The Cost of Tech: What You Can and Can't Buy at the Dollar Store

In today's tech-savvy world, becoming an enthusiast can come with a hefty price tag. However, for those on a tight budget, shopping at dollar stores can be a tempting option. But what exactly can you buy there that's worth considering? In this article, we'll delve into the world of affordable tech and explore what's truly worth investing in.

Firstly, let's talk about batteries. The host of our show has put several alkaline batteries to the test, comparing them to a more premium brand. By specifying alkaline so much, it highlights their importance as a reliable power source for devices. However, these batteries are not rechargeable and have a lower energy density compared to other options. With this in mind, it's clear that alkaline batteries should be a staple in any tech enthusiast's arsenal.

Moving on to headphones, the host was disappointed with several dollar store options. The Electras, which came in at $1.25, were described as "bad" due to their poor sound quality and uncomfortable design. However, the Vortex headphones, priced at $4, fared much better. Despite some drawbacks, such as crunchy adjustment mechanisms and a lack of padding, they offered an enjoyable listening experience with a unique V-shaped audio curve.

Unfortunately, not all dollar store headphones shared this success story. The Rex's were another example of subpar sound quality, with a fuzzy mess of plastic spurs and no clear highs or lows. Even the extra ear tips provided little improvement, making them essentially unusable. When considering affordable options like these, it's best to prioritize brands known for producing high-quality headphones.

The final section of our dollar store tech review focused on the TechOne Bluetooth speaker. This green-speaker was an unexpected delight, boasting a small USB cable and a suction cup that proved useful. However, its water-resistance was questionable, with the buttons themselves being more like a membrane than tactile switches. The host's skepticism about this aspect is understandable, but for voice calls or casual listening, it might just suffice.

In conclusion, while some dollar store tech options can be tempting due to their low prices, it's essential to prioritize quality and reliability. By choosing reputable brands and avoiding products with glaring flaws, you can find affordable alternatives that won't leave you feeling cheated like the host did with those headphones. Remember, investing in tech doesn't have to break the bank – there are often hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

If you're looking for a reliable source of stock video clips, check out Storyblocks. With studio-quality content at a fraction of the cost, they're an excellent resource for creators and enthusiasts alike. By using their platform, you can save time and money while still achieving professional-looking results.

