The biggest expense you paid for the smallest item

[Vendor-Lazarus]

9000Kr ($1050 USD) for a set of dentures I don't/can't use. The dentists never told me it was optional.
That is nothing compared to the 120000Kr ($14000) that my future Dental Titanium Implants will cost however.

...Remember to brush your teeth, kids. (and hope you have good genes as well).

 

[pookie101]

doesn't the very concept of a microtransaction /thread? i've purchased virtual items. are there less substantial purchases?

Speaking of which... Spent 50 Dollars for 3 basically identical star ships in Star Trek Online... Sure they each had a different unique console. For the record it was the Romulan Warbird Dreadnought 3 pack, the Thelaron pulse was absolutely impossible to land a hit with... But the tree special consoles working together on one of those things made your choice of either a Scimitar, Falchion, or Tulwar Warbird stupidly over powered. Neither the Odyssey Star Cruisers, not the Bortas'Qu dreadnoughts came remotely close... Which is the story of the Romulan Republic faction in STO, they lack proper faction status, but their ships are insanely OP. Especially because all of them have Romulan Battle Cloak, so they can all cloak when under red alert. Only Klingon Raiders(glass cannons), and Raptors(Sub-par Escorts) had the same ability, but neither got the bonus offered to Romulans on decloaking.

its not impossible to hit anything with the thaleron pulse.. sure they have to sit there for 12 seconds and you cant do anything at all while firing so everyone and everything fires at you for 12 very long seconds..

i cant complain i bought the same thing

that said my contribution so STO related as well.. 20-30 for a ship that ive bought only for its special console

 

[EHKOS]

Like a lot of these threads I can only thing of the antithesis of the subject. I once paid the $5 pre-order for Secret Agent Clank because they were giving away a small Clank figure wearing a tux. Never intended to buy the game and never picked it up. So I basically paid $5 for a cool figure. I still have it too.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

I play Warhammer 40k. Pick anything.

On a similar note, I play MTG. Cardboard crack is expensive yo.

 

[TechNoFear]

At the opposite side of the coin, I am hoping to start selling truffles in the next year or two at $2-3 per gram (US$700-1,000 per pound).

Assuming that any have started growing in the last 3 years...

 

[Ironman126]

I play Warhammer 40k. Pick anything.

On a similar note, I play MTG. Cardboard crack is expensive yo.

Having played both (still actively playing 40k), I feel it is safe to say that Magic wins the "who spends the most on shit" debate. My reasoning? 40k minis don't (usually) move out of rotation every 18 months. Even if they do, 10 to 1 you can proxy them as other minis. MTG's planned obsolescence scheme is second to none, not even Games Workshop's codex/rulebook dickery matches Wizards of the Coast.

If we're talking about single cards from a third party or a booster box, the prices are about the same. Figure, a Tarmogoyf is still going for ~$150 USD and an Eldar Wraithknight is $115 USD, but the Wraithknight sticks around for more than three block rotations.

 

[Frezzato]

I believe I've explained this poorly, I don't mean the smallest item with the highest price tag. I'm talking about intances where you've bought a large expensive item but only wanted a small component of it.

Oh. Um...okay? I don't do that. That's silly. I do the opposite; I pay a modest amount for something I only want a small component of.

For example, I paid $23 for the Aliens Anthology Blu-ray set. The price included shipping from the UK to America! I only wanted it for the extras and the first two movies. And then I got the I Am Legend Ultimate Collector's Edition on Blu-ray, but alas, I paid $13 for it--shipped. I only got it in order to get a better view of Fred the mannequin and to see if he really moves his head (he DOES!). Plus, you know, I bought it for Will Smith's acting. He carried that movie, despite the awful special effects.

Just recently I "bought" a PS2 from a kid at work. He no longer wanted it and was giving it to me for free, but I felt $50 was worth it. I only wanted it in order to finish Oni, but then he also gave me Fatal Frame 1-3, .hack//G.U. blah, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear 2, etc. Around a dozen games I never played before.

Oh, does this count? I bought the vinyl [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LP_record] edition, two-disc LP soundtrack for Journey. I wanted it despite not having a record player.

Hmm, no, none of my examples match the criteria.

 

[not_you]

hmmmm, probably importing the Hotline Miami 2 deluxe edition with LP Vinyl into Australia...
Yay old man government and it's video game bans...

