The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are the brave retail explorers who comb the nation’s big-box stores for retail antiquities: items that have been left behind and forgotten on clearance shelves, out of date and comically overpriced. Today, the Raiders have turned in their field notes on three items: a charger for a long-ago media player, a device to torture people you’re on the phone with, and a trackball mouse that has waited a very long time for a markdown, a buyer, or both.
What initially caught Raider Nicole’s attention was this trackball mouse, which probably dates back to 2009 or 2010. Yep, that’s a retail antiquity, all right, with edge wear on the box showing its age and patina. Nice find. However, that wasn’t all she found.
In case your small business both uses landlines and is purchasing its phone equipment in the clearance aisle at Walmart, here’s a device that lets you put someone you’re talking to on a landline on hold. Nicole says that there was a “whole row” of them, which is impressive.
Only… how long have these been on the shelf? Let’s zoom in on that price tag.
Hmm. At what point on the clearance shelf do you just give up? Seven years seems like it would be that point for me. Happy anniversary, phone devices.
Meanwhile, Andy was shopping the electronics department at his local Walmart, and he found this handy AC adapter.
Now, there’s probably someone out there who loves their Zune, and plans to keep it running for a long time. I’m sure there are many someones like that. However, as far as we can tell, the list price on this item was $29.99, and you can buy one new on Amazon for $7. Keep Walmarts in Tennessee in mind for your Zune-related emergencies, I guess.
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist