History Main / CrackIsCheaper

** I love being into underground music. �14 for 2 tickets, the show features 3 bands and to see my favourite guitarist and buy his album from his hands. For �10. Sum total cost? �24. The look on my dad's face at hearing the earliest noise bands? Priceless.

*** A very good vintage guitar, such as the Gibson Super 400 has a price-range of ''$9000 - $40,000'' American. but that's just the start if your in a band: you have to take into account all the little stuff that just builds up. Rehearsal space time? Easily $100 in one session. Amps? You want a good one? Expect to drop $750 to a grand on a somewhat OK one. Cables, Microphones, PA Systems, all that adds up. It's not quite traditional instrument expensive, but boy does it add up.

* I nominate scale modelling. (The prices are approximate) To start you just need a few of paints (2$ each), a couple brushes (2-3$ each), a pair of cutters (10$) and a hobby knife (10$). That's 30$ and we're not even started on the models themselves. A new one is 10$ or so minimum. And add some more colours. And a few more brushes, for small surfaces. Okay, you have spent 50$ and finished your first model. It looks horrible. Now to the second one! Another 20 on just the basic supplies. After you get the hang of it GAS (in the form of kits to be made) kicks in. To have a decent supply stash, you need at least 250$ (airbrushes aren't free ya ken).

* Simply being a fan of ''DoctorWho'', with its 50-odd years of canon and the DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse, can run you a hefty bill (especially outside of the UK). The new series box sets will run you about $80 each in the US, plus the Classic show, which is usually sold by individual serial, all at import prices, many of which don't get imported so you have to buy them and have them shipped. Then you get into the "Lost in Time"-type boxsets for the reconstructed lost episodes, which are for obvious reasons extraordinarily expensive. Then you discover the wonderful Eighth Doctor, whose only TV outing has never been released outside the UK, but who got his own Expanded Universe that runs to ''ten years'' of [[EighthDoctorAdventures books]], audio dramas, ''and'' [[DoctorWhoMagazine comics]]. Plus an [[VirginNewAdventures entire run of novels]] for Seven, and [[BigFinishDoctorWho audio dramas]] for Doctors Five-Eight and spinoffs "UNIT", "{{Gallifrey}}", "Sarah Jane Smith" and monthly "[[ADayinTheLimelight Companion Chronicles]]", each at about £8 a pop if you want to download them instead of have them on CD. And that's not even getting ''into'' merch!

** To make matters worse, LEGO ''Star Wars'' releases multiple versions of every vehicle. So that ([[BigDamnGunship big damn]]) Republic Gunship you bought back when ''StarWars: Attack Of The Clones'' was still in cinemas? There's a larger, more accurate version, with Asajj Ventress and Commander Cody, and it costs $138.

* {{Shmups}}. Aside from the aforementioned arcade boards and cabinets, some ''console'' shmups--particularly older ones that have acquired plenty of value--tend to be quite costly. Just take a look at the prices for ''[[http://www.google.com/products?q=%22border+ down%22+ dreamcast&aq=f Border Down]]'' and ''[[http://www.google.com/products?q=%22radiant+ silvergun%22+ saturn&aq=f Radiant Silvergun]]''.

*** In Australia an entire series is usually $90+ . Slightly less if it's really short.
*** $90 is ''cheap''. ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', for example, is $125-$150.
**** Guys, Australian dollars ≠ American dollars
*** Behold the power Mexico and getting complete series ranging from 20 to 1 US dollar.

** Want a taste of music history? Want to see one of the greats who is getting older? A musician who would practically qualify as a ''historic landmark'' so people should be permitted to see for free? Paul McCartney tickets have ''listed'' prices that are reasonable, but those are sucked up unbelievably fast - then sold for top dollar. Good luck seeing him for less than $200 if you buy the ticket from the venue, more if you find a scalper... and forget going with your friends.

%%[[{{LEGO}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Lego.jpg]]

*** Of course, the games with the best graphics (the whole reason you're buying all that hardware) tend to have the shortest story modes, so either you multiplay with the few other people with a similar atomic rig or you spend hundreds on games alone.

** Although PC games [[MoralEvenHorizon can be pirated much more easily]], PC gamers must deal with the occasional need to upgrade hardware. A new $500 video card comes out every 6 months or so, and while your old $80 video card is perfectly serviceable, it sometimes can't run upcoming games with all the graphics options cranked all the way up (or sometimes run them with graphics at anything but the lowest settings, for that matter) -- the way it was ''meant'' to be played. And then there's processor upgrades, memory upgrades, hard drive upgrades to hold all these awesome games, and peripherals?

** Although PC games can be pirated much more easily, PC gamers must deal with the occasional need to upgrade hardware. A new $500 video card comes out every 6 months or so, and while your old $80 video card is perfectly serviceable, it sometimes can't run upcoming games with all the graphics options cranked all the way up (or sometimes run them with graphics at anything but the lowest settings, for that matter) -- the way it was ''meant'' to be played. And then there's processor upgrades, memory upgrades, hard drive upgrades to hold all these awesome games, and peripherals?

* Also applies to film classes. Though if you work in video, can borrow equipment, and have a teacher nice enough to pirate software, you can get by on the cheap.