Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with prices

My Kingdom for an I-Phone

goalyeehah — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:30:46 -0800

What are used I-Phones going for? Got mine stolen at a Farmer's Market recently and am looking to purchase a used one stat. Just got a quote for a 16 gig at $350.00. Heard that and decided to put on the brakes and do some research before purchase. It obviously sounded like they can only sell what they have available or at least the guy was making it sound that way.

You could sail this puppy away TODAY, for just 7300 pieces of eight. How does that sound to you?

aiko — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:32:09 -0800

What could one piece of eight have purchased in Boston in 1777?

How much should I be spending on my clothes?

Phire — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:09:58 -0800

How much should I be paying for a shirt/blouse/shoes/pants? Help me recalibrate my expectations of shopping for clothes. I'm a 20-year-old girl. Up till now, my wardrobe has more or less consisted of t-shirts/tank-tops, jeans, hoodies, and sneakers. In the past year or so I've decided to start dressing a little bit more formally/girly, partially because I run in circles where I need to be business casual on a fairly regular basis.

Previously, my t-shirts/tanks ran in the vicinity of $10 each and my jeans between $15-25 and that worked great for me. Now every top that catches my eye is upwards of $30 (sometimes all the way up to $70, what the hell people), jeans/pants run around $40-80 if I'm lucky, and any formal shoes are all upwards of $40, usually more like $60-70. Needless to say, shoping has been largely fruitless.

I could handle (with some difficulty) spending $50 on a dress. But $50 on a pair of pants? Not so much. Do I just have unrealistic expectations as to how much things should cost? Is this the fair going rate for female clothing? Who buys these $80 shrugs? If my local outlets/boutiques are indeed batshitinsane, what IS the going market rate, and where can I get cheaper things that still look nice/formal?

All prices in Canadian (which I'm told isn't real money), and keep in mind I'm still on a student budget.

Where to buy wholesale price gold earrings

KimikoPi — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:40:24 -0800

Where can I get wholesale price gold hoop earrings in Los Angeles? I actually work very close to the downtown LA jewelry district, but it's kind of a mindboggling maze. Are those stores actually wholesalers or do they get their inventory from wholesale stores? Bottom line: what is the cheapest place to buy real gold hoop earrings in bulk (say, 10-20 at a time). And what do you think is the wholesale price for 18k or 24k gold hoop earrings?

LCD TVs & $$$ Expectations

AlbatrossJones — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:17:17 -0800

Including both big-brands and generic, what should I expect $500-600 to get me as far as LCD TVs go? 30-40 inches? Unreasonable? In my online shopping, LCD TV prices seem so variant...is there any insight someone can offer? I'm using the TV for predominantly gaming, TV and some movie watching purposes.

Any brands to avoid? LG? Vizeo? Generic just as good as the big guys?

HELP!

Help me find a blog post on web hosting!

pwnguin — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:56:48 -0800

Where did I read about a semi-famous blogger and entrepreneur's advice on webhosting? I feel a bit like an asshole, because I rather to hate self-promotional crap and bloggers / entrepreneurs are precisely that, and this question will only serve to feed that behavior. Still, I forgot to bookmark it and it was semi-helpful.

I can't recall who the author was, but it's some sort of web 2.0 or startup person, who has, you know, done this before.

The thrust of the article was how to conserve capital and build a website; they went through the specific pricing, with specific providers per month for DNS registration and management, network traffic, virtual hosting, etc. The end result was something reasonably affordable and maybe even cheap.

I ran into it bored one day at the various Mindless Link Propagation sites like reddit, hacker news or digg a month or two ago; I can't find it on reddit, hacker news has no search and digg is flooded with spam.

What is the Best Way to Fly from Tel Aviv to Atlanta?

davidstandaford — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:11:34 -0800

Some quick questions about booking an international flight. I need to get from Tel Aviv to Atlanta, with one catch. The domestic portion of my travel is being paid for. How do I figure out what would be the cheapest city in America to fly to from Israel?

Secondly, I have enough latitude in the dates of my trip that I can be departing and returning almost any day of the week. Are there specific days of the week for international travel that would potentially get me cheaper fares?

