Originally Posted by
achoo
I say decent shorts first.
The saddle he has may turn out to be fine just by adding decent shorts.
But ... if you've got a bicycle that fits well (and that might be something for the OP to consider if he hasn't already), and a good saddle, you can ride without cycling shorts ... in just ordinary shorts.
If I had to pick just
one thing of the three, I'd say saddle, combined with a good bicycle fit.
Find out what Performance's policy on returning saddles is, and start trying out saddles. They might have The Box of Saddles too and who knows, you might be able to pick one up that's better than your current one for just a few dollars.