Friday, June 05, 2009

The Most Expensive Items on Amazon.com

Recently some kind Purple Pawn reader bought a 46" plasma HDTV through our affiliate code: clicked on a link through to Amazon.com from our site, navigated to the TV, and bought it. That extremely high-priced purchase netted us a tidy affiliate bonus. Thank you weirdo luxury fanatic, whomever you are.

In that spirit, I thought it might be helpful to point out some other ... uh ... luxury items that my kind, super-wealthy readers may have missed. Put otherwise, the most expensive items on Amazon in each category. (Rich Lafferty did this post two years ago, but times change.)

Be sure to click through this site if any strike your fancy.

Apparel


Russian Sable Fur Jacket - Wing Collar - $29,995.00

This lovely fur coat retails for $70,000, but it's yours for the paltry sum of only $30,000. A reviewer writes:
Nothing but the best for these sables, who were given several hours of scheduled play-time with youngsters specially screened for gentleness. The animals were frequently reassured that they were "cute" or "adorable." The "harvest" was accomplished in the most humane way possible, as the animals were gradually bored to death by recordings of old Soviet agricultural 5-year plan discussions. As each animal expired, a blessing was chanted by a clergyman of the Church of the Sub-Genius.
Ridiculous scale: 3. Hand-made furs from rare animals have always commanded exorbitant prices.

Automotive


Anchor 40x-580 Cylindercga/580 (100-40X-580) - $117,645.88

Yeah, I don't actually know what this is.

Ridiculous scale: I couldn't guess, but I'm going to have to say 9, given that this costs more than a new car. Several new cars.

Baby


Charades- Micro Fiber Plush Bunny - $9,999.99

I don't know if it comes with the plush carrot.

There's actually a tie in this category. Other products for $10,000 include this wooden Angel Line Glider Rocker, Big Rigs - Full Dust (a bed cover), a Dutailier Maple Ottoman, and LC Creations Save The Children Stay on Track Shelf with Pegs (a painted wooden coat hook).

Ridiculous factor: The ottoman I can see; I'll give that a 2. The rocking/slider is a bit pricey: 4. A $10,000 shelf or bunny suit? 10.

Beauty


Kinerase Lip Treatment - $38,100

This is $38.00 on the kinerase site; what we have here is a slip of the old decimal point. (On the other hand, the seller probably makes a commission depending on the price, so I say go for it.)

A non-error product is La Mer Creme de La Mer. 500 ml for $1,700.00.

Ridiculous scale: 10.

Books


Mrs. Skagg's Husbands. - $7,642,906.24

Yes, that's right. And 24 cents.

This may not count, since it's only sold used by a reseller. Spon's Architects' and Builders' Price Book 2009: Multi-user licence ships from Amazon for the paltry price of only $1,754,383.00.

Ridiculous scale: I guess that rare books can cost a lot of money, but the most expensive book ever sold was a first edition Shakespeare folio for $5 million. I'll give the first a 9, and the second a 10.

Camera and Photo


[USED] 1200/5.6L EF LENS (USM), 2527A001, 35mm Lenses - $120,000.00

Cameras is a sub-class of Electronics. Still worth a mention.

Ridiculous scale: 10

Electronics

CA DESKTOP MIGRATOR 2007 LARGE BOX ECOMMERCE 1U - $1,293,600.00

Once again, I have no idea what this is. They don't even provide a picture or description. I can tell you for sure that it's overpriced. Second place is a tie at $1,155,000 for either TSUNAMI MP.16 3500I SUBS INT 18DBI ANT 3.4-3.6 (a wireless antenna) and the ACE 12" Passive 2Way 800 Watt Speaker. A helpful comment: "When pointed at my neighbors and with the volume control set to '11', my neighbors house was reduced to dust. FCC license required."

Ridiculous scale: 11.

Everything Else


Harmensz van Rijn Rembrandt Etching Original Old Master - $275,000.00

An original Rembrandt c. 1649.