Finally, my departure date will be around February 25th. Should I be buying the ticket as soon as possible because prices will definitely be going up, or is that not necessarily the case. Thanks!

Advice for timing a move and getting a "deal" in a tough rental market?

limonade — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:56:41 -0800

Advice for timing a move and getting a great deal in a tough rental market? I live in Boston, which has a notoriously tight rental market. This is complicated by that fact that, unlike in other cities, here virtually all leases renew their leases for the same date: Sept. 1. Landlords want to have a signed lease as early as possible. This means that if you are not sure you want to renew your lease you risk having your current apartment rented out from under you before you fully get to compare your options.

My currently apartment is okay, but I'm not crazy about the location or the price. My landlord wants to raise the rent by $75 even though the rental prices have supposedly dropped a bit--even in Boston! This makes me think about moving, but it's more a matter of principle that he shouldn't raise the rent because he doesn't maintain the place all that well. If I could find a significantly better or cheaper place, it might be worth willing to move...but I won't be able to look for a place until other people have already started looking at my apartment. However, if it's not a significant improvement it won't be worth it, since moving would not only be an enormous hassle, I would probably have to pay a Realtor's fee--usually 1/2 month's rent--effectively canceling out the small rent increase.

I'd love to find something by owner, and thus without the fee, but I've had a very hard time finding one in the past, and I do have a cat, which limits some of my options (all "no pet" apartments are out). I also have a lot of stuff, so that further limits my options to apartments with big bedrooms (not common in the city in my price range). I would consider moving in with established roommates when my lease is up, but how far in advance people would know they would have one room in a larger apartment available? It's hard to time everything for a fixed date (Sept. 1).

I always hear about the "friend of a friend" who had a huge place and whose landlord didn't raise the rent for 7 years, yet every landlord I've had has raised the rent every single year!

I guess what I'm looking for is advice about:

1. Weighing the potential benefits of moving against the potential and actual costs--and hassle
2. Ideas for how I can get a great deal under these conditions, in an expensive city where everyone is looking for a place at the same time
3. Options I might have overlooked
4. Timing my search

FYI, I might consider buying in a few years but it's not really an option right now, and also doesn't feel like a great time since I'm not sure I'm completely immune from possibly being laid off if the economy tanks further. Also, if I'm going to plant roots I'm not sure I want to place them here.

Why is the Mexican Nesquik cheaper?

Barry B. Palindromer — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:09:53 -0800

Why do items in my grocery store with similar items on the Mexican food aisle cost more at my grocery store? Why does Mexican Nesquik cost less? I'm buying Nesquik at my local Fry's Food and Drug here in central Phoenix. I pick up the 10 ounce container, which is on sale (with my VIP card!) for 3.49. On the Mexican specialty food aisle where I'm picking up my roasted, salted pumpkin seeds (cause the David ones are WAY too salty) I see a 14 ounce container of Nesquik for 2.59.

Now, a serving of the Mexican variety is 3 tbs, and the gringo version is 2 tbs. But even taking the serving differences (I figure the amount of servings per container is roughly equivalent), how can you explain the price difference?

I've seen this in various foods. Another notable difference is the sardines, where the can on the Mexican food aisle contains almost twice as much as the Crown King can on the canned fish aisle, and costs a little less.

As an unrelated aside, the Mexican Nesquik has more sugar and has a richer semi-sweet chocolate flavor, when compared with the milk-chocolate flavor of the US version.

It only took 19 years to do it!

DolorousEdd — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:59:04 -0800

My college roommate and I, after seeing home prices within 4 digits in some states, discussing the possibility of homeownership at the ripe age of 19. Is this realistic or simply a pipe dream? We live in California, while most ridiculously low listings are in dire need of rehabilitation in the middle of the US.

What legal problems are expected, etc.

Discount Lift Tickets - Crested Butte

yoyoceramic — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:18:09 -0800

Colorado residents... where can I find the cheapest lift tickets for Crested Butte? I will be up there December 29th - January 3rd. Any ideas where I can start looking for (relatively) inexpensive lift tickets? Crested Butte is asking for my first born.