But, yeah... I still haven't played the record, I just like to look at it...

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

its not impossible to hit anything with the thaleron pulse.. sure they have to sit there for 12 seconds and you cant do anything at all while firing so everyone and everything fires at you for 12 very long seconds..

i cant complain i bought the same thing

that said my contribution so STO related as well.. 20-30 for a ship that ive bought only for its special console

Well with the Thalaron pulse it's nice to funnel a group in and slam them for massive damage... Still the three consles together on one of the Dreadnoughts makes killer formidable match up. The Cloak barrage to fire while cloaked, the secondary shields for some extra damage soak, with the singularity distributor which cuts singularity penalty and lets you keep shields up while cloaked. The Thalaron pulse has a neat passive at least, for mounting all three consoles. Mounting 2 gives any of the three ships a significant turn rate bonus during the decloak ambush bonus, which is probably the single best benefit of all the consoles.

That wouldn't happen to be the Vandal Destroyer just for its Plasmonic Leech Universal Console, would it? If so, I did the same thing... Unfortunately it was during a drop box event, in which I randomly picked up two more of the buggers, within an hour of play after buying the Vandal for that particular console no less. I was furious.

 

[MeatMachine]

Dropped $250 or so on a Nyarlathotep statue. I love it.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

My Swiss watch. It's basically a complete calendar, entirely mechanical. Cost about 3750 USD.

Spoiler: Worth. It.

Making of:Demonstration:

Damn thing has a hand that shows me what week it is. Bye, money!

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

I play Warhammer 40k. Pick anything.

On a similar note, I play MTG. Cardboard crack is expensive yo.

Having played both (still actively playing 40k), I feel it is safe to say that Magic wins the "who spends the most on shit" debate. My reasoning? 40k minis don't (usually) move out of rotation every 18 months. Even if they do, 10 to 1 you can proxy them as other minis. MTG's planned obsolescence scheme is second to none, not even Games Workshop's codex/rulebook dickery matches Wizards of the Coast.

If we're talking about single cards from a third party or a booster box, the prices are about the same. Figure, a Tarmogoyf is still going for ~$150 USD and an Eldar Wraithknight is $115 USD, but the Wraithknight sticks around for more than three block rotations.

To be fair, the majority of Magic-cards remain legal in Modern, Legacy and Vintage even after going out of Standard rotation. They are still expensive as hell and if you are going to play Standard only, then you are in for a really expensive ride (especially if you are intent on doing Standard Tournaments with any chance of success). However, and this is a big however, Magic: The Gathering has loads of different modes and variations and someone who plays Commander, Highlander or Cube can get away far cheaper than someone who decides they want to get a 1000pts 40k Army. In fact, you can get a decent Commander deck (via either singles or boosters) for less then you'd invest in just getting the basics to start building your army in 40k (that is rule book, codex, paints/brushes/glue/flock, dice, rulers, artillery templates and at least one squad box). Shit, thinking about it I believe you could get a good Standard deck out of just boosters for less then you'd splurge just to start with 40k...

 

[Hawk of Battle]

I play Warhammer 40k. Pick anything.

On a similar note, I play MTG. Cardboard crack is expensive yo.

Having played both (still actively playing 40k), I feel it is safe to say that Magic wins the "who spends the most on shit" debate. My reasoning? 40k minis don't (usually) move out of rotation every 18 months. Even if they do, 10 to 1 you can proxy them as other minis. MTG's planned obsolescence scheme is second to none, not even Games Workshop's codex/rulebook dickery matches Wizards of the Coast.

If we're talking about single cards from a third party or a booster box, the prices are about the same. Figure, a Tarmogoyf is still going for ~$150 USD and an Eldar Wraithknight is $115 USD, but the Wraithknight sticks around for more than three block rotations.

This is why our local area has started moving more into modern, commander, highlander and now even pauper. Higher initial price tag to get into some of them, but once you have a deck, it sticks around basically forever.

