Aardvark Daily

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Why is everything so expensive?

I regularly trawl the pages of sites such as Ali Express looking for a bargain.

A year or two ago there were bargains everywhere. Clever and useful little circuit boards that would perform all manner of things and they cost just a few bucks, with free shipping thrown in as well.

I would regularly buy such crazy-good deals and, as a result, have a nice stash of things to play with, learn from and solve problems with.

Today however, things are quite different.

Ali Express sends me several emails a day, all containing what they claim are fantastic bargains at a drop-dead discount. The reality is that most of them are not.

In fact, the real bargains are few and far between. Most of the stuff is now overpriced and rather lacklustre.

It wasn't so long ago that $100 could buy you a big bag of goodies that would provide hours of fun and enjoyment. Today, not so much. Even the "free shipping" enticement is becoming just a memory in many cases.

So is it me or has their been a significant change?

Am I simply failing to acknowledge that in the course of a year or so, $100 is simply worth a whole lot less?

Maybe that is the case -- after all, my power bill seems to have gone up quite a bit, even though I'm using no more in terms of KW/H.

Then there's my food costs. Every trip to the supermarket costs more than the last so I guess my money is worth less.

Of course if you're buying stuff online from an offshore seller these days, there's also the infuriatingly annoying $2.21 border levy that must be paid by the recipient of the package. This is yet another cost but even more of an inconvenience if you're buying one of those "$1 with free shipping" bargains from a smaller online Sino etailer.

Let's do a "for example"...

How about a cheap transistor radio (yes, radio is still a thing apparently).

You'd think that if anything was going to be cheap, a kitset transistor radio from Ali Express would be it. However, they want to sting you $NZ56 for very simple kit. Remember, this price doesn't include taxes or that $2.21 levy -- and you have to build it yourself (or maybe that's the bonus).

Compare that to the price of a similary featured radio from The Warehouse. This one is just $23 and does not just AM but also FM bands.

However, if it's a kitset you want then Jaycar offer this $34 option right here in New Zealand. By the way, do not get suckered into paying almost THREE TIMES that for the same thing from Mighty Ape.

Perhaps it's simply a case of "look harder" if you're trying to seek out those great tech deals. There are still bargains to be had but they're often not the first, second or even tenth option that you'll come across when searching online.

Carpe Diem folks!

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