In addition to our dollar store tech review, we'd like to recommend checking out Storyblocks today or at the end of this video. With their extensive library of stock video clips, you'll be able to find exactly what you need for your projects without breaking the bank.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Tech is becoming an expensive hobby.What's a buddy enthusiast to do?(angelic choir music)Shop at the dollar store.I'm gonna tell you what tech stuffis okay to buy at the dollar storeand what stuff you definitelywanna get somewhere else.You don't need to go anywhereelse for a sponsor, though.Storyblocks, save time andmoney with Storyblocks.Get studio quality stock video clipsfor just a fraction of the cost.Check it out today at the link belowor at the end of the video.(upbeat electronic music)I'm gonna start off with the batteriesbecause I wanna do this live.I've already testedthese alkalines over herewith my trusty Sega battery killer hereand I've got a set of Home Depot alkalinesthat are acting as our control.Why am specifying alkaline so much?Because these batteries,well they're brand nameand probably proclaimsuper heavy duty power,but they're carbon zinc batteries.And what are those?They have similar voltages to alkaline,but they're a simpler kind of batterythat's non-rechargeable and has abouta third of the energy density.I am looking forward to seeingthe Game Gear destroy them.It's a little frustrating.These come in packs of five,but this idiot takes six.Because Game Gear, that's why.But I will give it a shot.Aye, okay.So, I'm gonna leave thatthere so I can see itwhile we keep going.I expect that this isnot gonna last very long.I bought five pairs ofheadphones over hereand let's start off withthese Electras here.I got them for $1.25 and theycome in this little tube.These are bad.They sound like absolute ass.They have plastic spursjust coming off of themand they only come withthe one set of ear tips.They have no lows, no mids, and no highs.Basically, the whole thingis just a fuzzy mess.They don't even get very loud.They're uncomfortable,they're impossible to getout of that stupid packaging,they're just bad.Even voice content, like YouTube videos,sound like they're comingout of a cheap phone speaker.They also don't have left orright indicators on the stems.Let's forget these exist and justmove on with our lives.These could not be any more different.The cable on these actually feels likeit's made of something quality,even though it's probably not.They feel like something that'sa little more premium, you know?You've got these extra ear tips,you've got a microphonebuilt in, that's pretty cool,they don't make a good seal,but they sound perfectly fine.They may cost threetimes as much as those,those are $1.25, these are $4,they're just so, so much better.Reviews do suggest that quality controlis a bit hit or miss.And given that you can get leigitimatelygood sounding earbuds from someone like KZfor less than $20,you're probably safer giving thedollar store earbuds, in general, a pass,but you could do much worseat a pinch than these Rex's.They have a V-shaped audio curve,so they're high on the bass,the mids are a little bit down,and then the treble is a little bit highand what that gives themis a sound signaturethat sounds very fun and normal.I'll roll the rest ofthe headphones up like soand they're all cheaply made.Big surprise, right?But like they're sharp.I hurt myself adjusting one of thembecause the adjustmentmechanisms are so crunchyand they all sound like they'replaying through a pillow,especially the extra bass one here.This one almost literally has likean L-shaped responsecurve, to my ears anyway,with no mids or highs to speak ofand the bass is muddy, too.(upbeat electronic music)I can't.I'm trying to go one step.No.All of them are uncomfortableand only one of them,the Vortex here, has any padding at alland it doesn't help.Yes, they make noise,but they're all terrible.(upbeat electronic music)Just don't buy headphonesfrom the dollar store.We paid $4 for each ofthese and I feel cheated.Next up, we have the TechOne Bluetooth speaker.Now, you would think that it'sgonna be blue, but in fact,it's green.(Andy laughing)(Anthony giggling)I don't really hate it.It's got the smallestUSB cable in existence,but it's got this little suction cupthat's actually quite good.And it's supposed to be water-resistant.I don't know how much I would trust that.The buttons are horrible.It's literally justthis like membrane herestretched across it,but there's tactile switches beneath that,so you can actually miss the buttonswhile pressing the buttons.I'm pressing right now.There's nothing being clicked.I need to move over,there's where the button is.(button clicking)It's wonderful.(speaker beeping)You turn it on.It actually does have alithium ion battery in it.That's what the USB cable is for.I might need to read the manual.That's in French.- But today, we aregonna solve all of them at once.- So, that sounds not great,but it sounds perfectly finefor like a voice call, maybe,which this seems to bewhat it's designed forwith this little call answer button here,so I don't know if Ihate that necessarily.You could have this hangingnext to your shower,not in your shower.Again, I wouldn't recommendactually having this in water.Let's try some \"Crab Rave\" real quick.(upbeat electronic music)So it's crunchy, but itactually doesn't sound too bad.Like, it's got more bassthan you'd expect it to have.Sounds like just basicallya generic laptop speaker.I certainly don't feel cheatedlike I feel with these whateveryou'd call these headphones.