My cheap cell phone needs a new battery (the old one doesn’t want to hold a charge), so I looked on line and found the battery for about $35. Hey, I could buy the cell phone (complete) for about that. And I’d get an extra charger “free” if I go that way. Plus, if my current phone craps out, I’ve got a new (complete) phone ready to go.
Weird, isn’t it? I suppose the cell companies are keen to get you on their plan (where they hope to make the money) so they sell the phone at a loss.
What other examples of this phenomenon have you dopers noticed?
Inkjet printers. Cheaper than a set of replacement ink cartridges, in many cases. (although the starter cartridges you get with a new one often contain only a tiny amount of ink - so buying a new printer is probably not actually a cost-effective solution, even if it initially appears to be).
Good points. In fact I’ve got a cheeep deskjet and thought about doing just that but wondered if in fact the provided cartridges held less ink. Getting two (color + black) would sweeten the deal but if they’re smaller, nah. Supposing I somehow damaged a cord for it, it would make more sense to buy the whole thing new.
If my cell is discontinued, would it make sense to pick up multiple copies on the clearance rack, or will batteries simply lose their ability to charge over time, whether they’re used or not? I wonder…they’re Li-Ion.
Lost the charger for your cellphone? A replacement is $30 and I can sell you a cheap phone (with new battery and charger) for $49.
If you lose the remote for your DVD player, a Universal Remote is $49 and probably won’t work, but you can get a basic DVD player for $39 if you shop around. And it has a remote.
The replacement USB cable for a $100 camera can be upwards of $35-$40.
In fact, if anything electrical under about $300 breaks, you might as well just turf it and buy a replacement, because the repair costs will be as much as the item in many cases.
I made a Wally run. My phone…not there. Funny, I “just” saw it a couple weeks ago (I think). I guess they discontinue these things before you can execute this strategy.
Plan B, I’m thinking maybe I should move up to a higher level of phone. They’ll transfer the minutes and all that; it’s just a PITA to have to re-enter all those numbers.
Some economists and environmentalists would argue that electronics are designed to be disposable like this on purpose. It helps to cultivate a society where everyone is buying new things that are bigger and better. It’s a bit bizarre to think about though.
Actually I can still get the old one on the Trac Fone website. Maybe they’re phasing them out of retail.
But if it’s a kind of planned obsolescence, it worked on me. I’ve decided to buy a new one, new model. I’ll lose the camera ability (rarely used it) but this one, the site claims, stores the phone book entries on the SIM card. Hopefully if I ever need a different phone I can just transfer the SIM card and be in business.
I understood that you could still get the old Trac Fone online, but the way the pricing is set, it seems to make more sense to buy a new one rather than to replace the battery. This is what I was referring to when I mentioned it being designed to be disposable. I’ve read that it is common for things to be made to be thrown away rather than to be repaired, that they are designed to be disposable.
I saw this at the local Farm & Fleet. They had a brand new 5 HP Briggs & Stratton push mower for sale. Two a aisles down, they had a vertical shaft 5HP Briggs & Stratton engine - identical to the one on the mower - for $5 more than the cost of the whole mower.
Ah, I figured if Wally didn’t have it, tracfone.com wouldn’t either. I was wrong; they still do, and they sell refurbed ones as well. My new phone is kind of a step up…yet it’s cheaper than my old one at only $30.
I just have TracFone because I don’t use cells much. Last year, though, the keypad stopped working properly and they replaced it. Problem: had to re-input all numbers. ‘That’s what I get for being cheap,’ I figured. Then I asked my sister (“regular” carrier, not pay as you go) if she had to input hers all over again and she said “Yes.”
If I were paying $40 of $50 per month and had to re-input, I’d be pissed. I really hope this SIM card thing will circumvent that issue.
Laser printers. Clark Howard (syndicated radio how-to-live-cheaply guru) says he bought several laser printers, with included toner cartridges, because they were cheaper than the replacement cartridges. He didn’t mention their relative capacities.
When I bought my house my friend threw in a new lawnmower. I found a stump near a fence and bent the crankshaft on the B&S engine. New crankshaft: $85. Then there’s the new ‘key’ and probably a new blade. And labour. A new lawnmower was $140.
Samsung also use a weird USB cable in which one end looks a bit like an iPod connector. If you lose it, it’s very pricey. The same goes for most of the point 'n shoot digital cameras- unless they use a “Standard” Mini USB cable, if you lose the one that comes in the box you’d best buy a cardreader. Either way you’re out up to $40 for a cable whose value should be measured in cents.
I wonder if there’s any danger of “it fits physically but the electronic properties are different,” e.g. resistance and other things I don’t fully understand. If something gets fried, the mfr would say you violated the warranty terms etc.
But yeah, so many of those things are proprietary and I’d be surprised if they even fit physically. It’s no accident that even when you stay within brands, your old charger doesn’t fit your new phone etc. Once they’ve sold you something, they don’t want you to be able to buy anything aftermarket.
Computers also are getting more powerful and cheaper. I just got a new computer for around $400, which was the cheapest I could get (and it was so high probably due to Vista) and it does all kinds of things I’ll never need and has all sorts of power I don’t need)
But try to build a computer from scratch and you can see it’ll cost you.
Look at Tuna Salad, every deli I see has it for $5.00 when all it is is Tuna, Mayo and some relish.
Apparently if you bought all the parts in your typical car, at over the counter prices, (new), they would cost 5 times or more than the new price of the car…
You can often get a whole chicken cheaper than the boneless skinless breasts.