Ridiculous scale: 1.

Gourmet Food


Classic Grey Sevruga Caviar - 4.00 lb. / 1800 gr. (Free Overnight Shipping!) - $13,290.50

Better be free overnight shipping, as the stuff is perishable. As I keep kosher, I haven't a clue as to how much caviar should go for, but I still guess there's a limit to how much bang you can get for your buck at a price like this.

Ridiculous scale: 5

Grocery


Parent Child Testing Product - $25,000

Yet another item about which I have no clue. I don't even know what it's doing in the grocery section. The next most expensive item is a $3,000 Stainless Steel Tandoor Oven 36.

Ridiculous scale: probably 10, but who can tell? The oven might be somewhat reasonable if you're into that sort of thing.

Health


Queen Anne Cast Iron Table Base: Standard Height: 28.5" - $1,724,998.28

I'll go out on a limb and call this overpriced. What's it doing in the Health and Personal Care section? The next best item is this $100,000 F811-0297 Collecting Cell.

Ridiculous scale: 10

Home and Garden (also Tools)


HOE HNDL 54" W/FERRLE ASH - $2,555,557.99

You don't even get the whole hoe. Just the handle.

Runner up at $360,000.00: Meyda Tiffany 35'w Chandelier 72090.

Ridiculous scale: 10. Chandelier is high, but not unbelievable: 6.

Industrial and Scientific


Stainless Steel-Channels-Alloy- 304- 3 - $66,433.50

Once again I'm caught short. I hope it's not just the drawing. It weighs 33 pounds.

Runner up is an impressive looking TBS ATP1 Automated Tissue Processor; Floor model for $54,283.65.

Ridiculous scale: ??? but probably 7 or 8. Tissue processor is 1 or 2.

Jewelery


Platinum Sapphire and Diamond Necklace VAN CLEEF & ARPELS - $1,500,000.00

I admit it's pretty and it's got 100 cts of sapphires and 300 cts of diamonds.

Ridiculous scale: 3 for what it's worth, but spending money on rocks that cost this much is well past ridiculous.

Kindle Store

Selected Nuclear Materials and Engineering Systems (Part 4) - $6,431.20

This is a download. A download, people. And a DRM's download, at that. I love that it's part four, so you can't even make use of it unless you got the first three parts.

In the Video on Demand section, you have some videos at $600.

Ridiculous scale: 9 (might be worth something to someone)

Magazines

Cru International Quarterly Market Service Reports Package - $59,254.74

No picture provides. I checked around and this is what the CRU group charges for their magazines. Seems a bit pricey to me, but I guess they only have to sell a few copies. On the other hand, they also sell services, which I'm guessing must be not much more expensive.

Ridiculous scale: 3

Movies


"Complete Set" of Presentations-Professional Use DVD Copy - $2,999.95

It's not that I can't imagine a set of DVDs costing $3,000. It's just that the run time for this one is ... wait for it ... 3 minutes.

In VHS, you have Milady's Standard Comprehensive Training for Estheticians [VHS] for $2,809.10.

Golden Islands Far From West DVD and Chato's Kitchen [VHS] arefor sale by external retailers for $100,000.

Ridiculous scale: 10

Music


Essential Music Bundle - $3,615.44

Contains 178 essential CDs from music history, including rock, folk, opera, blues, and so on. Which is slightly over 20 bucks a disk. I can only assume that the roughly $2,000 too much that you're paying for this includes some kind of a neat booklet.

And you "Get $1 worth of MP3 downloads from Amazon MP3 after you order your item."

Something called Very Very Strong Wind is for sale by an external retailer for $100,000.

Ridiculous scale: 7

Musical Instruments


KolorGlobe XENON 4000 Architectural Moving-head Colour Changer (L557) - $31,600.00

It's a moving light that changes color. I'll guess that you can get pretty good versions of this for a wee bit cheaper.

