12 May 2011

Online shopping

To piggy-back off my last post about purchasing firearms online, I thought I would vent my frustrations with the mark-ups seen at physical retailers.

While searching for some inexpensive 8GB+ flash drives to have on hand for some bootable Linux drives, some security tools, and other information, I noticed a significant price difference in online prices versus in-store prices.  Take for example an 8GB SanDisk Cruzer, not the best performing flash drive but it will do.  Average online price, with tax (if applicable) and shipping, the average price is $15. Cheapest in-store price locally? $29.99.  Average in-store price? $34.99!!

I guess my frustration really got worse when I noticed the difference in price between the online and in-store prices of the same retailer.  Best Buy, for example, has an 8GB HP Flash Drive online for $12.99 with free shipping.  In-store price? $26.99.  Now I understand that there is considerable overhead in running a "brick and mortar" store, but I can't imagine paying twice the price in-store, even if I needed it urgently.

I guess I should just be glad that I can get some things much cheaper online.

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