The Common Law of Business Balance

It’s unwise to pay too much,
but it’s worse to pay too little.
When you pay too 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 things 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.

John Ruskin
1819-1900