BT Barnum was right – there is a sucker born every minute
The Toronto Star is carrying this article about stolen baby strollers appearing for re-sale on CraigsList. I suppose the story is worth a full read given its human interest angle but I had caught up in first four words of the first sentence which utterly fluxed and dumbfounded me.
After his $750 stroller was stolen off his front porch, Lindsay Taylor did what any web-savvy parent would do: he looked for it on Craigslist.
I admit its been years since I pushed a baby stroller but paying $750 for a baby stroller which has a limited usage and time span just boggles all pretense of sanity or intelligence. Even if I had completely lost my reason and mind after giving birth and purchased a stroller which costs more than an Xbox (nor is half as useful or long-lasting as an Xbox) I certainly wouldn’t leave that sucker unattended on my front porch. But it gets worse, apparently there are those who would pay $900 for a baby stroller.
I admit its been years since I pushed a baby stroller. The most expensive one I bought cost $150 from Sears and I got it on sale. It was a two-seater and quite frankly, it was more or less a complete waste of money for doing anything but pushing the children to the park so after a few years of collecting dust and taking up space I sold it for $100.
I lived and died by my umbrella strollers. I bought the ‘premium’ model from Zellers for $25 which came with an little push down shade and supplemented it with a one time purchase of a rain cover for $10. Since I never learned to drive it meant that the children and I were always going everywhere with the stroller – in all weather. Of course, when my children were newborns I carried them in a snuggly and by the time I couldn’t carry them comfortably; they were large enough for the umbrella stroller.
The umbrella stroller is a real G-dsend on public transit. It can be opened or folded away closed with one hand and one foot in seconds without having struggle to get the the stroller up the street car’s steps or risking my child’’s life going down the subway stairs. Not to mention no one had to nearly kill themselves to get pass the stroller on the bus nor did I put myself utterly have to rely on the unreliable kindness of strangers. I was fully mobile, independent and self-sufficient. I admit the life span wasn’t long – about a year. So in the course of my stroller years (approximately 6 years – three children) my total umbrella purchases cost me $125 plus a one time weather protector brings the total cost up to $135.
Its a time’s like this, I really miss my husband and wish he was alive to share this idiocy with. Of course, picturing his face if I came home with a $900 stroller is simply priceless. He’d have had that sucker apart in minutes trying to figure out what make it worth $900 and checking to see if it had platinum nuts and bolts – then he’d have me committed
Reading the comments at the article, I agree whole-heartedlywith some of them. Why is the price of the stroller relevant? People buy the best they can afford. I’m 12 years away from pushing a stroller, but if I was going to buy one now I’d certainly be looking at a high-quality one.
I’ve owned $50 vehicles and $20,000 vehicles. I much prefer the $20,000 one. I’ve bought $20 scotch and $100 scotch… Same deal.
The story isn’t about the cost of the stroller, it’s about using Craigslist as a way to fight petty theft. Craigslist gets a bad rap sometimes, but this particular story is actually about how it can be used to catch bad guys.
Okay, the easiest way to put this is, my comment was not centered on the actually story about finding a thief on Craigslist but the stupidity of spending a $750+ baby stroller.
So to run with your analogy I have bought Jamaican rum in the liquor store in Canada for over $40 for a small bottle but some of the best rum I have ever bought cost $5 Canadian for a large 40 ounce size. I have a 1963 Singer sewing machine which cost $40 when my mother bought it in 1963 and it consistently out performs her new machine which cost over $2500 which is suppose to do everything but feed your dog and it probably would but its out for service regularly as the electric panel fries itself while my Singer just needs to be dusted and oiled regularly.
My point being the $750+ baby stroller is a complete Emperor’s New Clothes scenario. But to pay that ridiculous amount of money for a baby stroller and then being careless enough to leave it out on your front porch overnight and being shocked when its stolen – is going from the sublime to the ridiculous.
but if you’re religious and have, say, 10 kids, that makes it worth the investment