If you've ever been to Amazon.com and looked for some cheap cases, you've probably seen the cases that are $0.01 to 1.00. Most people are very skeptical when it comes to these types of cases because they might be rip-off scams that won't deliver what they promise in the description. So we decided to risk $0.01 for the case and $ 2.99 for shipping and handling to put this case to the test.
What we found was that these cases are pretty legitimate! The one's we ordered, were comparable to the durability of those cases made my Griffin and Speck which are usually at a much higher price of around $25.
I dropped the case a few times with an iPod touch 2nd Generation inside and I was surprised to find that the case broke open and absorbed the impact of the fall like it is supposed to. (Similar to how a motorcycle helmet with a crack in it is a good sign.)
My iPod has not since yet incurred any severe dents or dings, and it only cost me $3.00. I am very pleased with this case.
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I've bought $.01 items on Amazon, and I've sold them too. Browse on over to Brittany Spears' CD and you can too!
You might be wondering, "how can an Amazon marketplace seller make money by selling for $.01?"
They make it back on the shipping credit. It only costs $0.78 to send a 3 oz. letter by first class mail, and you can easily send this small item in a padded mailer first class mail. So the seller is making up the difference in the spread, or $2.21, minus the cost of the envelope.
How, then, can they make a profit with only $2.21, when the Griffin iClear sells for $6.99?
Here's the answer: MADE IN CHINA. I've sold ipod skins for $.01 because I've been to China. You can buy things at wholesale, direct from the factory, for dirt cheap. That $6.99 Griffin iClear is sold out the back door of the factory, or at a copycat seller's stall, for maybe 10 for a dollar, or LESS, if you're buying quantity one thousand or more. That's ten cents each or less, people!
So his cost of goods sold is $.10 and his shipping costs are say $1.50, for a total COGS of $1.60. He received maybe $2.25 from Amazon, the seller's shipping credit. Add that to his $.01 sale price, and he's earned a whopping $0.66 on his sale!
Now do that 10,000 times (there are millions of naked iPods out there) and he's made $6,600 on his little penny enterprise.
The real lesson here is that Americans are too accustomed to paying retail prices, and retailers are too happy to continue quietly gouging American consumers with high prices for the sake of gross (as in obscene) profits. When Levi Strauss closed their American factories to move overseas, you can bet they didn't lower the price of their blue jeans, even though the cost to make the jeans now is 1/3 it cost to make them in America.
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