Powerfully Cheap

Why are power banks so cheap these days?

Like, seriously, look at these things. They charge Qi-enabled devices wirelessly. They have 6040mAh capacity, which is not nothing. They have USB and USB-C inputs. And they’re from Mophie, one of the best–if not the best–names in the battery business.

And we’re selling two of them for $18. I.e. each one is gonna run you just $9. That’s about how much lunch costs at Dunkin’ Donuts!

Now, I know we make a big deal about the whole ‘we sell everything for super cheap’ thing, but I’ll let you in a little secret: if we sell stuff for cheap, it’s because we got that stuff for cheap ourselves. In other words, we’re not going over to Amazon where one of these things runs for about $15 (a good price in its own right) and then sell you two for $18. Because that would mean losing money, which is bad.

Sorry to get all business-y there! Just wanted to illustrate the point: power banks are cheap right now. But, again, why?

There are two possibilities here:

1. They’re no longer useful.

2. They’re less useful right now.

The first option is bad. Again, I hate to get so technical with the business speak, but you don’t want something that you’re not going to use. So, are power banks no longer useful? To answer that, let me tell you about an ad I heard recently on one of my favorite podcasts: it’s for a new car insurance company that adjusts your rate based on how you drive. How do measure your quality of driving? They use the sensors in your phone. Yes, that device that manufacturers are constantly saying is not listening to you can tell how much you use the brake, how hard you turn, how fast you’re going, etc.

Am I interested in this company’s services? No! Do I find it a little gross and weird? No again! I find it VERY gross and weird.

But neither of those things matter. The point of this little detour is that we’re not getting less reliant on our phones. If anything, our reliance is still growing, which means keeping our phones charged is more important than ever, and so power banks will continue to be useful.

Only, right now, maybe not so much. Because a power bank is really a travel accessory, given that their main purpose is to keep your phone good and charged when there’s nary an outlet in sight. And these days, not many of us are traveling. Vis-a-vis, buying power banks right now is like buying a swim suit in September: SMART! You might not use them for a bit, but when eventually you do, you’ll be pumped to only have spent $9 a pop.

Am I sure this is why they’re so cheap? Absolutely not! But they are cheap, so buy some, okay?