What are some products that you bought cheap, expecting some level of poor quality, but not this level of cheap-ass quality?
For example, and this was years ago, I bought a liter of vodka for $6. I used to buy somewhat more expensive vodka for mixed drinks, but I decided to try and save more money. This vodka, in addition to tasting like cheap vodka, had this extra vomit-inducing metallic tang to it. I had no idea that horrible tasting vodka could taste even worse, with an extra new horrible flavor added to the mix.
Another example is Q-tips. Try and save an extra dollar on Q-tips and you’ll get cotton swabs that fall apart in your ears.
Finally, I once bought a cheap mirror that would not reflect properly. The reflection was slightly distorted in some places. I figured I would have mirror made with a cheap plastic frame that could break easily, but did not realize people sold mirrors that could not reflect properly.
I was in need of new earbuds and saw a pair at the grocery store that were on sale for $1.99 because they had been discontinued. I thought, HELLYES I cannot pass up a pair of $2 earbuds!!!
They broke after the second use.
So, I mean, I knew they were cheap, but I didn’t expect them to be quite so shitty.
I got some safety pins from Walmart. It was amazing how easily they bent. So if you want some safety pins from Walmart that don’t bend when you try to stick them through heavy cloth you need to buy the high-end stuff there.
Way back when, I bought a Chinese made 120 roll film camera. Very poor finish. To the point of not having a good film chamber. Was probably more of quality control than actual design, but it made the camera virtually worthless as a photo tool. I had other cameras already, I just wanted a cheap throw around camera. What I got was a throw away camera.
On the other hand, certain rather cheap cameras I purchased decades ago are still functioning perfectly well today.
Sometimes cheap = simple, other times cheap = not well made.
I got a (seemingly) nice multimedia player for Christmas. It plays music, videos, reads .txt files, views JPG pictures and records audio.
Only drawback? I dropped it, just 4 feet from hand to floor, and the buttons no longer function. And you have to press a button to get past the main menu!
I’m currently saving $ for something that comes with one of those padded cases, like the iPhone cases that are like an inch thick. Drop-proof, as clumsy me needs.
Look up G.G. Martinsen mp4 players on Amazon and read the reviews. Can’t find any warranty or official website or contact info, either.
The instruction manual was in broken English too:
“Welcome to our produce! To do Music, move cursor to Music and press key of Menu to choose.”
I got a (seemingly) nice multimedia player for Christmas. It plays music, videos, reads .txt files, views JPG pictures and records audio.
Only drawback? I dropped it, just 4 feet from hand to floor, and the buttons no longer function. And you have to press a button to get past the main menu!
I’m currently saving $ for something that comes with one of those padded cases, like the iPhone cases that are like an inch thick. Drop-proof, as clumsy me needs.
Look up G.G. Martinsen mp4 players on Amazon and read the reviews. Can’t find any warranty or official website or contact info, either.
The instruction manual was in broken English too:
“Welcome to our produce! To do Music, move cursor to Music and press key of Menu to choose.”
Last year I bought a bag of cheapo dog food, as it was all I could buy at the time. I usually feed my dog good dog food but this was all I could do in a pinch and I thought, “Hey, what’s the worst that **could happen from him eating it for a few days?” Well it didn’t even take me a few days to find out. Later that night, as we were both lying in bed, I suddenly became overtaken by the most noxious, horrendous odor I have ever smelled in life. I don’t even know how to describe this, it was like an animal had died, been left for dead for weeks and then had been shit on by the Devil. Pure evil.
I looked down the bed at Bailey and he was meekly laying there, staring off in a different direction from me, acting as if nothing had happened. Oh but I knew better, he had guilt all over his face. “Bailey!”, I growled, in a stern voice. He looked up at me and proceeded to release another silent, torturous aerial assault, while looking absolutely pathetic. I had to vacate the room. Honestly, it was the worst smell of my life. I looked at Bailey from the hallway, just sitting there on my bed, looking at me like, “I don’t know why this is happening?” I kinda felt bad for him. Until he farted again. It wouldn’t stop. And it was all from the fucking cheap dog food.
Never, ever again will I skimp on my dog’s sustenance. I learned in a rather traumatic way that it’s not an area to cut corners.
Good one, same thing happened to me with some reeeealy crappy side cutters. The couldn’t cut bread bag twist ties! They’d dent the wire which you’d have to bend back and forth to finish off.
I’ll nominate dollar store napkins. I thought any crappy square kitchen napkins would be the same as any other but was quite mistaken. These would turn to individual fibers within earshot of any fluids or basically any hint of humidity.
I bought a “chocolate seasonal Christmas wine” from Aldi’s a year ago on a lark. I wasn’t expecting much but still wasn’t prepared for what I got. It tasted as though someone took a bottle of Night Train and emptied a packet of Swiss Miss into it.
I got a pet rock for Christmas back in the day. It never licked my hand or snuggled me or behaved in any way pet like. I kept it in the house and so it never even gave me any indication of snow, rain, etc. Just a major fail all the way around.:mad:
The thread title should be “What have you bought from Harbour Freight Tool?”
They have these “clamps” that work with a pistol grip action that break with about a half-pound of pressure. What are you supposed to clamp with these? Paper? Utter garbage.
My old man used to say, “The most expensive thing in the world is a cheap tool”.
Two pairs of kids sandals from Target. The Small Girls wore them out of the shop … they didn’t actually make it all the way home before the soles came off.
Dollar store bungee cords. They had plastic hooks on the ends that promptly broke off as soon as I stretched the cord to hook it somewhere. I think most of the crap in dollar stores are just movie props made to appear like real products, but never intended to actually work.
