I have previously posted about the wastage resulting from cheap printers produced by manufacturers in China. Basically, it is cheaper to buy a new one than to replace one which is not working. But what if the machine is ok but not the adaptor?
Being one against wastage, I have looked for one in Amcorp Mall and the dealer confirmed if he had one, it would cost over Rm100. But I bought my printer from Tesco for less than Rm200! So I was prepared to continue looking and even prepared to buy another similar model to share the adaptor, provided it is as cheap as before. The dealer has one at Rm369!
Two weeks ago, I forgot to bring along the old adaptor when I was at the Sunday market in Ipoh. I found one which looked like mine but did not bother because of the uncertainty. This morning, with the sample in hand, I went to the same stall. But the specs were different. When I enquired about the price, the man quoted Rm25 and that he would refund if it cannot be used. I would not like to argue later, especially when it was not the exact model I want. As I kept looking for it at other stalls, I found to my surprise, the exact model. When asked, man quoted Rm7 only. From my experience, this could easily be bargained down to Rm5, or even Rm3. But having been quoted Rm25 earlier, and having found the 'needle in a haystack', I did not bargain. When asked, he said he did not try if it is in working order. So I bought it like buying a lottery with a 50:50 chance of striking.
When I got home, I wasn't optimistic when I connected it to my printer. But to my pleasant surprise, it worked!
Moral of my story: If not in a hurry, it is worth checking out flea markets for something similar. The dealers take the trouble to keep and display their wares, in the hope that someone is looking for a particular item. I am glad this particular dealer is honest about not having tried the adaptor but it works. I was most disappointed some time ago, when I bought a CD from the same Sunday market. When I returned it to exchange for a good one, the man just put it with the rest of his CDs! I was expecting him to at least break it because it cannot be used, but his action showed he was expecting another buyer who would not bother to return it.
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