Splurge or Save: Clarisonic Mia versus Konjac Sponge

In my operations class last week, we were discussing how a company should decide whether to make something themselves or buy it somewhere else. We were looking at data to figure out at which point (based on volume, things like that) it's cheaper to out source something versus make it in-house. I'm not sure I was supposed to think of it as a "Splurge vs. Save" problem, but that's definitely where my mind went.

Should you get the $600 designer bag or the $150 knockoff? Do you invest in the expensive jeans or the ones from H&M? Do you spend a lot on a trendy item that might only be relevant for a season or its cheaper sister? We're faced with these kinds of "Splurge vs Save" scenarios all the time (or is it just me trying to decide whether I should shop at Wholefoods or Safeway?). It can be hard though to figure out which option really does offer the most value.

Yesterday, I posted about how I had decided to use the Boscia Konjac sponge instead of buying a Clarisonic Mia.* The Boscia sponge is $18 while the latest version of the Clarisonic Mia is $150, plus you have to replace the brushes every 3 months. It seemed pretty obvious that the Boscia was cheaper (and it was working for me). But, I decided to test my hypothesis by constructing a table similar to the ones we were using in class.

Just to set it up, the Clarisonic Mia comes with one brush head to start you off. Replacement brushes are $40 for a pack of 2 (so $20 a pop). The Mia also comes with a 2 year warranty, so let's assume that after 2 years, you'd want to replace it. This means that over a 24 month period, you'd need to purchase an additional 7 brush heads. (For simplicity's sake, I'm ignoring the fact that you have to buy the brushes in sets of two so you'd be left with an extra brush at the end. If you're at all like me, you're bound to break one early and need a back-up anyway). Here's what the cost comes to per month, with the Mia.

$12 a month isn't bad (I mean you can get unlimited netflix streaming for that much, but we're talking about the promise of eternally youthful skin here). Next I applied the same analysis to the Konjac sponge. According to the packaging, the Boscia Konjac sponge is supposed to last 2 months. In my experience, however, it's more like 6 weeks. I recently found a different version of the Boscia sponge on Amazon for almost half the price.  I'm still waiting to see if it works as well, but I went on ahead and did the calculations using both price points:

Surprisingly (to me), the Boscia sponge was only slightly (8 cents) less per month than going with the Clarisonic Mia. This means that using the Boscia sponge rather than the Clarisonic Mia would only save me $1.92 over a 2 year period. Money bags! Imagine all the vending machine snacks I could buy with that! (sarcasm implied)

It gets a lot better when you look at the Amazon version. If it works as well, over a two year period, using the Amazon Konjac sponge rather than the Clarisonic Mia would save me $130. Obviously, I'm assuming that these two products are equal in quality. Also, if you already have the Clarisonic Mia, it might not make sense to switch at this point since it's already a sunk cost. However, if you're debating which one to buy or you're looking to replace your current Clarisonic, you might want to consider the Amazon sponge instead.

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What do you think? Would you do these types of calculations to figure out whether to splurge or save? I have to admit, this was fairly simple to do for something like a facial cleansing system that you use on a daily basis. But, it gets a little trickier when you're looking at something like clothes or jewelry (though I certainly tried with my "cost-per-wear" analysis a few weeks ago).

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*Note: According to Sephora's website, the "Konjac Cleansing Sponge is made from 100 percent preservative-free konjac root from the pristine, idyllic Jeju Island in Korea. Konjac root is an Asian-cultivated, root-based vegetable that the Japanese have traditionally used as a detoxifying dietary staple, and as a calming, exfoliating sponge for delicate skin. It is naturally alkaline and balances the acidity of the skin’s impurities and oils while being enriched with protein, carbohydrate, iron, phosphorus, copper, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, and folic acid. Gentle enough for the most sensitive skin types, this naturally deep-cleansing, pH balanced sponge can be used throughout the face, neck, and even the very delicate undereye area."