Here is a list of 12 random things (popular or not) that will never find a place on my shopping list.
1. Neon Lights Under the Car: Yeah, what?$199.95 for lighting up the underside of the car? Now, as frivolous as it may sound to me, I have seen more than a dozen cars in our small town with these lights. You seriously need to have an absolute dearth of ideas about where to waste your excess money in order to buy this stuff.
Sometime in the past, we were driving behind a Camaro that had some neon lights underneath it. My wife noticed it and asked me:
Why does that car have lights under it?
I still don’t have a good answer for that question, except “to show-off to people who care about lights under a car“.
2. Gillette Fusion Power: I wrote about this a long time ago, but it fits this list so let me mention it here. I haven’t understood why anyone needs an “onboard microchip” in a shaving razor. The razor body in itself is not very expensive (about $12 on Amazon), but the cartridges are a rip-off ($18 - listed as $29.99 on Amazon - for a pack of 8). It has some pretty useless features like this one:
Enhanced indicator Lubrastrip signals when it’s time to change the blade.
The time to change the blade is when it doesn’t shave properly - that shouldn’t need “enhanced indicator signals”.
3. Electric Toothbrush: I think people are going nuts in trying to make everything “electric” and automatic - either that, or we are forgetting how to do things manually - simple things like brushing our teeth. Here is some information on how to brush your teeth properly:
Generally, most dentists recommend a circular technique for brushing. This includes brushing only a small group of teeth at a time and gradually covering the entire mouth. To properly brush your teeth, use short, gentle strokes, paying extra attention to the gum line, hard-to-reach back teeth and areas around fillings, crowns or other restoration. (source: How to Brush Teeth Properly)
Now, why does anyone require a $129 $119 electric toothbrush to do that? Is this 2-minute activity becoming so laborious for us?
4. Color Inkjet Printer: These things are .. well, horrible. In general, printers must be holding some kind of a record for being the least reliable of all electronic products. “PC load letter” must be the most hated term in the office world (remember those guys in the movie Office Space? - I seriously feel like giving that kind of treatment to many printers).
Regarding inkjet printers, if you use them too much, the replacement cartridges will cost you an arm (and a leg) and if don’t use them regularly, the ink is going to dry up in a while and you will eventually end up replacing the cartridges. It’s a loss-loss situation with these printers.
Also, in the last 4~5 years, I have probably “needed” color printouts for like 2 times (totaling about 10 pages). Heading over to Kinko’s works out pretty economical for such needs.
For printed photographs, now-a-days you can get them delivered to your home for about $0.11 to $0.15 each (regular 4″ x 6″ photos). You can useany of such numerous websites for that purpose.
5. iPhone: $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB)? Give me a break - it’s supposed to be a phone. I don’t want the internet in my pocket, and I don’t want the talk to my friends while I am listening to Aerosmith, and I don’t want to type a boatload of text with my thumb. The only free time I have to indulge in activities like watch movies, surf the net, etc., is when I am at home - and have access to other time-wasting products (like a TV and a computer) to do those things, so I don’t see the utility of a $599 gadget for doing that.
Plus, from my personal experience, I won’t hesitate to say that AT&T sucks - big time. I must have spent 238536 hours of my life trying to get due credit on billing errors on our AT&T phone bills in the past. A 2-year contract with these people is just out of question.
I just need something that allows me talk with the person on the other end without any distractions (like dropped calls, horrible receptions, etc) and I don’t need $499 to pay for that. Come to think of it, you can get two Wii consoles in that kind of money!
In fact, with the availability of some good free phones (or phones with negative price), any cell phone deal that costs more than $10 ~$15 for the instrument seems like a bad deal to me.
6. GPS Navigation Unit: It’s not like I drive regularly in the tropical rain forest region or the Siberian wilderness - the places where I drive to are well documented on all paper maps and there are easy to read directions on roads all over the country (except in New Jersey). So yeah, I won’t be spending a few hundred dollars on this electronic doodad as long as $6 paper maps are doing the job.
Also, I have a theory (based on observing a few people) - those who have a hard time finding roads using maps also have a hard time using the GPS technology effectively. Technology cannot solve problems created by lack of attention, lack of planning, and general panic.
7. “Memory Foam” Mattresses: Take a look atthis price for a queen sized memory foam mattress. $5,799! are you kidding me? How can people get peaceful sleep after spending so much money on a mattress? (of course, there are cheaper ones available - I am just giving an example)Here is a typical sales pitch for such ridiculously expensive products:
By purchasing a memory foam mattress, you aren’t paying money for a mattress. You’re paying money for your health. You’re investing money into your better sleep and less back pain in the morning. So tell me, is it worth risking your health by purchasing a cheap crap in this case? Definitely not.
