# "WOW that's cheap" prices **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 28, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926 "2009-05-28T14:30:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/1 "2009-05-28T14:30:51Z")
As the flip side to the “What the HECK prices” thread. I put off for 4 seasons getting my lawnmower blade sharpened just cause I knew it would probably cost a lot. Took it into the John Deere dealer. “How much to sharpen the blade?” “$8.” “That’s it? Why haven’t I been doing this every year?” “Well, yours looks pretty worn down. You may just want to get a new one.” “How much is that?” “$13.” “Well shit, I might as well just buy a new blade every year.” ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/2 "2009-05-28T15:06:34Z")
I decided to get a reciprocating saw last week so I could make some modifications to my daughter’s playhouse / swingset. Really should have got it years ago as there are a million uses for one around the house and yard. The cordless one, 8 amp, was $180, plus $100 each for lithium batteries and I needed two. That plus blades would be over 400. The 11 amp Ridgid w/ cord and blades was $79. Blistered right through the cuts, it did. Now I’m looking for more projects. 80 bucks for an awesome, versatile tool that’ll make short work of wood, plastic, metal, ceramics, etc. Cheap! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/3 "2009-05-28T16:10:39Z")
I’ve misplaced my flash drive and I’m too stubborn to admit I’ve lost it and buy a new one. Which is stupid. They cost ten bucks. I spend that much on lunch. I should just go ahead and buy one and when the other one turns up I’ll have an extra one. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/4 "2009-05-28T16:10:53Z")
US mail is the greatest bargain around. For 44 lousy cents, you can get a letter delivered clear across the country, quickly, reliably, and privately. Best goldurned deal in American culture. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/5 "2009-05-28T16:14:20Z")
Hmm. My mower’s blades are pretty bad, and I’ve been postponing it for similar reasons. I guess I should go get that done. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/6 "2009-05-28T16:21:35Z")
People point out how much I am wasting on my coffee habit. I point out a coffee or cappuccino refill at 7-11 is $1.06 for 24 ounces. Now that is cheap. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/7 "2009-05-28T16:38:02Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > “Well shit, I might as well just buy a new blade every year.” That’s pretty much what I used to do. The weekend before Opening Day or so, I’d go to Home Depot and buy a new blade and a new spark plug. Then I discovered that having someone else mow my lawn was only about $100 a month. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/8 "2009-05-28T16:57:11Z")
I bought a lawnmower blade sharpening guide and bit for my Dremel for about $9, so I can sharpen it a couple times a year if I want to. [Amazon has 'em](http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-675-Garden-Sharpener-Attachment/dp/B00008Z9ZR). My recent “cheap” thing was a replacement internal battery for my old Palm T3, which I still use to read web pages offline and play Sudoku and such. Replacement battery cost me $8 plus shipping, and about a half-hour of my time to do the install. Now it actually holds a charge, hooray! ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/9 "2009-05-28T16:58:10Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > US mail is the greatest bargain around. For 44 lousy cents, you can get a letter delivered clear across the country, quickly, reliably, and privately. Best goldurned deal in American culture. I’ve always thought that as well. It always shocks me when people complain about the cost of stamps going up. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/10 "2009-05-28T17:00:02Z")
I just had a gardener come over to give me an estimate on the removal of a rubber tree, a large stump and to trim and shape all my bushes. (all around a screened pool area) $250.00. Darn, I would have done it long ago if I knew it would be that reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/11 "2009-05-28T17:06:34Z")
A gallon of gas. It’ll get you, your family and what you need to haul around town a heck of a lot faster and cheaper than by horseback, bicycle, walking, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/12 "2009-05-28T17:17:11Z")
This is a bit esoteric, and really belongs in both threads, but: Recently I had to price two specialty gases for a lab experiment, Argon and Xenon. Both are inert gases, and I naively expected a couple hundred bucks for each. It turns out Argon comes in a big tank about 5-ft tall and 1-ft diameter, and costs about $60. Xenon comes in a tiny tank about the size of a wine bottle, and costs $1000. Both are compressed (not liquefied) gases at several hundred psi. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/13 "2009-05-28T18:20:15Z")
