What's the cheapest thing you had bought that by the end of its usefulness made you say "wow, this was worth a lot more than what I've paid for!"
What's the cheapest thing you had bought that by the end of its usefulness made you say "wow, this was worth a lot more than what I've paid for!"
Mine... My Xbox 360 slim only costed 129 euro back in 2012 and to this day still work like brand new, you would think that the disc drive would stop working but no. Never had the need of open it or clean it's insides. Still great, I just don't use it anymore since I feel it's outdated and loading speeds are better nowadays.
My father got a toaster at a garage sale back in the 1970's. That was the toaster I grew up with. When I was moving out, my parents happen to be replacing it, so I asked for it. I did some research and it is a GE toaster from the mid 1950's. I have used it for the past ten years and it's still going strong. It's maybe a bit small for some slices, but it's hard to argue with 70 years of near continuous service.
Stackable prep bowls for the kitchen. They're about $6 a piece and I have eight of them. I got sick of constantly running out of bowls when I was doing things like chopping lots of veggies for a soup or marinating tofu. I expect to reach the end of my "usefulness" before they do.
Similarly, I have a set of 12 rounded stacking mixing bowls. I use them a lot for tossed salads, but they are also useful for dough.
Our 10 to 15 year old 50" smasung LCD. Was top of the line back in the day, now its not 4k so that's it.
Found it 3 years ago standing at our buildings garbage dump. Bought a google TV for it, and with my jellyfin setup it has been a blast as a bedroom TV
Edit; just to clarify, this only works with older Samsung TV's and devices, anything new from Samsung will be crap
I bought a fancy US made spatula for my grill. They make a smaller cheaper one that I added on impulse. That little guy is a champ and gets 5x the use of the big fancy one.
Ski goggles, and they're still good. I got them like 10ish years ago after having to walk put in some serious sub-zero harsh January wind that was making my eyes hurt. $40, now my eyes are fine and my glasses stay nice and snow-free.
I've lived in Chicagoland all my life and sometimes the winters can get almost Minnesotan, so it pays to have some quality eye protection.
I bought a RoboGrip, self adjusting wrench, maybe 35 years ago a a Sears iirc. One of the best tools I ever brought and still going strong.
shoes
they lasted 3 years, which is about 12x longer than i would have guessed.
Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. It's still kicking. The amount of times I've used it, it saves so much time than looking for the proper dedicated tool.
A metal wallet. Definitely worth it if you don't carry a lot. Mine is maybe 10 years old now or more.
3+ year old used Lenovo Thinkpads, these things are great if you need a budget laptop that's not for gaming. A lot of companies lease them. When the lease expires you can get them very cheap because they flood the market.
General Military Surplus. We have a shop a few kilometers a way that sells surplus. They get in brand new stuff all the time. Still in packaging. It's built well. Keep in mind military surplus isn't just in the field stuff. Laptop bags, shirts, blankets, hats.
A pet. Worth every penny. Got my cat from a shelter, he's been there for me through thick and thin. Gives great hugs.
Safety razor: When you need to shave with a razor, these things work better than disposables and are cheap as hell to replace the blades for. Still on my original pack of blades from 10 years ago (got a gross of blades for maybe $20) and am not even halfway through - I might not ever have to buy blades again.
The last apartment I had, the AC was old and would always go out a few times each summer. By the 3rd time, I went to the hardware store looking for a box fan, but they were out and only had an industrial fan that was more expensive, like $40. I bought it out of desperation. But looking back it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. Any time the AC went out, id whip out that metal beast and only ever put it on the first setting because the other 2 settings were way too powerful for an apartment. It's never given me any trouble over the years and has saved us from some very hot weather. If I had known then how good this fan was, I would have gladly paid more for it. It's currently being used in our house while we do renovations this summer and it's working like a charm!
I bought a really cheap pair of winter boots in 2002. No-name brand, cost about the equivalent of €15 in a grocery store. I just needed something.
I was disappointed as first because the lace loops were poorly attached and fell off after a week, but I decided to fix them with a tiny bolt that I found in my tool box. It's a little difficult to explain..
Anyway, they've been holding up since then. I only need them on days with snow, so the soles don't really wear out, the leather is still waterproof and the glue still holds up.
It was a complete fluke purchase. I wish I could recommend this or that brand, but I suppose that neither the brand or model has been available since I bought them 22 years ago on sale.
My first Chromecast i bought years ago for 20$. It's still faster than the Google TV with a remote and I quite like to use my phone as a remote.
LTT screwdriver - although quite expensive has been a great tool when moving a few times, and for everything really.
An old receiver I got used, for 30$ has been with me for 5 years now, and it's sadly starting to misbehave, but I can't afford a new one ATM so I'll suffer through it as it powers everything I throw at it with ease.
I grew up in a third world country and one of the first gift my immigrant relatives got for my parents was a microwave oven. That was way back in the early 90s when almost nobody in my country knew what a microwave oven was. The same microwave had been going strong for more than 30 years before the buttons finally broke last year. All for around $200 back in the day.
steamdeck is proving worthwhile and I don't usually splurge for things like that.
Skyrim for $3 on PS3. Best money I ever spent on a video game.
Leatherman with matching bitset. Bought it on a whim 10 years ago and I use it constantly for lots of things. It wasn't my cheapest purchase, but damn has it gotten me out of a lot of difficult project situations where no proper toolbox was available. I've literally filled and repaired entire server racks with this thing.
portable clothes washer and dryer: they're both 20 years old now and i bought them used on craigslist five years ago and they've already paid for themselves multiple times over. regular sized mobile washers and driers are normally 2x the price of traditional washers and driers, but they're 1/2 the price used; i got lucky and mine were 1/4 the price.
mobile clothes washers and driers are great because they don't require any special electrical, water or drain hookups that traditional washers and dryers require so you can use them anywhere where there's electricity, running water and a drain. i hook mine up to the kitchen sink for the washer and use an exhaust hose w a window for the dryer whenever i need to do laundry; then i use their built in wheels to put them in the closet when i'm done.
their regular sized capacity means that i can wash the same tings that that a traditional home washer and dryer can do, but since they use regular 120 volt electric plugs instead of the special 240 volt washer/dryer plugs, they take longer to finish; but still worth it, especially in a rental situation where you can't install traditional washer & dryer electrical and plumbing hookups.
I got a racquetball for a couple bucks. I place it against the wall and use it to work out knots in my back and shoulders. Better than expensive massage therapy. Better than muscle relaxants except for the worst cases.
Hair clippers. I bought a set at Target for about $30 about 16-17 years ago after several bad haircuts in a row from the various chain barbers. I just have a simple men's cut and figured I probably wouldn't do worse than them and could always shave it off and call it a learning experience if I messed things up too badly.
It definitely took time to get decent at trimming the back and I had to have my wife help me sometimes while I got the hang of it, but at $20+ per haircut every 4-5 weeks, I figure I've saved almost $4k so far and it still works. I saved even more if my alternative was to pay up for a better salon to do the work.
Simple reusable tie wraps. I haven't bought any in years because I can just undo and reuse.
This smartphone I bought used for $20 almost a decade ago had been a pretty good deal... Other than that, a tea ball for loose leaf tea (couple dollars)... Maybe Minecraft back in day ($13)...
Also always glad to have a plunger (just regular one) whenever I need it. Hmm
Oh I know! A legit big flashlight that I keep by the door. Everyone has a light on their smartphone, but there's nothing like busting out the flashlight when you just want to see.
Pro tip: always leave it in the same exact easy to reach spot, so you can find it in the dark
Got a set with a box cutter and a foldable knife a few years back for $7, haven't really used the knife much but the box cutter has been used a ton. It's really nice to just be able to replace the blade when it starts getting dull, and it has allowed me to use it for a lot of precision cutting for a lot of different projects, plus it's really easy to fold or unfold so I don't have to worry too much about cutting myself.
Handheld car battery jump starter. $20 off Amazon, worked through two winters.
My Nintendo and controllers from 1987 still work.
I bought a straw hat for a dollar at a yard sale as I walked past during my job delivering packages
Coming in second is a goofy novelty cane I got from a dollar store and used for a while for a leg injury
Third is a box fan for 20.
Your question is a little too narrow for my tastes. Some of the best cheap purchases that I've made are things that I still have now. They haven't worn out or broken or become useless.
