I miss Frugal Fridays. The last one was Frugal Friday Week 35Â and it was published nearly three years ago. I’d like to bring back the concept with a mix of observations, finds, and general approaches to frugality.
A few weeks ago I was looking for a cable to connect an iPad. Not the current ‘lightning’ cable, just the old 30 pin connector.
My favorite office supply store had it. Wow. $20 after tax. So, I looked a bit more and there we are.
Not just a bit less, but remarkably lower in price. 36 cables for the price of 1! Keep in mind, this is just a cable, no power adapter included, and that’s fine. Our cars have cigarette lighter to USB power converters in them, but it’s the cables we lose, lend, or misplace all the time. At just over 50 cents a piece, it’s ok if we give a couple away when someone is needing a cable. I know that 9 may seem like overkill, but these cables aren’t just easily lost, they are easily damaged by catching them in a door or pulling at them at a bad angle. I like having a couple extra in each of our car’s glove compartments and a few in my desk drawer at home.
Have you run into anything that has such a wide range of price? Anyone try to sell you a single wooden pencil for $4, when they are $1 a dozen elsewhere?
Apple technologies are often of superior quality, but you’re absolutely right in looking elsewhere for a better buy. Quality aside, you don’t really need the top of the line conductors for a simple iPod-USB cable!
Indeed, Mike, I love my Apple stuff, but cables, drives, memory, all highly overpriced when you buy from them.
Quite frequently, I am afraid. This makes me wonder that the market is NOT that perfect. Many people and companies are trying to take advantage of their loyal customers…
One of the most amazing example is comparing prices between the countries, sometimes price stays exactly the same, but the currency changes. Examples are US vs UK. I have to do some buying as part of my work duties, so this is a pet subject…