readers. (Currently five stars with 25 reviews from Amazon)

Within the book you'll find suggestions to green your life in six areas including home, transportation, recycling, energy use, garden and kitchen, and clothing and skin care. Many items are common sense like turning off the lights when you leave a room, others may be a bit expensive for the everyday family like buying solar panels to get you off the grid, but other green tips are very helpful and easy to do like disconnecting unused gadgets, chargers and appliances which can save up to 10% on your electrical use.

I'll give a more in-depth review once I settle down to a warm winters night with Mr Begley, um well his book at least, until then please share your comments below or join me in reading Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life in your preferred method of reading enjoyment - book form or Kindle form.

Warm Winter Night with Ed Begley Jr’s Eco-Friendly Life is a post from: Earth Friendly Goodies