Should I buy my girlfriend a gift that I find distasteful?

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My girlfriend comes from an upper-middle class Chinese family. Like most rich Chinese people she likes luxury brands while I like practical things. I like to find the best tool for the job but she thinks the brand name is the most important thing.

I want to buy her a gift. She really likes the pink Beats wireless headphones. Particularly the pink Beats Studio 3. The thing is, I can't stand Beats. They sound as good as headphones that cost a tenth as much. I prefer Bose. With Bose you pay for actual quality and with Beats you pay for the brand name and you pay for Dr Dre's next mansion.

I thought about getting her some Bose Quietcomfort 35 headphones instead since I detest luxury brands such as Beats. I want her to buy things for practical reasons, not for brand name reasons.

On the other hand, it would be wrong for me to force my tastes onto her. She will always have her own tastes and that's ok.

The Bose headphones have a more masculine design and they're not available in pink (her favourite colour). To make her wear masculine headphones might the equivalent of her expecting me to wear a dress (or even worse, use an iPhone).

I think you know the answer to that: get her those pink headphones.

Ok

Buy people what they would like, not what you like.

I buy some truly awful gifts, taste wise, but because other people like them, my opinion doesn’t matter.

The biggest mistake that gift buyers can make - and so many do - is buying something they would like rather than thinking in terms of what the receiver really likes.

Giving someone what you like regardless of their preferences can feel like being ignored to the receiver, and it's not true that it's the thought that counts. That's a myth. It's giving in ways that shows some kind of careful thought for the person that counts. No gift giving is better, to my mind, than giving a gift that is about yourself not them.

Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean that it doesn't have value. Try to think of it like this: both sound quality and visual design are aesthetics. You care more about sound quality, she cares more about visual design. Both are valid. Even if it seems trivial, and ultimately logic tells you that headphones are for music and thus sound quality matters more. The bottom line is, the gift is for aesthetic reasons either way... and her aesthetic preferences dictate that the pink ones make a better gift for her.

So, you get her those damn pink headphones and you make a mental note of the kinds of things she likes.

Pink iPhone case? You got it babe

Definitely get her the pink heaphones, even if they don't seem like the logical choice. It's all about the appearance, she likely cares little about the sound quality.

Beats is owned by apple so you’re buying apple a new mansion :p
Beats are now designed to work wirelessly with apple phones by the way.
How much are they ? 300?

Unlike the others I’d say only get them if yiu can afford them. Is it her birthday?

Buying what she wants is indeed a better idea since it's for her, but if the ones she prefers don't fit your budget right now then forget the headphones for now and get her something else that she'd like but that actually fits your budget.

^ It sounds more like he just doesn’t approve of them. Getting someone what you would like is a terrible idea, it implies you don’t listen to your partner or care about their feelings. I can’t understand why people try to force their taste onto others.

I just checked the price. Yow! they're expensive. But the OP can probably afford it.

Buying something "more sensible" would be a typical Aspie blunder.

Huh. I was expecting something like "I'm a vegan, and she wants a fur coat". While I'm more of your mindset when it comes to electronics, we all have areas of our lives where we indulge in guilty pleasures and ostentation.

Girl wants the silly pink overprized designer headphones, get her the silly pink overprized designer headphones.


EDIT: just looked up the prize of those things. I hope she'll remember this when it's time to get you something.

$125 for... earphones.


Well, if you don’t want drama then buy what she wants.

My concern though is you are probably incompatible with her - super rich chinese families become super snoby and demanding; and they may expecting things from you way beyond your earning power.

Retro, are you sure she loves you... for you?

My wife would much prefer the Bose.