From Joyce Fortune, Mountain View, CA:

I am astonished and a little disgusted at the high prices people want for technology--especially outdated technology--and the low prices people charge for hand-made items. I think sellers of technology do not understand that as soon as you take something out of the box, it loses most of its value. I have occasionally come across items for sale in the Ziegler that are so old that the companies do not even support them anymore, yet the sellers want to get the price they paid for them four or five years ago.

As for hand-made items, I knit and I know how long it takes to make a baby blanket, sweater or booties. When people charge so little for their time and hard work, it makes me sad: $35 for a baby blanket is $1 per hour at most, less the cost of materials. I live in California, where everything is expensive; a hand-made baby blanket would sell at an art fair here for at least $100. It is sad that craftspeople--women, mostly--undervalue their art and their hard work.