Which "blurf" should I buy, and from where or whom?

It would seem that for each trade vertical, hobby, or even industry in general, when there is a forum for discussion amongst the devotees there is an early question that rises. It is always the same, though the form and syntax may differ slightly.

Which "blurf" should I use, from whom shall I purchase it? 

Many people, rather than asking for advice will phrase this query more as a request for permission.

Can I use the "blurf" made by XYZ company, or sold at PQR site. (usually referring to the cheapest or most common one available)

Since the time I first came onto the internet, some of these things have changed. I saw the beginnings of eBay, CraigsList, and Amazon. Not to mention Alibaba, Aliexpress, and Temu. I assume there will be more, so forgive me if I try to speak generically to attempt to remain timeless. 

In this vein, I will refer to forums, and as such I refer to topical NNTP news groups, as well as freestanding web forums, and more lately places like Facebook groups, and Reddit subreddits. I am certain that there are more, and they will continue to evolve with new names and ways to access them, but they are still a topical collective intent on discussing their particular discipline and used as a starting point for those just entering the trade/hobby/industry.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let me start with how this question has been handled in the past. 

Many forums were started by retail or wholesale establishments as a furthering of their industry and in service to those of their customers in that industry. Imagine a guitar parts distributor running and moderating a forum on some kind of "Guitar Building." You had better believe that whatever "blurf" they sold, was the exact perfect "blurf" and if you didn't buy that one, there would be no possible way to properly build a guitar. All the old-timers on that forum would recommend it with the recognition that it might cost a little more than some cheap thing you can find elsewhere, then follow it up with some aphorism in the form of "Buy once, cry once", "You get what you pay for", and my personal favorite "Life is too short to use crappy tools". 

Some other forums, though they were run and moderated by private individuals might have sponsors that paid for ads on the forum. The work of a forum takes time and energy, and when you had to pay for internet access, and server space, and bandwidth, etc. These contributors sure were appreciated, and well, those in control of the forums didn't want them to stop contributing. At the very least, no ill was ever to be spoken of their products. On the other hand, you had better believe any "blurf" they sold would be the first recommendation, but perhaps more with "It's a great, reliable tool, and sold by an excellent sponsor of our forum. So buy it from them as it will help us continue!"

As time moved on and space, bandwidth and other such considerations became cheap or otherwise insignificant to those running forums something changed. Within a forum celebrities developed. They may or may not even be members of the forum, but everyone in the forum knew their name, their television show, their podcast, YouTube channel, or if you were lucky they were a top contributor to the forum. However, their recommendation either by simply being seen using such a tool, doing a sponsored ad for the tool, or somehow making some public statement that was positive about any given "blurf" would get you responses like "Well our hero <insert name here> uses/swears by/is sponsored by <insert tool company name here>". Many times this would be just enough for someone to make the inference that well if it is good enough for my hero, then it is good enough for me. Or, alternatively, if I want to do work like my hero then I need to use the same tool as he does. This was fun in the early days of woodworking, because there was an intellectual war going on between "Normites" vs. "Neandertals". If you are not aware of these two camps, suffice it to say one group loved "The New Yankee Workshop" and the other were fans of "The Woodright's Shop". Let's leave it at that.

So this may be a good place to put a TLDR; because I am not sure how many people will bother to wade through all that I have written so far. And I don't want to be accused to click-baiting to some long story that never gets to the point of the title.

TLDR;

First of all, if I ever start a business making "blurfs", then the answer is that you should absolutely buy them from me. Any "blurf" that I sell will be the best in the world, and fairly priced, make all your projects come out perfect without you having to learn the skills necessary. Oh, yeah, and it will somehow contribute to world peace.

It is unlikely that I will begin to manufacture "blurfs" so, let's just call that an introductory joke :)

First and foremost you have to determine whether or not you already own a "blurf." If you do, it is my opinion that there is much to be learned in taking the time to understand the anatomy, tuning, calibration, care, and feeding of such a "blurf." If it is rusty, learn to clean it up. If it should move and doesn't learn how to unseize it and lubricate it. If it has a blade, learn to sharpen it. If is is merely missing a component, purchase such and rebuild it. You might later replace it, but by that time you will have learned so much about what you like about it, hate about it, the process by which it functions, and many other aspects that your shopping and purchasing criteria will be so accurate, you will be able to argue with any vendor on why the one they are selling is not the one you want. Possibly, you will also have a fine understanding of the cost/value relationship as well.

