103:), an anonymous library staff member briefly mentions the statement and its widespread use, saying that, "This is one of many quotations ascribed to Ruskin, without there being any trace of them in his writings – although someone, somewhere, thought they sounded like Ruskin." Ruth Hutchison, who maintains the website for the Ruskin Centre at Lancaster University, stated that, "we have been asked many times about this quote, or similar versions of it, and have never been able to identify it as being by Ruskin. We suspect that it has been wrongly attributed to him in the past and found its way into a book of quotations or something like that."
42:
much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."
37:
The statement is often displayed or published in a one-sentence version: "There is hardly anything in the world that cannot be made a little worse and sold a little cheaper, and those who consider price alone are that man's lawful prey." This quote is often attributed to the
British artist and poet,
137:
prominently displayed a section of the statement in framed signs. ("There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that man's lawful prey.") The signs listed Ruskin as the author of the statement,
41:
This statement is also found in this lengthier version: "There is hardly anything in the world that cannot be made a little worse and sold a little cheaper, and those who consider price alone are that man's lawful prey. It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too
121:
Also in the 20th century and continuing into the 21st century, newspaper advertisements, magazine advertisements, trade publications, student publications, business books, technical publications, business catalogs, and other publications often included the statement with attribution to Ruskin.
73:, 1 Nov. 1914: "There is absolutely nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper; and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." Shapiro maintains that the statement does not appear anywhere in Ruskin's works.
183:
156:
29:, is the principle that one cannot pay a little and get a lot. That is, paying a cheap price will not guarantee the buyer will receive a product of high quality value. In other words, a low price of a good may indicate that the producer compromised quality.
110:, Bell quotes the statement and mentions that it has been attributed to Ruskin. While Bell believes in the veracity of the content of the statement, he adds that the statement does not appear in Ruskin's published works.
185:
Quality
Control: Hearing Before the Task Force on Selected Defense Procurement Matters of the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, Ninety-eighth Congress, Second Session, October 18, 1984
118:
In the 20th century, this statement appeared—without any authorship attribution—in magazine advertisements, business catalogs, student publications, and, occasionally, in editorial columns.
561:
67:, 29 Jan. 1928. This quotation, repeated in many commercial advertisements, has not been found anywhere in Ruskin's works. An earlier unattributed occurrence appeared in
858:
461:
270:
964:
923:
522:
892:
378:
351:
166:
296:
Bell, Kenneth J. (1992). "Go Figure--Some
Reflections on John Ruskin, Bid Evaluation, and the Accidental Triumph of Good Engineering".
974:
868:
218:
409:
684:
1030:
208:
702:
138:
but the signs gave no information on where or when Ruskin was supposed to have written, spoken, or published the statement.
998:
759:
860:
The
Complexity Crisis: Why Too Many Products, Markets, and Customers Are Crippling Your Company and What to Do About It
182:
Matters, United States
Congress Senate Committee on Armed Services Task Force on Selected Defense Procurement (1985).
578:
612:
324:
434:
274:
740:
938:
966:
Consumer
Republic: Using Brands to Get What You Want, Make Corporations Behave, and Maybe Even Save the World
721:
635:
595:
63:
492:
623:. Berkeley, Ca.: University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station: 43
100:
81:
778:
69:
801:
538:
970:
864:
214:
162:
134:
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77:
50:
The statement has frequently been attributed to 19th-century art critic and social thinker
204:
131:
96:
1024:
705:. Morehead Planetarium, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from
472:(17). Manhattan, Kansas: Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science: 4
706:
658:
51:
309:
600:(6th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Mahogany Association, Inc. p. 47
493:"Advertising in the Barter Basement: Is Pitch More Potent than Payoff?"
61:, editor Fred R. Shapiro states that this statement was "Attributed in
54:, although there is little evidence to support Ruskin's authorship.
331:. Princeton, NJ: Donald C. Stuart, Jr. and Dan D. Coyle. p. 11
549:(8). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Carleton College: 6. 12 October 1954
92:
747:. Port Arthur, TX: Thomas Jefferson High School. p. 240
728:. Port Arthur, TX: Thomas Jefferson High School. p. 181
84:
is also skeptical of Ruskin's authorship of this statement.
745:
The Yellow Jacket, Yearbook of Thomas
Jefferson High School
726:
The Yellow Jacket, Yearbook of Thomas
Jefferson High School
766:. Beaumont, TX: The Students of Lamar College. p. 127
566:. Chicago, Illinois: Mahogany Association, Inc. p. 24
527:. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lehman Sprayshield Company. p. 4
76:
George Landow, a professor of
English and art history at
672:(2). Fall River, MA: Greenkeepers Club of New England: 2
500:
563:
How to Identify Genuine Mahogany and Avoid Substitutes
502:. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc.: 133
999:"Soapbox: There are more ways than one to skin a cat"
414:. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Pittsburgh Reflector Co. p. 3
114:
Appearances in trade magazines and other publications
611:
Woods, Baldwin M.; Raber, Benedict F. (March 1935).
441:. 1938–1939. Sweet Briar, Va.: Sweet Briar College:
38:
John Ruskin. Or simply, "you get what you pay for."