Help me find a good travel agency in Austin, TX for booking flights to Hong Kong!

llamabucket — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:14:41 -0800

Help me find a good travel agency in Austin, TX for booking flights to Hong Kong! I'm looking to book a flight from Austin to Hong Kong for after the New Year (around Jan. 5) and need a good, reputable travel agency that offers low prices.

My parents used to use a small travel agency here in town where most of their agents speak Mandarin, but unfortunately, I don't speak a lick of Mandarin, only Cantonese, and my parents are out of the country. So, I'm looking for a larger, more reputable travel agency here in Austin that offers good deals for individuals.

I've looked online and have found prices on Kayak and other places, but I'm just curious what prices a travel agency can offer me... hopefully lower than what I have found so far online.

Bonus to any travel agencies that have agents that can speak Cantonese, but it's not a necessity. I understand that most agencies that can speak Cantonese are probably smaller agencies that aren't too customer-friendly or reputable.

If it matters, this is my itinerary:

Departure (around Jan. 5, flexible date though)
Austin to LAX or SFO
LAX/SFO to HKG

Return (around Jan. 15, flexible departure date as well)
Beijing, China to LAX/SFO
LAX/SFO to Austin

Thanks in advance!

The Incredible Shringking Yogurt

longsleeves — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:27:29 -0800

Is the 8 oz. yogurt serving gone for good? For some time now I've been noticing that the national brands of yogurt have been reducing the size of their single-serving containers from 8 ounces down to 6 ounces. One by one, they've been getting smaller. The last of the name brands has now gone that route, and now the store brands seem to be doing this too. Today, I noticed that one of the last local store brands with the 8 oz cup has restocked their product with containers that are the same price, same basic package graphics, but 6 ounces. The Nov. 1st expiration date containers on the shelf were 8 oz, the Nov. 15th ones are little 6 ounce-ers.

I'm a guy who has been in the habit of bringing a yogurt to work for lunch 2 or 3 days a week and the little servings don't really satisfy, with the added insult of not being any cheaper. I live in New England, by the way.

Is this happening everywhere? Anybody in the food market or yogurt biz have any insight?

That's not just water you're drinking...

quadrinary — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:14:57 -0800

I travel a lot for work and have been a little confused about how after the government banned all bottled liquids that the in-airport stores weren't encouragd to lower their prices to be more in accordance with market prices in the outside world. Has there been any effort to this end? In the past I'd dealt with this by bringing a personal water bottle and filling it at a water fountain, but two weeks ago, TSA agents started confiscating my empty bottles as well, essentially forcing me into buying water at double price in the airport.

Does anyone know if there has been some sort of official challenge to equalize prices on the "inside" and the "outside" if they're forcing you to not bring your own beverages from home?

Best Value at Sephora

amicamentis — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:59:12 -0800

Ladies – Which Sephora products are really worth it? I was given a gift card for my birthday, and would like to use it to purchase some makeup or other girly things that are a higher caliber than what I am used to.

Question: what products are available there that are worth every penny?

My makeup regime consists of light powder, eyeliner + mascara, and occasionally eyeshadow. I apply lip gloss during the day but have not given up on the idea that someday I might find a great lipstick.

I know that Sephora carries other commodities (skincare, perfume), but those are usually much more expensive and I don’t want to spend a crazy amount above what will be covered with the gift card, which has about $50 on it.

On the flip side, are there any tools or products that are available at Sephora but definitely not worth the price? Or is it all subjective? I live in NYC, by the way, so the stores carry a fuller range.

Help me get my man drunk

Abbril — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:05:45 -0800

How do I find out the cost of booze in (Chattanooga) Tennessee when I'm in (Ottawa) Ontario? I want to surprise Mr.Abbril with the gift of booze. Mr. Abbril has expressed a desire for both Macallan 12yr. and Woodford Reserve. Mr. Abbril's parents will be driving from Ottawa to Tennessee next month and I thought I could have them pick one or two of these up for me to stash until the next gift giving occasion arises. I've tried googling for a price estimate but with no luck. How can I find out/estimate the cost of these two bottles?

if i had waited ten more exits the gas would have been 10 cents cheaper!

kidsleepy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:31:58 -0800

How can I find the cheapest gas along a route? I know how to find the cheapest gas in my area code or city, but I'm going on a 6-hour round trip this weekend and would like to figure out where to stop along the way for the best gas prices. Are there any websites out there that will let you plug in a starting city and destination city? Or perhaps a google maps plug-in? Ideally the results would be limited to gas stations within a few miles of a highway exit (or whatever route you choose).

