threemonkeys | That wacky capitalist system (Reply)

I went to the local hardware mega store today looking to buy a simple garden hose fitting. After trekking a couple of miles through the aisles I found the garden hose fittings section. Not wanting to pay extra for packaging or brand name recognition I looked in the "loose" bins and found a couple of different examples of the fittings I wanted. One was about 50% more expensive than the other. At this point I was happy that I could buy the budget example from the budget source. Until that is my eyes strayed across the blister packed fittings. There was the same fitting that I was planning to buy except that is was all packaged up. It cost 50 cents less than the loose one without any packaging. I was undecided - pay more for the loose fitting but save myself the inconvenience of all that litter to throw away or go for the cheaper option. But I was saved from that because my eyes then chanced across another blister pack. This one had four different fittings in it including the one I was after. It cost a dollar less than the individual item in a pack!

This planet is doomed I tell you. Doomed.