(speaker beeping)(Anthony laughing)That was the Windows 3.1 logoff sound.(electronic chiming)Now for tools and supplies.I'll be honest with you right now,I don't expect these to be unusable.Will they last forever?Probably not.But you're also not payinga whole lot for them.Stuff like these parts organizers here,these are pretty cool.I actually had another one here andthis is totally fine.You could fit flash drives,you could fit mounting hardware,pretty much whatever youneed into this thing.This cost $2.50.This thing here, thiscosts, what was it, like $2.This magnetic parts tray,these things go for $3Canadian at the dollar storewhereas like you'd spend $10getting them in from Amazon.I don't see any problem withthis kind of thing at all.I found it in like thetools hardware section,but you can find stuff like this as wellin the kitchen section.Now, they also had a packof 60 zip ties for $1.25and this is something that's technically aworse value per tie thanbuying in bulk on Amazon,but if you don't needlike hundreds of them,you're saving a buck or two.Now, these aren't very flexible,but they are made of nylon and they'rethick enough to besturdy and they're aboutthe right size for cable managementinside of a PC chassis.This eight piece pack ofhook-and-loop ties, however,not so much.Eight isn't a lot and they're squared offwith no anchor.They do have a little pull tab on them,but they're too short for bundlingmore than a couple of cables togetherand too fat to do cablemanagement inside a PC.What's worse, you can get 100 pack of tiesthat are tapered and have an anchorfor less than $10 on Amazon.These are a pass unless you're desperate.I also got this two pack of long neckmagnetic screwdrivers for$1 and they look all right.They feel every bit as cheap as they were,but the Phillips driver'sgot a nice point to itand it's pretty much ideal forworking inside of a computer.It's probably not gonna stand up to abuse,but considering how muchscrewdrivers go for on Amazon,it'll definitely do asa quick and dirty drive.The same can sort of be said forthese Precision drivers here.They'll do the job.I don't know.The mechanism, it feelsgritty when you turn it.It's just got this littlenut on the end here.There's all kinds of like burs fromthe manufacturing processthat are still on herethat are gonna cut up your fingersand they're not even held in,like in any way, shape, or form.If you drop this case and it opens upor you already had it open,it's just gonna all go everywhere.That being said, it does havea decent variety of bits,so it's not amazing.Then again, if you don'thave an iFixit kit,maybe this is what you reach for.Now this flashlight isan interesting case.On the one hand, it weighs nothingand it's like really creaky plastic.On the other, it actuallyput out more lightthan my phone's flash does, like visibly.You can focus the beam.Is it worth $1 and three AAA's?Objectively, I guess so,but I don't think you'dbe in too many situationswhere this much light is enoughbut your smartphone's isn't.One thing I think is ridiculously usefulis this here six-in-one pen.It's a pen, it's a stylus, it's a ruler,it's a level, and it'seven a pocket screwdriverwith two slightly magnetic bits.Pen just twists out like that,stylus on the back there,unscrew the stylus andyou've got a screwdriverwith two bits, Phillips and flat head,which is actually super handy.Legitimately think this is pretty cool.It's got the ruler, it's got the level.It's actually pretty cool.And like for $1, it's super awesome.They sell these on Amazonfor like $1 a piece too,so this is actually a decent buy.What else is there in these lovelybags I got from lttstore.com?I'm not supposed to talktoo much about these,but they do have theselittle pockets in themthat actually make it really nice forkeeping things organized.Two different colorsand two different sizes.Lttstore.com.I picked up some chargers.Big Clive I am not, butlooking at the guts,it seems pretty similarto a Poundland chargerhe took a look at a few years ago.I'm not sure that these thingshave what it takes to drive two USB portssimultaneously, though.Maybe I'm just being a hater.The car adapter should be fine.Like, it's a much simplerdevice, though, again,I doubt it could reliably run thetwo outputs that it claimsto have simultaneously.And while I normally distrustany kind of power stripsor power devices at allfrom a dollar store, thisbrand, from what I can tell,is actually pretty reputable.So as long as you're not loading this upwith way more than it can handle.It says it can do 1,800 and 75 watts.I don't think you'll have a problem,but it won't do surge protection.All it is is copper on the inside,or brass, even, I think.Just conductive metalthat you're plugging into.And you know what?This looks like a job for the...This looks like a job for the magneticscrew picker upper?- What?What?(Andy laughing)- That works just fine.It's actually really nice.Okay, it's not really nice,but like that's a nice length for oneand it works just fine.It's a little bit gritty in the mechanism.It's not bad for, I think thatwas actually literally $1.Of course, batteries aren't the only thingfor powering tech that youcan get at the dollar store.They also have USB cablesand HDMI cables, too.Look at all these.I got this here transparent one,I got this here blue one that lights up,and I have this one that's pretty longand had a braided cable.But, of course, we needto know whether or notthese are going to pass the teststhat we're going to throw at them.That's why I have the cable tester,although we don't need the cable testerto see that this one is not gonna passbecause it has no shielding whatsoeverand USB 2.0 requires shielding.Let's make some room here.Oh yeah.Let's try the one thatwe know won't pass first.Into the USB type A portand into the micro USB port.