Sunday, May 22, 2005

Shopping

I can't keep up with inflation. I went out to get gifts for my honor society students who are graduating. I wanted to get something also as a thank-you to the one who has been my student aide this year and who has really been a big help. So in considering what would be a little fun and Italian cultural, I went to look for a pasta roller. Last check, they cost between $18 and $20, even at Williams Sonoma. So off I went to pick one up, except in the last year or two they have jumped from $18-20 to $50. I was in complete shock. I was too shocked to look at the motor next to it and see if its price had also jumped, and they don't sell that online. But let me show you what I'm seeing: it's not only a price jump from $18-20 to $50, it's that now you also have to pay an extra $30 for the spaghetti attachment that used to be included for free. www.williamssonoma.com, search "Imperia"
Now with all due respect, they have apparently re-designed one aspect of the machine, adding a tray that slides down into the main roller. This may make it easier for one person to operate the machine alone, but I don't think it's any reason to effectively quadruple the price.

The crazy thing is that Sur La Table has the machine for $60, but they have brought the price of the motor down from the $80 I paid to $70.
www.surlatable.com, search "Atlas" for the machine and "Imperia" for the motor.

The new pricing makes no sense at all. There is no way that the value of a pasta machine has quadrupled in two years. I will blame the rich people who want to claim fresh pasta as their own, in spite of the fact that pasta has its origins in Italy with the poor.

So to everyone who has a pasta machine, treat it like gold, becuase its value is increasing as though it were made of the shiny stuff.

1 comment:

spazim8 said...

We are getting old...sigh...remember how cheap stuff was??? I remember when I got my ticket to Mexico City in 1997 for $275 roundtrip including taxes....i blame it on the Republicans!!!