Within the course of the past year, I recall seeing packs of DVD+RW or DVD-RW discs available in small quantities–as small as three in a package. I didn’t buy any then because I really don’t need re-writeable capabilities most of the time. Usually when I back up my files, I just burn them to a regular one-timer and throw it in my disc box with my other backups.
Today, I went to two stores looking for RW discs because I have a DVD recorder set top box that I use instead of a VCR. I normally only want to watch the shows I record once and then overwrite like I used to do with tape. I figured I would probably be able to find the RW discs in small quantities, but then I discovered a little conspiracy. Now maybe I just fell off the turnip truck here and most people already know about this conspiracy, but it made me angry. The smallest count I could purchase at either store was a 10 pack (discs including cases) and it cost about $20. $20 dollars!!? I only need one disc. Um, duh, who uses these things unless they intend to re-use them. Furthermore, who buys them 10 at a time?
Anyhow, I’m sure I’ll get over it, but it just points to a deeper problem with companies these days. They only care about their bottom line–not value for the customer. I understand that business is business and in the end the bottom line is what it boils down to as far as investors go, but it seems like this sort of practice just insults our intelligence and makes us loathe them.