I love these sleazy marketing tactics: create buzzwords –> make up stories –> create unnecessary health concerns –> rope in suckers.
There must be a few genuine products in this memory foam business, but now-a-days, every Tom, Dick, and Harry is using that term “memory foam” and it’s becoming difficult to spot the good from the bad.
8. Regular Incandescent Bulbs: Done with those filament light bulbs already. Will never buy one in future. These bulbs are not very economical in the long run - neither for your wallet nor for the environment.
9. Cell Phone Signal Booster Stickers: The concept sounds like scam and probably is a scam. Read more about it here. If it were so easy, cell phones would have come with these stickers built-in.I have paid money for this stuff, and hence it must be working” type of mindset.
10. Radar Detectors: Fancy detectors ones can lighten your wallet by as much as $400+. How about driving within speed limits instead? that doesn’t cost a penny and it is completely stress free. If you think you will save a lot of time by driving fast, read thisand think again.
11. Services by Best Buy’s GeekSquad: Take a look at these prices and services. I am pretty sure these guys target some old people (or the absolutely ignorant) who hit the monitor when their computer slows down. Come on, $249 for installing Windows?
Operating System Upgrade
Professional installation of the latest version of Microsoft Windows that best suits your needs. Software not included.
In store: $129
In home: $249
A couple of hundred more bucks and you will be able to buy a brand new computer.
12. Two Way Pet Communication Device: This $199+ gadget is not a conventional item, but I found it pretty funny, so I included it in this list. Just read this list of “features”:
Speak to Your Pet up to 12 Miles* Collar & Harness available for Cats & Dogs Control up to 14 Pets with one Radio “Call Owner” Button LED Lights with 2 Mile visibility
Lol.. things are out of control here.
By the way, this whole SkyMall shop is full of such fancy stuff. Does anyone ever buy products from these people?
There are many other funny/interesting (and pretty much useless) things (for example) out there, but for now this is enough from my side. Feel free to share things on your must-not-buy list.
I also use Sonicare as one of the posters above. It was first recommended to me by my periodontist. He told me it uses sound waves to break down plaque under the gums where the regular toothbrush doesn’t reach. After I started using it, hygienists that do professional cleaning always commented on how much less plaque I get. One even asked me if I were using Sonicare, and then told me that it shows.
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Baz L
Tooth brushes - while i usually grab my trusty manual brand, the Sonic Care brush we have is incredible, the sonic technology with little bubbles has long been used to clean jewelry, then window mini blinds and works great for all the hiding places in your mouth. As someone who is about to spend more money on poorly managed teeth as a youngster this is not a place to skimp - so brush really well for three minutes morning and night - floss and rinse with listerine, and my opinion - if you can afford it - try Sonic care (no opinion on the simple moving head brands.
Our Temperpedic memory foam is amazing in this one thing - I fall asleep and wake up in exactly the same position! - that may sound silly to you but is a real indication of a good nights sleep.
I like to think my GPS pays for itself in all the time I save.
Things You Should Know About Mercury in CF Light Bulbs
I totally have to call you out on the toothbrush. First of all I own an electric toothbrush that I paid $6.99 for. Crest makes it, and it sells at Wal-Mart right next to the other toothbrushes. The refills don’t cost anymore than a standard toothbrush. I used the electric toothbrush for a while (I stopped because the batteries died, and I got a new toothbrush from my dentist). While I was using it my teeth were noticeably cleaner. This isn’t about laziness, this is about cleanliness. I did just as much work with the electric as the manual. Thing is, after the same amount of work, my teeth were cleaner. In fact, I’m putting new batteries back in the electric, and using it again starting tonight.
My in-laws have one of those $500 GPS things, and it works fine… until you make a wrong turn. Then it gets LOST for as much as several minutes before it recalculates your route. This isn’t a problem with a paper map.
-testicle implants for your neutered dog
-sales fees on mutual funds
-stainless steel appliances
If you don’t “need” it, more power to you. But it is quite arrogant of you to keep taking jabs at people’s map reading skills. For my part, I would rather NOT be behind you with your superior map reading skills as you are reading the map while you drive with one hand.
the cartridges cost a lot more to replace or refill, but they don’t dry out, and don’t smudge, and last for years, the last time we put a new cartridge in was 4 or 5 years ago.