RORY SALAZAR | Finance | Contact
A budget-savvy Kmart shopper who knows a bargain when she sees one has managed to pick up an entire steam iron for the incredibly low price of $7.50, again.
The Advocate can report that Vicki Shirlaw (28) has for the fourth time this month ventured in to her local Kmart and bought an ANKO 2000w steam iron to replace her previous three identical irons that either did not produce sufficient heat to iron clothes
or broke apart when taken out of the box.
“It was the last one on the shelf so I grabbed it,” Shirlaw said.
Shirlaw explained to The Advocate that while there have been problems with the previous three irons, her online research found that most other steam irons cost nywhere from $50 up to $300, depending on where you shopped.
“If you go to the Good Guys you’ll be lucky to get away with a $100 for an iron,” advised Shirlaw.
“You’re not going to find a better deal than $7.50. You can’t even buy the materials for that.”
The Advocate has since validated Shirlaw’s findings and can confirm that irons do indeed have a far heftier price tag at other retail outlets, leading to the conclusion that there are shoppers out there getting hoodwinked into paying a premium for a product you can buy for as little as $7.50 at Kmart.
Doing the math, The Advocate calculated that even after purchasing four irons in a month at a price of $7.50, a shopper would still have spent less than purchasing a single iron at a price of $50 or $300, and would also boast an additional three irons.
“My friend Sarah – I love her but she’s an idiot – she spent $180 on an iron 10 years ago and I just think to myself wow, back then $180 was like $400 in today’s money so she’s been ripped off.”
“It’s this big burgundy and black iron that gets so hot you could burn yourself on it if you’re not careful. I’ll use it sometimes when I go over to her place if I’m in-between Kmart irons,” Shirlaw said.
Bathing in the warm glow of more cost savings, Shirlaw held high hopes for her new and fourth ANKO 2000w $7.50 steam iron, explaining that if it holds together and manages to produce more heat this time, it could well be months before her next iron
purchase, if not years like her friend Sarah.
More to come.