(computer buzzing)Of course.If we look at the detailson this one, no shielding.It's probably gonna work, but...(Anthony sighing)This one might be prettier, actually.It does have that clearmotif, but it lights up.So let's see if we can make that happen.(computer buzzing)No.Also, it's like blinking.Fail.No shield.Once again, everything else looks good.Actually, the ground wire on this guy herewasn't good either,but that's working correctly in this one,so that's better.Oh well.It looks like it, again,would probably work,but why chance it?Now this guy looks a lot better.It looks like one of those cablesthat you'd want to carry around.Micro USB in and...(computer buzzing)(Andy laughing)(Anthony sighing)You had high hopes.So did I, actually.But again, it doesn't have the shieldand it's failing on all ofthese in the resistance test,which yeah.This one's not so good.You could even see in the eye here,it is pretty lopsided.So, unfortunately, thehighest quality looking cableout of the entire bunch isthe lowest quality cableof the entire bunch.Even this guy is a little bit betterin terms of how its test results went.This thing costs $3.50 Canadian,but it says that it's ahigh speed with ethernet,which means that it's gottabe HDMI 1.4 compliant.Five feet, 3D ready.So, let's get it out of the package here.At least it looks likeit's gold plated, I guess.HDMI, high speed with ethernet.That's what this purports to be.Moment of truth.(computer buzzing)(Andy laughing)(Anthony giggling)It failed everything.So these pins are just not connected.All the shields and thepower wires as well.Holy!(Anthony laughing)Oh, ethernet, what happened to you?Oh no!Maybe we're pushing ita little bit too hard.Let's go back to the like HDMIregular speed or something,the lowest standard of HDMI.That is just HDMI, just HDMI.(computer buzzing)(Anthony giggling)At least signal integritylooks good this time.That impedance is just way too high.Yeah, signal integrity looks okay.It's probably no surprise thatall of the USB and HDMI cables I picked upliterally failed when I fired upthe total phase testerand the reason why isnone of them are shieldedlike they're supposed to be,and in the case of the HDMI cable,that lack of shieldingbasically mangles the signal.It should conform to the specif it says that it's the spec,but no.Now, does that mean it's not gonna work?Absolutely not.I mean, it might work fine,but it also might not be.This is why we need LTT Labs.Get subscribed because we're going to havemore updates on that as wecontinue to build it out.$100 worth of dollar tech itemsis obviously a little more than I thoughtthere would be here becausewe ran out of time on Fridayand now here we are actually a week laterbecause the batteries in the Game Gearwere so bad that theydrained me for a week.(rhythmic drum music)Here we go.Let's just talk about the Game Gear first.Our control, which wasthe Home Depot batteries,lasted a little over six hours,which is more than I expected,and these alkalines actually lastedpretty much exactly the same time.Yeah, that actually iskind of interesting becausethose are the E-Circuitbranded dollar store batteries.As for these name brandPanasonic zinc carbon batteries,they are like an hour and 14 minutesor something like that.While I was waiting for my ride on Friday,it died in my pocket.That should tell you something aboutthe difference between zinccarbon and alkaline batteries.Those batteries are still in there.So there's still a littlebit of charge in there,but they're mostly used.Just like Andy.And me.Yeah.What does that leave us with?It's a yes on most ofthe tools and supplies;the parts organizers, oneof the pairs of headphones,and the Bluetooth speaker,the alkaline batteries,and the USB chargers with asteriskson both of those last ones.In the maybe pile, we'vegot the flashlight,the Precision drivers,the carbon zinc batteries,and the hook-and-loop straps.And in the no pile, we've got literallyall of the other headphones andall of the USB and HDMI cables,not that that's a huge surprise to anyone.Do you guys have any dollar store techthat you swear by andwant us to check out?Who knows.Maybe I can convince Linus to give methe company card foranother shipping spree.I gotta admit, it wasactually kind of fun.Just like our sponsor, Storyblocks.Thanks to Storyblocks forsponsoring today's video.Ever needed a quick clip for a video,but didn't have the capacityto make it for yourself?Well, Storyblocks helps youbring your stories to lifewithout sacrifice due totime, budget, or resources.There's over one millionroyalty-free assetsfor you to choose from,including 4K and high definition footage,Adobe templates, music, images,and a wide array of diverseand inclusive content.There's subscriptions for every budget,so you can choose theplan that works for you,from their unlimited all-access planthat gives you unlimitedvideo and audio downloadsto their enterprise licensing so yourentire company has accessto assets as you need them.We even use Storyblockshere at Linus Tech Tipswhen we need stock footage fast.Check out Storyblocks today atstoryblocks.com/linustechtips.Thanks for watching, guys.This one's really different,so maybe you go check out our recent videoon why everyone's buyingthe Logitech G502 Hero.Spoiler, it turns out it'sa great mouse for the price.Who knew.\n"