16:
Principle that one cannot pay a little and get a lot
433:Art's Beauty Salon (1938). Sweet Briar YWCA (ed.).
969:. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. p. 141.
666:Newsletter of the Greenkeepers Club of New England
657:Greenkeepers Club of New England (February 1931).
213:. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 657.
323:Lewis C. Bowers; Sons, Inc. (9–15 March 1952).
924:"Price Competition and Expanding Alternatives"
634:Charles T. Bainbridge's Sons (February 1965).
583:. Euclid, Ohio: Shore High School. p. 41
99:(a major collection of Ruskiniana located at
8:
812:(45). Paterson, NJ: The Chronicle Company: 5
241:
239:
237:
789:(66). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan
646:(2). New York: Syndicate Magazines, Inc.: 3
126:Displays of the statement at Baskin-Robbins
703:"Telescopes: What the Buyer Needs to Know"
199:
197:
195:
893:"Paradise Lost Or, Baskin-Robbins Rated"
491:Skoog, Jr., Charles V. (21 April 1958).
683:Pearson's Photographics (27 May 1949).
613:"Air Conditioning for California Homes"
439:Students' Handbook: Sweet Briar College
350:Plymouth Cordage, Co. (December 1913).
147:
800:Murphy, J. Palmer (16 December 1951).
7:
802:"Television Service Can Be Reliable"
521:Lehman Sprayshield Company (1938).
271:"On the present economic situation"
246:Landow, George P. (27 July 2007).
188:. U.S. Government Printing Office.
14:
838:(9). Harvest Publishing, Co.: 34
524:Shower Bath Enclosures by Lehman
352:"Mississippi River Improvements"
273:. Ruskin Library. Archived from
23:common law of business balance,
863:. Avon, Mass: Platinum Press.
823:Mott, Elmer (September 1975).
777:The Quarry (9 December 1934).
269:Ruskin Library (23 May 2011).
1:
891:Falcone, Marc (3 July 1973).
690:. Oxford Michigan. p. 10
411:Permaflector Lighting Catalog
155:Augustine, Norman R. (1997).
33:Versions with variant wording
997:Garret, Jerry (3 May 2011).
937:(8): 467–476. Archived from
106:In an issue of the journal,
922:North, Gary (August 1974).
685:"A Great Poet Once Said..."
460:F.E.C. (8 February 1933).
210:The Yale Book of Quotations
1047:
857:Mariotti, John L. (2008).
701:McColman, Richard (n.d.).
577:Shore High School (1934).
462:"Progress of Kansas Press"
377:Anonymous. (August 1917).
27:"you get what you pay for"
779:"Brand---Quality---Price"
408:Pittsburgh Reflector Co.
310:10.1080/01457639208939784
298:Heat Transfer Engineering
108:Heat Transfer Engineering
130:For many years, various
594:Lamb, George N (1947).
539:"Don't You be the Goat"
59:Yale Book of Quotations
46:Questions of authorship
1031:Economics catchphrases
963:Philip, Bruce (2011).
832:Weeds, Trees, and Turf
659:"Advertisers' Number"
383:Northwestern Druggist
248:"A Ruskin Quotation?"
64:Chicago Daily Tribune
758:Bluestein's (1950).
739:Bluestein's (1949).
720:Bluestein's (1948).
560:Lamb, Geo N (1940).
466:Kansas Industrialist
379:"Ain't it the Truth"
325:"Construction Costs"
101:Lancaster University
95:associated with the
87:In a posting of the
82:Victorian literature
80:and a specialist on
89:Ruskin Library News
70:The Washington Post
25:often expressed as
1005:. Yucca Valley, CA
783:The Michigan Daily
709:on 3 February 2003
250:. VictorianWeb.org
825:"Good 'n' Cheap!"
688:The Oxford Leader
597:The Mahogany Book
356:Plymouth Products
168:978-1-56347-240-4
135:ice cream parlors
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636:"Advertisement"
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435:"Advertisement"
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97:Ruskin Library
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1007:. Retrieved
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931:The Freeman
640:Today's Art
329:Town Topics
52:John Ruskin
982:1 February
948:23 January
907:22 January
876:6 February
393:23 January
281:28 January
142:References
760:"Quality"
741:"Quality"
722:"Quality"
650:2 January
627:2 January
604:2 January
587:2 January
570:2 January
553:2 January
531:2 January
506:2 January
476:2 January
445:2 January
418:2 January
362:7 January
335:2 January
254:7 January
226:7 January
1025:Category
1009:12 March
897:New York
842:12 March
816:12 March
793:12 March
770:12 March
751:12 March
732:12 March
713:12 March
694:12 March
676:12 March
617:Bulletin
304:(4): 5.
207:(2006).
161:. AIAA.
580:The Log
389:(8): 53
57:In the
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810:XXIII
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1011:2020
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971:ISBN
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903:(27)
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818:2020
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652:2015
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589:2014
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420:2014
395:2013
364:2013
358:(21)
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283:2013
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228:2013
215:ISBN
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91:, a
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