 

[Ironman126]

To be fair, the majority of Magic-cards remain legal in Modern, Legacy and Vintage even after going out of Standard rotation. They are still expensive as hell and if you are going to play Standard only, then you are in for a really expensive ride (especially if you are intent on doing Standard Tournaments with any chance of success). However, and this is a big however, Magic: The Gathering has loads of different modes and variations and someone who plays Commander, Highlander or Cube can get away far cheaper than someone who decides they want to get a 1000pts 40k Army. In fact, you can get a decent Commander deck (via either singles or boosters) for less then you'd invest in just getting the basics to start building your army in 40k (that is rule book, codex, paints/brushes/glue/flock, dice, rulers, artillery templates and at least one squad box). Shit, thinking about it I believe you could get a good Standard deck out of just boosters for less then you'd splurge just to start with 40k...

This is why our local area has started moving more into modern, commander, highlander and now even pauper. Higher initial price tag to get into some of them, but once you have a deck, it sticks around basically forever.

So, I got out of MTG a little over a year ago and in my area, I think a total of 2 people knew that Commander existed, let alone played it. Modern Masters was gaining some traction (maybe 5-10 players out of a regular FNM following of 60), but the overwhelming majority of players were playing Standard. So, that was my experience with MTG.

I suppose the deciding factor in the MTG vs 40k price debate depends entirely on how you intend to play. I operate on the assumption that players will want to play the most popular form of the game in order to gain access to the greatest player base. From what I've seen (with my now outdated and regionally-dependent information) is that most people play the Standard forms of both games and most 40k players don't buy Forgeworld models. Therefore, I would argue that MTG beats 40k for sheer long-term expenses (if not the initial cost), but it's a close call, especially given GW's endless codex/rulebook creep.

If this discussion has done anything, it's proved to me it's time to sell my 40k models and start collecting Infinity.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

So, I got out of MTG a little over a year ago and in my area, I think a total of 2 people knew that Commander existed, let alone played it. Modern Masters was gaining some traction (maybe 5-10 players out of a regular FNM following of 60), but the overwhelming majority of players were playing Standard. So, that was my experience with MTG.

I suppose the deciding factor in the MTG vs 40k price debate depends entirely on how you intend to play. I operate on the assumption that players will want to play the most popular form of the game in order to gain access to the greatest player base. From what I've seen (with my now outdated and regionally-dependent information) is that most people play the Standard forms of both games and most 40k players don't buy Forgeworld models. Therefore, I would argue that MTG beats 40k for sheer long-term expenses (if not the initial cost), but it's a close call, especially given GW's endless codex/rulebook creep.

If this discussion has done anything, it's proved to me it's time to sell my 40k models and start collecting Infinity.

I think that both Magic and 40k share roughly the same player archtypes. There are those that will get their first deck/army and be content with that, only occasionally buying a few boosters or adding new stuff to their list. Then there are those that will constantly evolve, who will run several decks/armies concurrently and who are always looking to expand their collection. When I played Warhammer the average in my group was 4 armies per person, divided between Fantasy Battles and 40k. When I finished my first Space Marine army I moved on to Witch Hunters, just as I moved on from Empire to Wood Elves. It was a constant economic drain to keep building more armies or getting cooler pieces for your current ones (who doesn't need 2 Dreadnoughts and a Land Raider?).

As you say, it is a close call and I think both hobbies are inherently expensive, with MtG being both the potentially cheapest (Pauper and Commander) and the potentially most expensive (Vintage or Pro-Standard). Warhammer wins upfront cost hands down, but has a better curve over time unless you run multiple armies.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I'm not a hundred percent sure...lemme check the ol' Amazon backlog...earlier this year I spent a bit on an elgato...but back in 2012 I spent a bit more on my phone which I probably needed to replace two or three years ago...it's also smaller than the elgato and much thinner. I spent more on a top-loading NES that same year but even though the top-loading NES is quite small, it's not smart-phone small. So when it comes to a single item, it's my phone I guess...which really does needs to be updated/replaced at this point and not just because I want to play Pokemon Go and Pocket Mortys...

 

[DarthCoercis]

Geez, I dunno, my purchases tend to be slightly thought out these days. I did just drop $850AU for a new ESB Darth Vader Helmet replica though, and all the extra things I'll need to make it useful for costuming is going to set me back another few hundred ($50 for 2 tusks, $65 for the grills!!!!) so do those components count?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

My contact lenses for sure.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I bought a special camera lens adapter which cost close to $500 and had to shipped in from Hong Kong. That's about it for small, expensive items. It has to work in concert with other gear but really has turned my working life around...