How to find the value of land in Ireland?

Tnuocca — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:15:33 -0800

How has the value of agricultural land in Ireland changed since 2003? Does anyone know the current going rate for an acre of farmland in Ireland? Also, could someone please tell me how it's varied over time since 2003?

Are there any land valuation services that someone could recommend, and if so what information do they need to provide a valuation?

Egg white cost question?

emptyinside — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:35:29 -0800

Why do 100% egg whites cost 2x more than 99%? I like egg whites, they're good for a number of things. I just wonder... why do they charge so much more for the 1% extra? You'd think that by not having to add all the stabilizers and stuff, they'd save on the cost. It doesn't make sense.

Carnac the Magnificent

netbros — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:27:30 -0800

Can gasoline futures be used to predict the price we will pay for fuel at the local pump? Used to be a gasoline price jump at the pump would be just a penny or two, hardly noticeable. Lately, the price seems to increase 12-15 cents at a time. By studying gas futures, can we know which days are likely to have the next price increase, enabling us to top off the tank the day before?

Historical car pricing.

punkfloyd — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:26:27 -0800

Are there any websites that compile historical MSRPs for cars? Like if I wanted to know how much a dude had to pay for a new Camaro in 1979. I suppose I could piece together this sort of information in by scouring sites like Edmunds, etc.. but I'm lazy and I want one simple source.

why are houses in Utica, NY so cheap?

arcadia — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 12:19:08 -0800

Why are houses in Utica, New York so cheap? Hi all -
I've been looking on the internet at houses in Utica New York, and some of them are preposterously cheap. Does anyone have any idea why this is? Please don't sends answers such as "Utica sucks" etc. I've never been there and am genuinely curious. They're selling 4 bedroom houses for $60,000 and less. Is it built on a nuclear waste site? Are all the houses made of cardboard?

Wait, this was only 30 santims last week!

mdonley — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:41:18 -0800

How do I, alone, financially cope with high inflation and an overheated economy? I live in Latvia, where inflation this year was over 13% and GDP grew 11%. Here's an article from this week with more info on the economy here, which might prove useful to answerers.

I make a good-enough-for-now local wage, and I have a free apartment thanks to my job, but the prices of things keep going up while my monthly salary is static. I have no pension, investments, or huge savings to worry about - just my monthly paychecks in a current/checking account. I also have a checking account with a credit union back in the US, where I'm from.

Food costs, for example, have risen about 20% this year, which is a pretty significant increase. Riding the bus, which I rely on to get to work, will increase in price by 25% on January 1. Anything imported - which in a country this size is everything from razor blades to blenders to socks - costs the earth.

So, what can I do to lessen the impact personally? I've already been doing small things, like shopping at local markets to avoid the high prices for imported vegetables, for example. Do I stock up on commodities like dry goods now and prepare a survivalist bunker? Do I change my bank account denomination to euros instead of Latvian lats in case there's a devaluation? Spend less? Spend more?

Thanks.

Jewelers and their ubiquitous calculator... why?

ab5000 — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:18:03 -0800

Why do jewelers always insist of giving prices read from a calculator screen and not from the price tag of the piece I'm looking at? Do they give different people different prices? Or is it a way of accounting for fluctuating prices of gold or gems from week to week?

Manhattan Alternatives

jasondigitized — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:36:27 -0800

I have to be in Manhattan Dec 6th - Dec 9th. My flight is booked and my appointments are scheduled. I am flying solo. My plan was to stay in Manhattan, and goof off after my appointments. Unfortunately, every hotel in Manhattan for those days is $600+ a night. Ordinarily I can Priceline $150 and get bites, but even after a $250 bid, I got nothing on a 3 / 4 *. So......where should I stay and still be able to explore Manhattan without freezing my ass off?? I can be a bit of a snob and would prefer not to stay in something lower than 3*. Any secret Manhattan hotels that I can get into that are not sh*t holes? Brooklyn? New Jersey? Connecticut?