Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Our $254 Toilet Paper Holder


Ah, the adventures of internet shopping....
Pictured is a $306 towel rod that now belongs to us, by accident.

When you stay with us at Shorthorse, you'll have the distinction of using the guest bathroom, outfitted with a $254 toilet paper holder, a $306 towel rod, and a slightly shorter $285 towel rod.

Before last night, I didn't even know they MADE $254 toilet paper holders. I certainly didn't pay that much for this one, although that's apparently the going price for this particular model.

Here's what happened. About 18 months ago I ordered some nice but modest hardware for our bathrooms from a very nice, very large internet company that sells bath fixtures. The shipments were sent to our contractor's house and remained there, unopened, until last fall when he brought them down to our place. Then they sat, still unopened in our barn, waiting for installation day in the house. That didn't happen until yesterday. We opened the boxes and marveled at how heavy and high-quality these nickel-pewter rods and paper holder were. Don began to mount the paper holder and then discovered--ah hah!-it wasn't a paper holder at all. It was a TOWEL RING.

I was quite sure I'd originally ordered the right stuff, all those many months ago. So I looked up the company and the merchandise on line. Sure enough, I'd been sent the wrong three items. I had ordered nickel-pewter hardware, but at about one tenth the cost of these babies!

Frankly, it's rather embarrassing and uncomfortable, to think that anyone would even willingly pay $306 for a 24-inch towel rod. Maybe no one did...maybe the company was trying to get rid of them...who knows? After all this time, I'm sure it's a non-issue that would be way too complicated to try to resolve.

What a country we live in!

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