Runner up is this $25,000 Gibson Custom Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Oxblood Aged Signed Electric Guitar personally hand-signed and played by Jeff Beck. One of fifty.

Ridiculous scale: 9.5 for the light, 2 for the guitar if you're into Beck.

Office Products


CNMMF6590 - ImageClass MF6590 Multifunction Printer - $79,799.00

Another slip of the decimal point, this should really be $797.99 . Another one is this Whittling Craft Knife Blade (680-11-111A) Category: Utility Knives; it only costs $160, but that's on sale from $102,400.00 .

Here's a $79,000.00 Curtis Australia Wildlife Warriors Endangered Species LTD Gem Set (6pcs) Fountain Pen.

Ridiculous scale: 10, including the pen.

Pet Supplies


Ring 5 Blow-DRY Creme Rinse - 1 Gal - $37,099.00

Pet supplies is a sub-category of home and garden.

I'm guessing there's another misplaced decimal point here. Instead, here's an $8,324.39 Deltec External Protein Skimmer AP1006.

Ridiculous scale: 10 for the shampoo. Probably a reasonable price for a protein skimmer, whatever that is.

Shoes


Moschino Vernice Luce A7407 Shoulder Bag - $7,695.00

I don't really get the fancy handbag obsession. And this one is made in China, so even more so. Doesn't even look that nice. What's this doing in shoes, anyway?

Here. For $5,926.95 you can get some Esquivel Men's W.K. Dress Shoe.

Ridiculous scale: 8

Software

Zetafax 5 User Starter System Business Edition - $1,155,000.00

A million dollar fax server. They also have over $100,000 technical support deals.

And this lovely science information disk, Cells (works on Win 98 and Mac) is available from an external seller for $8,496,425.80 .

Ridiculous scale: 10

Sports and Outdoors


Dublin Reserve Lace Up Ladies Paddock Boot - $49.90 - $214,061.00

I don't know what that pricing means. I'm pretty sure it's only $49.90.

Instead, here's 1930's Hall of Fame Autographed Baseball PSA/DNA: six baseballs autographed by nearly every famous early ball player. $44,805.00 .

Ridiculous scale: boots probably don't count. Baseballs: 1.

Toys and Games


deer four-sofa composition by moroso of italy - $34,104.00

No idea. Maybe it's a couch. Probably not a toy or a game.

A little detective work turned up this:


Princess Mega Series Modular Playground 5 Inch Posts - $43,102.33

which doesn't show up on the regular search.

Here's a $24,000 La Petite Maison Cottage Playhouse.

Ridiculous scale: house is 5, but rich kids need their playthings, I guess.

Video Games


Beyerdynamic Headzone PC Gaming Digital Surround Sound System with MMX300 Digital Headset with Microphone - $2,018.98

A paltry price for a system this lovely. Actually, the most expensive item here is a ATA-300A 300cc Air Cooled ATV for $2,359.00, but this really belongs in Toys.

Ridiculous scale: 1

Watches


Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Mens Watch 25984OR.OO.1138OR.01 - $380,000.00

I would expect watches to be lumped in with jewelery, actually. This watch may seem expensive, but it's 46% off its retail price of $707,500.00.

Ridiculous scale: 7. Expensive watches are a given, but really.

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4 comments:

Gerald McD said...

Congratulations on the windfall. And thanks for the laughs. That stuff is amazing, after discounting the obvious decimal shifts. I wonder how many people buy something at the wrong price with those decimal-shifted items, and do they ever get their money back? Fascinating world, isn't it?

Rod-Man said...

Nice job on the research. I wouldn't have had the patience to look at all of those and come up with such original things to say about them. I'm glad you rated them on a scale of ridiculousness because that's exactly what most of them are.

bloger on icedaniel.se said...

Good reseach !

Anonymous said...

time to change your jewelery section?

http://www.amazon.com/20-00-Natural-Untreated-Ruby-U2878/dp/B0032AOVQY/ref=pd_sbs_jw_3