no funny headline
September 21, 2006 5:12 AM   Subscribe

Where can I get a cheap (~25) laser pen in manhattan, preferrably south of 14 or even better south of houston? I check Canal st, but nothing. Don't need the pen part. Just the laser part. I want it to entertain my new kitten.
posted by milarepa to Grab Bag (16 answers total)
 
Best answer: I'm not in Manhattan, but they had some sitting right by the cash register yesterday at CompUsa. Try someplace like that (J&R maybe) or an OfficeMax type place.

Good luck. It will drive your kitten nuts! :)
posted by bim at 5:32 AM on September 21, 2006


Best answer: Have you looked in pet stores? They're generally under $10 there.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:40 AM on September 21, 2006


Petsmart and PetCo usually have them either near the cat toys or near the registers.
posted by MrZero at 6:12 AM on September 21, 2006


Careful -- that's patented!
posted by inigo2 at 6:21 AM on September 21, 2006


If you're paying more than $5 for a red laser pointer, you're getting ripped off. I paid $2.99 for mine.

(Unless you want something of professional quality, but if it's to play with a kitten, I doubt that's the case.)
posted by dmd at 6:42 AM on September 21, 2006


Ridiculously cheap, shipping is cheap and was pretty fast. The one I got wasn't as solid as the $35 one my boss bought--it's actually kind cheap-looking but, well...it works fine, and my cat doesn't care.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:03 AM on September 21, 2006


I got mine from Wholsaleforeveryone. Cheap and easy, though it does require shipping. I got a couple pointers and tons of extra batteries, and it still cost me less than $10 all told. And the cats love it.
posted by bibbit at 7:03 AM on September 21, 2006


Ah, beaten to the punch.
posted by bibbit at 7:04 AM on September 21, 2006


This is another "order it online" link, which it seems wasn't what you were really looking for, but this one runs on AAA batteries instead of a bunch of those annoying button cells. $9.99 + $5.85 shipping = $15.84. It's a nice little laser for a decent price, though I'm sure if you really care you can beat the price.
posted by musicinmybrain at 7:19 AM on September 21, 2006


Check the pet store. We got a bunch of laser pointers with an LED flashlight too, for about $4.00 Canadian each (on sale). The one I bought initially at the office supply place was $22 and it crapped out after about two weeks of occasional use to entertain my puppy.
posted by Savannah at 7:34 AM on September 21, 2006


My laser level entertains my dog for hours on end. It produces a short line rather than a focused dot, but she doesn't care, and it comes in handy from time to time, in a non-pet-toy capacity.
posted by dansays at 7:51 AM on September 21, 2006


Best answer: I obvught mine at Fuzzy Paws, on 8th street, betweeen university and 5th...it was 10 bux.. my cat goes absolutely bonkers for it, and hasnet gotten sick of it after 8 months. money well spent.

well, she also loves the bag it came in too...
posted by TwilightKid at 8:11 AM on September 21, 2006


Response by poster: Thanks for all the advice.

I didn't know it was such common knowledge that cat's love these things. We used to call it kitty crack back in high school because the kitty would be exhausted but still chasing it.

I thought they were more expensive because laser pointers back in the 90's were PRICEY as hell.

thanks guys.
posted by milarepa at 8:30 AM on September 21, 2006


Response by poster: something went wrong with the best answers thingy. But anyone who responded today, gets a gold star!!!
posted by milarepa at 8:34 AM on September 21, 2006


It's annoying that the standalone modules are more expensive than the pre-made pointers.

I thought they were more expensive because laser pointers back in the 90's were PRICEY as hell.

In the early 90s I bought a couple of fairly basic laser diode heads for an industrial process (alignment tool), and if I remember they were a hair under $300 each. Nice beam, though. A few years later I bought a fairly nice pointer for around $150. It broke when I dropped it in slightly wet grass. I have about a half dozen sitting around, along with an old 1.5 mw helium neon tube laser.

I'm still waiting for them to get down to the 25 cent range, so I can use 'em in ridiculously large quantities in a few art projects I have in mind.
posted by loquacious at 12:25 PM on September 21, 2006


I realize that NYC can be expensive, but here in Montreal you can usually easily pick up pen-style laser pointers at most of the local "Dollar Stores". Sometimes they even come *with* batteries and a change of point (dot, star, etc.) for a dollar or two.

Before spending the big bucks, I'd consider dropping by a Dollar-style store or two and checking out what they have. Of course they won't be super-high quality, but then again, I don't think the cat will be doing many high-pressure PowerPoint sales presentations with it...

~ Jade
posted by Jade Dragon at 1:45 PM on September 21, 2006


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