Sticker Shock

More elemental than the need to eat, more consuming than a first flame of passion.... my need to have something.

I exaggerate a bit; I have relatively few possessions compared to many of my friends. Mostly due to the fact that I have less space to put stuff, and with my semi-vagabond lifestyle in the last decade, less of a desire to lug it around. But a stray catalog or two or a new CD release (I have been buying more iTunes items that are a lot easier to carry) will unleash my impulse to order and thus wait impatiently for my desires to be filled.

An orphaned catalog came by this AM, a relic from a past occupier of one of the apartments here in the Towers. I am not a big outdoorsman at all, but neither is this brand of clothes. As others have done, they went upscale to attract the man who wants to look like he hunts, fishes and hikes but seldom leaves the urban jungle. He also probably drives a Land Rover or a Jeep that has never been in 4 wheel drive. I have a jacket from them that was given to me that is so delicate to wash it demands to be dry cleaned. Hardly something you want to wear while gutting trout in a campsite.

As I casually flipped the pages, a shirt jumped out at me. A "tea stained" tan patchwork shirt, loose, light, stylish and, surprise, sort of outdoorsy. I thought it would be wonderful to wear on my upcoming trip to Nicaragua. Of course for sunset cocktail hours and strolls along the beach, not while sterilizing dental instruments in the jungle. $59 was not a bad price, wish it was less, but it appeared to be good quality and thus maybe worth it.

So I got online and went through the order process. Final total, $70.82!!! WTF??! Yes $8.95 for shipping and $2.87 tax. I never pay tax here in MO for online items, and $8.95 to mail. They don't charge by weight, they charge by price. Many places do that, it is crock. If I got loony and bought a $59 lace thong ( not happening, used only for demonstration purposes) that weighs an ounce, I'd still pay 9 bucks for it to appear in my mail box. Unfortunately, there is no retail store here so I can't go and get it that way.

I declined to order, feeling the shipping is just robbery. You know, I might have felt better that you told me the shirt was $69 and the shipping $3.00. At least I would have felt I was not just getting screwed.

I still long for this item, it would look good on me. But sometimes, someone has to just say no to the ridiculous practice of gouging on shipping.

Damn it, why me??