In 2001 I bought a new cast iron fry pan for $20 that I use on regular basis and it's marvelous. Around the same time, I bought some used silverware from a thrift store and I still use that everyday.
Two other purchases that go back more than 20 years are my pocket knife and my 1/4 inch hex driver, both of which I bought new but were not particularly expensive and they are working wonderfully to this very day.
Plastic cutlery. Not the single use kind, but more like normal cutlery. Originally bought when my oldest was a baby, but now I'm the one using them the most.
I travel a lot for a living, and I often find myself arriving late, after any eateries in the area have closed. I started by packing a metal fork and some cup noodles in my checked luggage, but it didn't take me long to instead start keeping cup noodles and plastic cutlery in my carry-on. This way I can go to bed without being hungry even if/when United (why is it always United?) misplace my luggage.
Battery tester $7
For me, it was probably the Yakuza games series on sale at the PlayStation store. I don't game very much, so I wait to get things until I find them near free, and during the start of Covid I went looking for a game and got Yakuza 0 for $5. Got probably 100 hours in that game, and I picked up all the others (1-7) all for about the same price, so I've gotten hundreds of hours of gameplay for less than $50.
It's sort of GTA-like, but the protagonist is actually a good person, so I enjoy it more for that, and it's more minigame centric. There's some great story, and lots of funny gags throughout.
Never had the need of open it or clean it’s insides
its* insides
The family xbox360 of my house was probably cheap enough. Haven't played it in a while, but it's definitely the greatest console to grace my life. Definitely the most played console throughout my life (PC/phone not included). I absolutely love it, especially since it's where all my Hitman Blood Money/Absolution, Castle Crashers, Sonic Unleashed, and Borderlands 1 saves are trapped.
This also reminds me that I should probably find a way to back up my saves and account besides just a thumb drive because there's currently no xbox online service available anymore and I have around 1.5+ decades worth of stuff on there I don't wanna lose.
Edit: also a leather wallet I got from Walmart sometime around 2012-13. I don't know how long a wallet should last, but I would never expect a wallet I buy today toast even a fraction of the time this has. George brand, says Italian Leather beneath the brand name, don't believe it that it's actually Italian leather because there's no way a Walmart would ever have something that nice.
My washing machine. It is not old yet but i use it so regularly and it is such a work saver. I know it is something we all take granted for by now but everytime i am in the bathrom i give it a pat on the "head" for the jobs done well.
My iPod mini gen 3. I still have it, it still holds a charge, still works, but damn is that interface clunky. So it sits in a box.
Bitcoin basically any year prior to now. You probably think it's a scam or not useful or whatever, but it's had a continuous average trend of growth for 15 years no matter how you measure it (market cap, number of nodes, transaction volume, etc). So apparently a lot of other people including large investment banks disagree. If you thought it would disappear next year because it's a bubble, you've been wrong 15 years in a row and it's maybe worth reconsidering. Bitcoin's market cap places it in the top 25 countries by GDP, higher than Sweden! If you're curious about pros/cons/FAQ and myth-busting around it check out http://bitcoin.rocks
Pretty much everything negative you've heard about it is wrong, terribly un-nuanced to point of being wrong, or about something that isn't bitcoin. Scam cryptos rugging people? Not Bitcoin. Stupid monkey JPEGs selling for a million dollars? Not Bitcoin. FTX/exchange collapses? Not Bitcoin. Slow transactions and high fees? Not Bitcoin (thanks to Bitcoin lightning), transactions confirm in under a second for pennies in fees. Anybody can print Bitcoin? Nope, the supply is capped at 21 million coins. People with the most coins control the network? Nope, amount of coins is totally unrelated to network consensus and rules. Boiling the oceans? It moves trillions of dollars in value every year using < 1% of energy, mostly from renewables (as they are cheapest) and helps even out demand curves/incentivizes provisioning renewable electricity. Makes electricity cost more? Nope, it makes electricity cost less because miners only buy the cheapest electricity possible (off-peak hours) so they don't compete with regular users. That means you aren't paying for "un-used supply/capacity" with your bill because your grid always has a buyer for any surplus electricity generated.