In response to Gina's post; buying decisions.

I think that reference groups reduce the search and evaluation of decisions for myself, if I am looking for a high priced item to buy, I know who I normally go to, and ask their opinion of what products. But I feel like there are types of people that love the evaluation of products making the decisions themselves. They love to do research on products and evaluate how each one compares. In conclusion, it depends on the person.