A regular sized container of Elmer’s glue was only 39 cents at the max (may have been 19 cents!) the last time I checked, at Target. An off-brand at a dollar store, maybe, but I kept looking to make sure I wasn’t looking at the wrong size or brand. Of course, the same size container of wood glue at Home Depot was around exactly how much I’d expect, in the high $1 or low $2 range. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/14 "2009-05-28T19:05:30Z")
Bulk spices. I can buy a year’s supply worth of a spice for, like, 23 cents. Can’t believe I used to pay those rip off prices for spices in jars. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/15 "2009-05-28T19:18:32Z")
My boyfriend and I went out to Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and I had arranged a kayak trip for us. It included pick up and drop off from the hotel, instruction and safety equipment, river permits, use of their (very very high end) kayaks and paddles, river guide, lunch and snacks, not having to lift a finger to put in or take out the kayaks, and a whole day of site seeing on the Colorado river from the Hoover Dam (imagine viewing the dam from the bottom :eek:) to Willow Beach, 11 miles downriver, with stops at the sauna cave and the Arizona Hot Springs. We only paid $175 per person. I would have paid twice that for the experience. We are planning to do it again next year. (Our experince was with Evolution Expeditions. They were fantastic!) ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/16 "2009-05-28T19:55:48Z")
AT&T has an introductory rate of $10/month for unlimited DSL. It’s the slowest DSL (only DL up to 768 but that’s pretty good for $10/month) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/17 "2009-05-28T20:45:17Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > My boyfriend and I went out to Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and I had arranged a kayak trip for us. It included pick up and drop off from the hotel, instruction and safety equipment, river permits, use of their (very very high end) kayaks and paddles, river guide, lunch and snacks, not having to lift a finger to put in or take out the kayaks, and a whole day of site seeing on the Colorado river from the Hoover Dam (imagine viewing the dam from the bottom :eek:) to Willow Beach, 11 miles downriver, with stops at the sauna cave and the Arizona Hot Springs. > > We only paid $175 per person. I would have paid twice that for the experience. We are planning to do it again next year. (Our experince was with Evolution Expeditions. They were fantastic!) Wow, I wish we’d done that! Maybe next time… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/18 "2009-05-28T20:54:58Z")
Cost Cutters (a chain of department stores that sell mostly cheap-ass crap) went out of business last week. I stopped by our local shop to see if there were any worthwhile scraps (hey, stuff might be crap, but sometimes 95% off makes it worthwhile crap). Now, The Littlest Briston _loves_ stickers. Doesn’t matter what they are – just give her a blank sheet of paper and a pack of stickers and she’s happy for 20 minutes. Because of this, I was curious when I came across a rack of sticker packets. Lots of packs there – maybe 200 or so. List price, $2.99 each. I picked one up, brought it to the register and asked how much. She scanned it, and said “Let’s see…$2.99, 95% off, oh…huh, these are listed as ‘seasonal’, so that’s another half-off. Seven cents each”. $14.00 got me a fricking lifetime supply of stickers. Would’ve been over $600 after tax to buy them for the marked price. Woo-to-the-mother-effing-hoo. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/19 "2009-05-28T21:07:06Z")
I had a tree stump in my front yard. A guy drove up and said he was removing them in the neighborhood and offered to get rid of mine for 25 bucks. We settled on 20 and it was done in minutes. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926/20 "2009-05-28T21:18:44Z")
For years, I’ve been buying dirt for gardening and potting jobs. Many dozens of bags of potting soil, garden soil, flower soil, vegetable soil, composted cow poop, and the odd bale of peat moss have come home with me, for prices of $1 to $6 per bag. This year, I went to the City Composting Site, where they process everybody’s tree trimmings and lawn clippings. A pickup truck load of real, high quality compost cost me $10. Ten Dollars! For all those years, that would have gotten me three or four 40-pound bags of stuff from Lowe’s.:smack: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-thats-cheap-prices/497926.md?page=2)