Economic Insanity!! !

Post Reply New Topic

I have a basic cordless phone. It started to make a buzzing noise, and somebody suggested that the battery was going bad. So I went to the local big box store. Batteries for cordless phones were $12.99. A brand new phone (including a new battery) cost only $9.99. This was for the same brand and same basic features as my old phone - the design changed slightly in the 6 or 7 years since I bought the old one.


Can anyone help me to understand the economics behind this?

Sales volumes.

I ran into the same thing at Home Depot. I needed to buy a new globe for my front porch light. A new globe was $5.99. A whole new porch light with the globe was $4.99

Maybe some people think that buying a replacement conserves resources or get attached to their old phone. I'd say that the issue must be related to human desires though.

If the glass cracks on my car, it would be cheaper to buy another one.

That's the thing. In a throw-away society, it can be cheaper to buy a replacement, instead of fixing the old. Only really expensive stuff is repaired. However, materials should be recycled as much as possible after the original objects are no longer useful.

Funny, I was trying to come up with a car analogy yesterday, and I was thinking about windshields.

I can see how that would be true of an old car. But my original example with the phone is along the lines of a new windshield costing more than a new car.