The person who can wait for a better price needs resources the immediate buyer may lack.

Patience in a market is usually funded. Waiting for the sale, buying the larger pack, holding out for a better rate all require having enough not to need the thing today. Whoever pays more is often paying for timing they could not control. What looks like poor judgment from outside is frequently a shorter runway, and the gap between the two prices widens the difference over time.

Be careful with advice that assumes flexibility, including the advice you give yourself about the past. If you do have some slack, spending it on the purchases that repeat is where waiting pays most.