Shop Locally & Pay 6000% More

by | 2016 January 24 | Rant's | 0 comments

I was digging through a bin of stuff looking for something when I came across my old iPod Nano 6th Gen.  I used to use this thing all the time as a watch.  I stopped using it a couple of years ago because I didn’t want to wreck it at my industrial type job.

 

 

ipodwatch

I strapped it on my wrist and realized how much I liked it so I decided to start wearing it again.  The only problem is that it uses that old-school 30pin iPod connector to sync and charge.

I decided to go out and pick one up.  Shouldn’t cost more than $4, or so I thought.

Princess Auto:  The cheapest of the cheap, usually.

princessauto
However they were asking $15 for this cable.  I even took it up to the front counter and had them do a price check…yup $15.  I said nuts to that and walked out.
Stopped by The Dollar Tree store where everything is $1.25!  They had some micro-usb cables but no iPod connector cables.  O well, it was worth a shot.

I then stopped by Best Buy…
futureshop

$19.99 – What? No.  I browsed the video games section and then walked out determined not to be beaten.

Shoppers Drugmart

They seriously trying to jack me for $30 fuh-king dollars!
shoppers
So I just checked my PO BOX and walked out.

 

My next stop was Staples…

staples
They had a 2Amp Wall Charger with sync cable for $14.97 on clearance with an additional 25% off ($12).  I rolled my eyes and picked it up since it wasn’t that bad of a deal and it’s always good to have an extra 2amp wall charger laying around.

staples2

When I got it home however I realized that it was HARDWIRED into the power brick.  So I could CHARGE my watch but not SYNC to my computer and change songs.

The Walmart

wallyworld

I then went to Walmart and they had $10 cables which is, more reasonable than the other places but still a gigantic rip off when you consider how much they cost to make.

AliExpress.com

I said to myself, “forget this local BS, i’m gonna hit the net to look.”    I logged into Aliexpress.com as I do quite often.
I found 1m sync cable for 48cents with FREE SHIPPING!!!

ali

I ordered 2 of them because, why the hell not, and clicked Buy Now.  After the insane USD -> CDN exchange rate the entire purchase ended up being only $1.39 CDN for 2 cables with FREE SHIPPING!

The only issue with ordering from this site is that it comes direct from China so it does take 15 – 30 days to arrive.  So if you are in a hurry you will have to bend over and take it from local retailers.

I Get It, But…

I understand why we should support local business but at the same time when that local business is charging as much as 6000% markup one needs to step back and think is this the best way to conduct commerce?

/Ethan

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