I just bought a couple business books on Amazon.com (ah, the joys of the business expense–in case you’re wondering it was Seth Godin’s The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) and Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More) and then splurged and bought myself these 2-inch metal spring clamps for 86 cents.

Why? Well, it seemed slightly more useful than the 7/32-inch GearRatchet Socket for 79 cents. Slightly.

Huh? Amazon.com offers free shipping if you spend $25 or more. My total (before the quality tools) was $24.24–76 cents shy of free shipping. So by spending an extra 86 cents I saved about $7. I’ve done this before (and with Barnes & Noble), but it was much more efficient this time thanks to the Amazon Filler Item Finder.

I do feel some what odd buying crap I don’t need, but you can’t ignore those economics: buy more, spend less. And who knows how often you’ll need a metal spring clamp? (I’d wager seven cents it’s more often than a 7/32 socket, which I probably already have)