# What is cheapest thing to make? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591 "2014-07-08T00:28:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/21 "2014-07-08T09:41:59Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > One of the smallest “things” that you might request/use “one” is a jewel bearing, as used in watches. That would be nicely ironic if the cheapest thing to make is a (very small) precious stone. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/22 "2014-07-08T10:03:43Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/23 "2014-07-08T10:12:38Z")
Planet Money did a story where they tried to buy the cheapest single item they could in NYC. They couldn’t buy a single sequin because the owner didn’t want to bother ringing it up. Ultimately they bought a single washer which came to 2 cents with tax. They interviewed the guy who manufacture it, pretty interesting. [These Days A Penny Doesn't Buy Very Much : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2014/05/21/314447812/these-days-a-penny-doesnt-buy-very-much) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/24 "2014-07-08T10:22:26Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > They couldn’t buy a single sequin because the owner didn’t want to bother ringing it up. Ultimately they bought a single washer which came to 2 cents with tax. …and that’s going to be the issue with the question. In terms of the cheapest price you can buy one item for, the limiting factor is going to be the granularity of the currency. Not the very cheapest you could make an individual item for. Even if someone could pay, say, 1/100th of a cent for something, by using a debit card, say, why would any vendor go to the trouble, when no-one would balk at “minimum order 100 units = 1c”. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/25 "2014-07-08T10:48:20Z")
Make do. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/26 "2014-07-08T11:18:52Z")
I’m not the OP but I would submit that if you can buy 100 sequins for 10 cents, they cost 1/10 of a cent for our purposes. I say this because they can be used individually. I would suggest that toothpicks and staples count as well. Transistors, not so much. You can’t disassemble a chip and use the individual transistors. We need a ruling from the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/27 "2014-07-08T11:56:46Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I’m not the OP but I would submit that if you can buy 100 sequins for 10 cents, they cost 1/10 of a cent for our purposes. I say this because they can be used individually. I would suggest that toothpicks and staples count as well. > Transistors, not so much. You can’t disassemble a chip and use the individual transistors. > > We need a ruling from the OP. I’d say this makes sense. I say things like grains of abrasive don’t count because nobody would ever use just one. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/28 "2014-07-08T12:16:16Z")
The OP didn’t specify that things had to be used separately or even separable for that matter. Nor that they can bought separately, so I’m sticking by transistors as a valid answer. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/29 "2014-07-08T12:22:37Z")
A logical follow up post might be “Things where the packaging costs more than the items that’s in it”. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/30 "2014-07-08T13:22:55Z")
Then I’ll go with a molecule of gasoline. at $4/gallon it’s about 1.78X10^-25 dollars. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/31 "2014-07-08T14:29:49Z")
How about a molecule of water? My town’s water district charges $2.12 per cubic foot, or ~$0.28 per gallon. That makes it about 2.86\*10^-26. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/32 "2014-07-08T14:33:12Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > How about a molecule of water? My town’s water district charges $2.12 per cubic foot, or ~$0.28 per gallon. That makes it about 2.86\*10^-26. But does your town"make" water? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/33 "2014-07-08T14:38:43Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Depends on the mud - barite powder drilling mud = US $165-328 / Ton (18 Tons Min. Order) Here’s some mud that goes for[$48 a pound.](http://www.baseballrubbingmud.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=221d09adac45bf1faefce1ee509fcee9&Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BRM&Product_Code=LBRM-Sm&Category_Code=Baseball_Rubbing_Mud) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/34 "2014-07-08T14:54:15Z")
An air 1949 Fender Broadcaster guitar. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/35 "2014-07-08T15:42:17Z")
Just noticed the OP mentioned cost to make but not retail price. So we don’t need to only go the cheap commodities route. For example homeopathic remedies might be a contender depending on the difference in price between consumer tap water and the cost of sourcing real spring water (if the latter is less then spring water becomes the candidate). The markup is irrelevant if I’m understanding the OP right. Of course the container has value, but I’ll bet there are retailers that will refill a container for you. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/36 "2014-07-08T16:04:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > But does your town"make" water? It makes drinking water - filters, chlorinates, fluoridates. So I think it would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Suicide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suicide)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/37 "2014-07-08T21:11:14Z")
i mean a thing that you can and do actually use logically…you can use a paperclip or rubber band for something…you don’t use one sequin for anything, unless you’re replacing a lost one on your michael jackson glitter jacket, and you don’t normally use one staple, plus staples come in a pack and are not easily separated, unlike a box of rubberbands or paperclips…the transistor answer is ridiculous, you don’t buy one transisitor and use it for anything:eek:🆒;)⭕smack: i think the best answer so far is a toothpick, must cost fraction of a cent to make ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/38 "2014-07-08T21:21:01Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > A logical follow up post might be “Things where the packaging costs more than the items that’s in it”. That would be a long list! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/39 "2014-07-08T21:36:24Z")
And the toothpick is in the lead with one vote! > [@Folacin](#): > > It makes drinking water - filters, chlorinates, fluoridates. So I think it would qualify. If it uses any surface water (as in from a river, etc.), it probably also runs it through settling tanks and then flocculates it and settles it again before filtering. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591/40 "2014-07-09T01:02:57Z")
Lead shot. Melt lead, dribble it from the top of a tower, catch it in a water tank, sort with screens. The finer grades come out to a couple cents per 100s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-cheapest-thing-to-make/692591.md?page=3)