Cramer will never recommend a stock when he thinks the fundamentals of the underlying company are deteriorating, and normally there's a lot of space between a "best of breed" company and one that's uninvestable.
In normal circumstances then, if a lowly company's stock falls to a certain level that makes it just too darned cheap to pass up, Cramer thinks it's perfectly OK to buy when you merely have a low opinion of the underlying company. That's when price matters.
So how do you know when the price is right for a stock you wouldn't otherwise buy?
It's a sliding scale, Cramer said, where the better the company, the more you should be willing to pay.
If speculating, he recommends looking for companies that have been left for dead, even though they still have a pulse upon closer inspection. Just be sure that bankruptcy is not on the table, he added.