Ask HN: When was the last time you bought something you were excited to get it?

by michelsedghon 10/11/2024, 11:44 PMwith 21 comments

by WheelsAtLargeon 10/12/2024, 12:01 AM

I get a kick out of getting extremely cheap things in the mail. Last month, I bought a brand-new watch from aliexpress for less than $4 shipped to me. I thought I was going to get a cheaply made watch that would fall apart in a day. What I got was a well-made and sturdy watch. I suspect it will last me as long as the battery lasts. But a watch for such a low price., just the shipping and handling had to be more than $4. It's nuts.

by kadushkaon 10/12/2024, 12:57 AM

I ordered a two inch tungsten ball. Very excited to get it in 3 days, and hold it in my hand.

by skydhashon 10/12/2024, 12:49 AM

Last month. I bought two PCs, a 14" laptop and one of those small 1L desktops. After about 5 years on Macs, I was excited to go back on Linux and have agency on my computer again. I got into computer by tinkering and the way MacOS goes out of the way to prevent you from doing that was grating. I crafted my own environment and while things are not as perfect as on MacOS, it's mine and I know enough to fix it. The Macs are still here if I need something that work well (zoom call), but with the PC, daily computing is fun again.

by clipsyon 10/12/2024, 1:03 AM

I periodically (~once/year) build giant Lego sets, and they're generally quite exciting to receive.

by mikewaroton 10/12/2024, 2:04 AM

I bought a set of LED headlights for the car and they arrived Wednesday. Installing them was fairly easy. It's amazing how much better I can see while driving out in the countryside.

Before that was walking out of Microcenter with 7 computers, and 2 power supplies for less than $50. (Raspberry pi picos)

by sbacicon 10/13/2024, 7:39 AM

Last year, when I bought a boat. Financially, it was probably one of the stupider decisions I've made. On the other hand, it opened a whole new world to me, forced me to grow as a person and made me reevaluate my priorities in life.

by para_paroluon 10/12/2024, 3:47 AM

I really like to get used books from amazon. Recently I purchased “Seeing like a state” and it has many pencil marks and event newspaper page. It’s always exciting for me to feel this presence of other person who read a book I’m reading

by swahon 10/13/2024, 11:12 AM

I bought a motorcycle and the high lasted a few minutes. I felt like I was floating. I had to go for 3 weeks without and then was able to get another mini high but in general not a great purchase.

by xtrapol8on 10/12/2024, 12:52 AM

uConsole on preorder! Waited a whole six months. I thought it would be the size of a blackberry, though it is actually the size of a medium sized paperback book.

The craftsmanship is excellent and it is gratifying to hold.

by johndavid9991on 10/14/2024, 12:21 AM

I always feel excited about buying a new book, especially one with beautiful cover, most of it I ended up not reading at all, the excitement dies down easily.

by prudentpomeloon 10/12/2024, 12:35 AM

Kinesis Advantage360 Keyboard. Solved so many RSI symptoms in one shot.

by al_borlandon 10/12/2024, 2:13 AM

Last year, Tears of the Kingdom. I took the week off work for it.

by lurker919on 10/13/2024, 3:08 PM

Bought a DJI drone. Not sure what I expected, but I did expect big changes in my life. Unsurprisingly, I rarely fly it now.

by schwartzworldon 10/13/2024, 11:16 AM

Sold my looper pedal and bought a tabletop looper last month. I love it but the learning curve is intense

by kylecazaron 10/12/2024, 12:45 AM

I bought a Kanjo mat on Amazon and was pretty excited when it showed up. It feels as good as I thought it would!

by ChumpGPTon 10/12/2024, 12:23 AM

Really haven't been excited for anything. But the last thing I bought a couple of months ago was a Phone/Tablet holder that is pretty awesome from Temu. For $4 it was a great buy.

https://share.temu.com/nBTi085hSXA

by epirogovon 10/13/2024, 1:04 PM

I bought 1 hour additional math study work from my child today)

by purple-leafyon 10/12/2024, 3:17 AM

Buying books always excite me. Game of thrones books. C programming books.

by nothercastleon 10/13/2024, 1:37 AM

I bought a Sega Homestar and it did not disappoint. 100$ planetarium was legit cool.