Price of Admission

The humble toothbrush. Used to be cheap, now is elaborate and expensive. No plain-vanilla toothbrushes exist anymore: they only come with special strips that show when they need replacement, ergonomic handles, specially-contoured brushes. And the entry cost into the new cool toothbrush zone is over three bucks each.

Reflecting the inverse relationship between cost and number sold (the more expensive the item, the fewer units sold, but usually at a higher profit) there may be fewer toothbrushes sold.

Wal-Mart has embraced this strategy while trumpeting that they are the "low-price leader." Ha.

WM only carries name brands---sure, they may have good prices on that name-brand item, but you are still paying for advertising budgets, etc. Your name-brand bagels at $2.78 in Wal-Mart as opposed to Kroger brand bagels for $1.83.

And, it doesn't get you out of the toothbrush conundrum: why is something that is cheap all of a sudden expensive? Cow solved the problem by finding, one shelf down, a nifty electric toothbrush with two swirling heads, batteries included, for $5.99, less than the cost of two regular toothbrushes.

Moo!