As cost conscious consumers, we're always looking for the best deals. For most of us, that simply means buying what we need at the lowest price available. Where the trouble begins is when we reverse that and try to find the lowest price available for what we need. This may sound like the same thing, but read on and you understand the difference.

I must confess to misusing the word cheap myself. My father-in-law is quick to correct me whenever I misuse the term, so lets begin by identifying the difference between the two words. The Free Dictionary defines the word cheap as "Relatively low in cost; inexpensive or comparatively inexpensive". The word inexpensive is defined as "Not high in price; cheap". Since each word uses the other in its definition, we tend to think of them as interchangeable. But if you look at the alternate definitions of the word cheap, you'll understand why the two words shouldn't be considered one and the same. Cheap is also defined as "Of or considered of small value", "Of poor quality; inferior", "Worthy of no respect; vulgar or contemptible" and "Stingy; miserly". So in shopping terms, lets use "Of poor quality; inferior" to define cheap and "Not high in price" to define inexpensive.

My children help reinforce the concept of cheap and inexpensive for me whenever we visit our local thrift store where everything in the place costs one dollar. The store is filled with items that most of us would call cheap (my kids love the stuff). The store also has plenty of inexpensive things (not much in the toy isle), but my children's' "cheap" radar tends to zero in on the junk. The whole way through the store, I'm reminding them that they're saving their money to buy stuff at the "not so thrifty store". Unfortunately, my words fall on deaf ears as they go into their dollar induced comas. The "Dollar coma" must also be affecting their hearing as I have to keep repeating "you can get one item". It's not the price mind you, it's just that I already know the outcome of this dollar feeding frenzy. Sure enough, when we get home the lesson of cheap and inexpensive begins. My son gets about six pulls of the handle on his cheap suction dart gun and "snap!"; no more dart gun. Not to mention the fact that none of the darts will stick unless he primes them with water (he uses saliva when he thinks I'm not looking). My daughter smears on the war paint (she hasn't quite mastered the art of makeup application) from her cheap 32 piece makeup kit and breaks out in a rash almost immediately. So now I'm left with two bored kids, some broken plastic and a lesson I can teach them on why poppy always corrects me whenever I get the words cheap and inexpensive confused.

In general, cheap products are made with inferior materials, using inferior manufacturing processes and therefore producing inferior products. This allows cheap products to be offered to the consumer at what appears to be inexpensive prices. We see a low price and start shopping from there; forgetting all about the purpose for our purchase. Inexpensive products are made with quality materials using quality manufacturing processes to produce quality products that are offered at low prices. Inexpensive products may not be as low priced as cheap products but here's where the math come in. When you talk cheap verses inexpensive, the word value is the deciding factor. You can determine the value of something by comparing the cost times the quality.

Low Cost * Low Quality = cheap = a poor value
Low Cost * Good Quality = inexpensive = a good value
Low Cost * High Quality = inexpensive = a great value

When it comes to buying a massage table and massage accessories, I recommend you steer clear of cheap. Cheap reeks of lawsuits and litigation. Cheap tables lack the quality and craftsmanship you'll find in OAKWORKS products. I've heard and read horror stories on web sites and Blogs about tables collapsing and dumping the client to the floor. I've seen the affects of inferior craftsmanship and am amazed that people are surprised when their cheap purchase lets them down (so to speak).

There's an old adage that says" you're only as strong as your weakest link". You buy cheap; you get cheap. You buy quality; you get quality. That couldn't be more true when it comes to massage tables. And that's why OAKWORKS spends the time to make sure that every product we sell is made from only the highest quality materials; Right down to the bolts and knobs we use. Little details like thicker cables where the stresses are higher and higher density padding that offers better support and longevity at the same thickness as others are what makes OAKWORKS the best at offering you the highest quality products at inexpensive prices. We backup that commitment to quality with our warranty. You can ask yourself "How long will the table I'm buying last?" to help realize the value of OAKWORKS products. Our products are built to last and our warranty is your assurance of that!

If you're looking for a great value for your money, you'll want to look for OAKWORKS products. OAKWORKS takes great pride in offering you the highest quality products. If you're looking for cheap stuff, you'll not find it here. We're not interested in broken promises, broken products or war paint rashes. We'll leave that to the other guys! You can find Oakworks on-line at www.oakworks.com