--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never buy a thing you don't want merely…" description: "\"Never buy a thing you don't want merely because it is dear.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/oscar-wilde-16_dear_never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely_2808352.jpg" --- # Never buy a thing you don't want merely because it is dear. ![“Never buy a thing you don't want merely because it is dear.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/oscar-wilde-16_dear_never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely_2808352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/oscar-wilde-16_dear_never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely_2808352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/oscar-wilde-16_dear_never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely_2808352.jpg) > “Never buy a thing you don't want merely because it is dear.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoid purchasing items solely for their high price; value personal need over perceived prestige. **In simple terms:** Don't buy things just because they're expensive. Key Takeaway Prioritize need over status. Themes consumerism value self‑control Mood reflective pragmatic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - shopping - gift‑giving - budgeting - decluttering Key Concepts materialism social pressure Questions to Reflect On - Do you own anything you bought only because it was pricey? - How could you assess true need before buying? A Different Perspective High price doesn't guarantee satisfaction or utility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buy Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buy-thing-675911/) [Dear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Merely Dear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-dear-3502459/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-me/) [Want Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-merely-3020436/) ## Related quotes > [“Well, what did he want?" "Merely to tell you that your uncle, Mr. Eyre of Madeira, is dead; that he has left you all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/well-what-did-he-want-merely-to-tell-you-that-your-uncle-mr-eyre-of/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/there-is-no-worse-tyranny-than-to-force-a-man-to-pay-for-what-he-does/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [We do not want to merely “see” beauty. We want to be united with it, to receive it into ourselves, to become part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-do-not-want-to-merely-see-beauty-we-want-to-be-united-with-it-to/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [We buy thing we don't need, with the money we don't have, to impress person we don't like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-buy-thing-we-don-t-need-with-the-money-we-don-t-have-to-impress/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I Just Hate People Showing Off theiir Things As If They Can Only Buy Those Thing Lol Fuck Such Bastards !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karal/i-just-hate-people-showing-off-theiir-things-as-if-they-can-only-buy/) [Karal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karal/) > [When the economy is strong, people tend to buy three things from the top of their wish list. But when things are bad, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoru-iwata/when-the-economy-is-strong-people-tend-to-buy-three-things-from-the/) [Satoru Iwata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoru-iwata/) > [If I desire something badly enough, I'll buy it for myself; and this thing will never be a Yankee Candle gift set or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/if-i-desire-something-badly-enough-i-ll-buy-it-for-myself-and-this/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [If we have money & we are reachest person of the earth then we can buy each & every thing . But still we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-singh/if-we-have-money-we-are-reachest-person-of-the-earth-then-we-can-buy/) [Narendra Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-singh/) > [You buy a car or any other thing when you see someone else having it. So people will only buy a thing when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-magsaysay/you-buy-a-car-or-any-other-thing-when-you-see-someone-else-having-it/) [Ramon Magsaysay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-magsaysay/) > [Instead of buying six things, buy one thing that you really like. Don't keep buying just for the sake of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/instead-of-buying-six-things-buy-one-thing-that-you-really-like-don-t/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [That's how our system works. It's a giant con game. One thing gets old, then you have to buy the next thing that gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tharp/that-s-how-our-system-works-it-s-a-giant-con-game-one-thing-gets-old/) [Tim Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tharp/) > [Sometimes I would buy two of the same thing just to give my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-bronfman/sometimes-i-would-buy-two-of-the-same-thing-just-to-give-my-friends/) [Hannah Bronfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-bronfman/) > [For money, I can buy one thing: I buy freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/for-money-i-can-buy-one-thing-i-buy-freedom/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [My dear fellow, the truth isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/my-dear-fellow-the-truth-isn-t-quite-the-sort-of-thing-one-tells-to-a/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Acting keeps me young! I love that the fans like this kind of action and as long as they want me I'll continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/acting-keeps-me-young-i-love-that-the-fans-like-this-kind-of-action/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Dear quotes > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [O lands! O all so dear to me - what you are, I become part of that, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/o-lands-o-all-so-dear-to-me-what-you-are-i-become-part-of-that/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Most beautiful is the sight of those near and dear to us when our original kinship makes us of one mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/most-beautiful-is-the-sight-of-those-near-and-dear-to-us-when-our/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Oh, dear Hazel.” Aphrodite folded her fan. “Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. Love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/oh-dear-hazel-aphrodite-folded-her-fan-such-optimism-yet-you-have/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You're thinking about something, my dear, and that makes you forget to talk. I can't tell you just now what the moral of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/you-re-thinking-about-something-my-dear-and-that-makes-you-forget-to/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Dear God...thank you for bein there when no one else was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-god-thank-you-for-bein-there-when-no-one-else-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Dear John, tell me everything. Write it all down, that way, we’ll be with each other all the time, even if we’re not with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/dear-john-tell-me-everything-write-it-all-down-that-way-we-ll-be-with/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > ['Madea' is a Southern term. It's short for 'mother dear.' So there are a lot of Madeas out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/madea-is-a-southern-term-it-s-short-for-mother-dear-so-there-are-a/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [There was a man named Robert Dear who in court said he was a warrior for the babies, whose ex-wife talked about his Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/there-was-a-man-named-robert-dear-who-in-court-said-he-was-a-warrior/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [Dear God, thanks for being there when no one else was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myah/dear-god-thanks-for-being-there-when-no-one-else-was/) [Myah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myah/) [Browse all 2,620 Dear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never buy a thing you don't want merely because it is dear.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely-because-it-is-dear/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely-because-it-is-dear/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/oscar-wilde-16_dear_never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely_2808352.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/oscar-wilde-16_dear_never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely_2808352.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/oscar-wilde-16_dear_never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely_2808352.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never buy a thing you don't want merely because it is dear.” — Oscar Wilde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never buy a thing you don't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely-because-it-is-dear/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/never-buy-a-thing-you-don-t-want-merely-because-it-is-dear/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```