Reply #38: But Amazon ships free with no sales tax...

[hlthe2b]

Although states are trying to change that...

Why do we put up with it? Well, I will if the product is worth it-- innovative, well made. I bought my first ever IPOD (ok, I was a bit slow) about three months ago and splurged on the 64 GB IPOD touch. I can honestly say, little has brought me more pleasure and it has even made me exercise a bit more and be a bit more productive. Plus, with SKYPE (and the BOSE MIE headphone/mic) I can make phone calls wherever there is wifi, so I was able to drop my cellular plan way back.

So, yeah, that $399.00 bites a bit, but I remain amazed at what that little device can do. I already have 20 GB of music, video, and apps on it, with nearly 40GB left over which should tide me over for a while. The screen is even good enough to read a book in a pinch, so now I can get stuck in line and not sweat it.

Some things are painful to pay more for and price fixing on those items would suck. But, you asked why we tolerate APPLE's doing so-- I think it is because they have proven worth it.