So.

I have a secondary computer set up, which is about 10 feet away from my network hub. I have a couple of 7 foot network cables, so when needed, I can move the hub and computer a little closer and get it connected, but it's sort of messy. I figured They must sell some sort of female-female coupler that one could use to attach two network cables together to create a single, long cable.

We stopped into CompUSA, and I told the guy what I needed. He walked me over to the right spot, found the little doohickey, and handed it to me. I saw the price just as he said it out loud: "They're eight bucks." He even sounded a little surprised by it.

Eight bucks?! I know that's not a lot in the general scope of computer parts, but the thing is just a tiny piece of plastic with basically a phone-jack on either end. Probably costs less than a cent to produce. And they charge $8. So, we checked out the cables to see if just buying a longer cable was cheaper. $24 for a 15' cable. Unbe-freaking-lievable.

Came home, got online, and bought the coupler off eBay for $1 + $1.50 shipping. Even that is highway robbery, but still. Checked network cable prices on newegg.com, and found 14' of cable for $3 or $4. 50' was $7. 100' for $13.

I'm simply NOT going to CompUSA again. Maybe for games, but those are generally pretty standard priced. But enough is enough.