Secondly, if you have any possibility of using someone else's tool, such as in a classroom, via a mentor, at a workshop, at a club meeting, at a store demo day, or even your neighbor up the street; do that! Ask these people, in person, face to face, with the tool in your hand, all about it. What do they like about it, what do they hate. Have they ever used a different one, and how does this compare. This is way more than you will ever get from random people on the internet responding to your question. Many of whom may literally be no more experienced than yourself. If you are actually fortunate enough to have a real live actual mentor, you had better simply purchase whatever he recommends, immediately and without question. There are multiple good reasons for this. I may cover that in some other writing as it is out of scope in this one. 

Thirdly, and if you skip everything else, here are my personal thoughts:

1. Is a free one available

2. Is there a used one available at a great price

3. It it a specialty/luxury/boutique item

Those three situations leave little to choice. Obviously, free is great. Ultimately, if you hate it, you can make it free to someone else and you are out nothing, and someone appreciates a free "blurf!" Who wouldn't want a free "blurf?" And, of course, once you understand what you are looking for, then finding something at a yard sale, estate sale, thrift store, eBay, or other actual auction at a price you can afford, and feel is less than you would have to pay otherwise seems a pretty good choice. With some understanding of the "blurf" you can usually get your money back out of the item by reselling it again later if it turns out you ultimately want something different. Meanwhile you have a "blurf" to learn to work with!

In the event that for some reason, the "blurf" is such a specialty item, or made by one person/company with a patent preventing others from making it, or there is but one expert in the world who can possibly make this "blurf" you may have no choice but to buy it from that supplier. Or learn to make it yourself, and take on yet another hobby/trade. 

All the rest come under what I call "commodity items". All commodity items should be purchased responsibly. If an item is mass produced it will have a lower price than something that is bespoke. The additional cost of the bespoke item does not guarantee any better quality, or materials. Certainly, you need to evaluate item quality on things like materials, technical workmanship, guarantee, warranty, reliability, form, and function. A mass produced item made by automated processes, and human inspected for quality will have consistency. This will mean that the one you buy on Wednesday will not be any different from the one you buy on Monday. It will also mean that the likelihood of availability will always be high. A bespoke item, by definition requires man-hours. Unless it is made with slave labor, or in some country with labor laws that allow unfair pay and treatment of workers, it will almost always be more expensive than the mass produced version of similar quality. It may, or may not be worth the proportionate difference in price. The bespoke item may be handmade by one person every step of the way. That person might be a perfectionist and just can't let anyone else do any of the steps. This will definitely mean waiting times, reduced availability, and it comes with the built in "one truck problem." Alternatively, the bespoke item might be made such that one expert in the company makes the critical aspect of the item. Then new people he has hired get to perform the tasks that they can be trained to do. This can continue until so many of the processes are farmed out to additional employees, that the original expert is left simply signing his name to the product. They may or may not all have the same skill level, pride in ownership, or commitment that the original expert had. Another alternative growth scenario is that certain manual tasks become automated with dies, or automated equipment. Thus lowering the man-hours involved and simply keeping the cost up, because why would you lower the price if no one can tell the difference?

Buy local, or as local as possible. With a commodity item, regardless if it is mass produced or bespoke, can be had locally, then you should not buy it from a more remote supplier. This should be a simple thing. If a blacksmith makes a 6 penny nail in an other Country, and there is a blacksmith in my Country that can make that same 6 penny nail ... all things being equal, I should be buying from the blacksmith in my country. This is not because I don't like other countries, but because money spent in my country helps my country's economy. It also helps the environment by not having to be transported from one country to another. 

Notice that I never said to buy the cheapest ("because everything is the same") or the most expensive ("because you get what you pay for"). You should always take your budget into account. Especially when you are buying tools for a hobby that isn't bringing in income. If you are running a business, then there are ROI and other cost justifications. Remember, sometimes a tool is "good enough." That means it will do what it is intended to do, last as long as you need it to, and perhaps be replaced or repaired by the seller if they sold you a dud. If that tool will last the rest of your life, you don't really need one that will last twice as long, or even forever. But don't get me wrong, if you are a hobbyist, you may be so to be a member of that community. That is, after all, what many of the forums provide, a gateway into a community. There is some status in such communities of owning or using certain tools that come with bragging rights. Or even that the community itself has included those who make the tools and even teach the classes. You might even pay more for a tool from one of those persons who is a member of your community, for the status and bragging rights that you have that tool. Keep in mind, that is a personal, and emotional decision. It is no less valid than a quality or purely economic decision.