This has been the best Monday morning! I was expecting two packages to arrive for me at work, Friday, and it seems the both arrived after I left, so I waited until today to go in and get them (it costs $12 in gas for a round trip to work — bleh).
One of the items was a replacement. I originally ordered a pair of Skullcandy Earbuds for my iPhone for a couple of reasons:
- The stock Apple earbuds sound like butt and the wire frayed/split at the headphone jack within about 3 months of buying the phone. Jeers to you, Apple. Your earbuds are crap.
- They have an integrated mic for handsfree phone use, just like the stock Apple earbuds.
- They have the click controller just like the stock earbuds, meaning I can play/pause and skip tracks, and answer/hang up phone calls without taking the iphone out of my pocket.
- I was really, really tired of the Shure iPhone headphone adapter that brings all of this functionality to every pair of headphones. The Skullcandy set doesn’t require an adapter at all.
Interestingly enough, the Amazon page for the Skullcandy earbuds advertise an adapter, even though they work perfectly without them. I hope no-one buys the adapter thinking they still need it.
That said, this was a replacement. The first pair Amazon sent me didn’t work. The clicker and mic were completely inoperative. The Amazon replacement policy and procedure were fantastic. I’m completely satisfied. I clicked on my account, clicked a link stating that I wanted to return an item and they gave me printable return bar codes and address slips.
Great job, Amazon.
I was going to buy the V-Moda Vibe Duo Earbuds, which offer the exact same functionality as the Skullcandys, but every rating I’ve seen online talks about poor workmanship and the fact that they stop working after a few short months. The internet saved me :)
So next, I got my Kenneth Cole laptop bag. I’ve had one that I’ve been using for over eight years, now. When I first left the military and started consulting, I wanted a nice bag, and paid about $400 for the first bag I got. That works out to just over $4/month, which is pretty good value, I think. It’s a little worn out and I just wanted a new one. This one was on sale and only cost me $100, which is amazing, I think.