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Volume 18, No. 1 - Winter 2010 |
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The AT Bargain Basement
Marvin Williams
AT Specialist
New Castle County
Hello friends! Welcome to the AT Bargain Basement (ATBB)! I am your master of bargain ceremonies, Marvin Williams, and I’m here to bring you all of the assistive technology I can find for $100 or less. I also convey those bargains your fellow Basement dwellers, fans of the ATBB, give me. If you’re a regular Basement dweller, welcome back! If this is your first time, welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.
Without further adieu, let’s get to the bargains!
My first bargain is the Carex Universal Attachable Flashlight. It’s a flashlight that can be attached to a cane, walker, wheelchair, crutch, gait trainer...you name it! It doesn’t need tools to attach, and it has 14 bright LED’s, with a reported range of 17 feet. This little marvel is powered by three AAA batteries, so no odd, hard-to-get battery sizes to worry about. This handy item is available on numerous websites for various prices and shipping costs, or lack thereof. Target’s website, www.Target.com, toll-free at 1-800-591-3869, offers the item for $8.54 plus shipping and handling. www.Amazon.com, toll-free at 1-800-201-7575, lists it for $7.22, and it is eligible for free shipping if combined with one or more other eligible items that total $25 or more. In fact, Amazon suggests a pairing of this flashlight with the Duro-Med Universal Beverage Holder, a handy item in its own right. The Carex Universal Attachable Flashlight is also available for $8.92 from www.Walmart.com, or toll-free at 1-800-966-6546. It’s currently not available in Walmart stores; however, you can save yourself the cost of shipping by using the site’s new “site to store” option. This option allows you to order the item on the website and have it shipped to the store nearest you, free of charge, where you can pick it up. This is a nice option if shipping charges make items less of a bargain. Please note that “site to store” is not available for every item, so keep that in mind when you’re bargain hunting. But, it is available for this little gem. So, if you can use more light while using your mobility device, this handy little flashlight may be just the thing to do the trick.
My next bargain is also available from www.Walmart.com and it’s a combination of handy devices. It’s the Mobility Reacher, Dressing, and Bathing Kit. The kit includes a deluxe sock aid, a 22 ½” Scrubbies long-handled bath sponge, a 24” dressing aid stick, a 24” raptor reacher, and a 19 ½” shoehorn. All of these items can be helpful for someone who recently had a hip or knee replacement. They are also handy for anyone who has a tough time bending to reach for things. This kit is available for $59.88 and is eligible for “site to store” shipping. A nearly identical kit—the Duro-Med Deluxe Reach Assist Kit—is available on www.Amazon.com for $49.80, and it is eligible for free shipping. Sammons-Preston has a similar kit for $28.75. The Hip/Knee Equipment Kit from Sammons-Preston does not have the dressing stick, but it does have a sock aid, a 32” reacher, a 16 ¾” shoehorn, and a bendable 18” long-handled bath sponge. This is a bargain at about half the price of the Walmart item and about three-fifths the price of the Amazon. Be aware that you will have to pay shipping for the Sammons kit, so be ready for the actual price to be a little higher than the list price of $28.75. You can reach Sammons at www.sammonspreston.com or at 1-866-402-8720, toll-free. Make sure to check with them about the shipping charges for your order so you can compare prices fully. I also suggest that you take the time to compare the kits because they vary not only in price but also by lengths and included items.
My third and final bargain in this issue of the ATBB is the 16.5X Jeweler’s Clip-On Eye Loupe available from Harbor Freight Tools. Yes, you read correctly, Harbor Freight Tools. This isn’t the first bargain I’ve brought from this previously unknown haven of assistive technology bargains. This little magnification marvel clips to your eyeglasses and provides you with two magnifying lenses you can swing down into your field of vision for the eye on the side where the loupe is attached. The two lenses are a 3.5X and a 5X, which, working together, provide the 16X magnification. Jeweler’s loupes are not for everyone, but if you think it might help you, check it out. It’s a bargain at $4.98, and it’s a steal when you can catch one of their sales. I recently saw it listed on sale for $2.99! Now, not every Harbor Freight Tools carries the same stock, so you should check with the one in your area. Currently, Delaware has two store locations—Governor’s Square in Dover and University Plaza in Newark. To the best of my knowledge, they don’t have mail order available yet; so you still have to visit a store to take advantage of this great buy. They can be contacted, toll-free, at 1-800-444-3353 to inquire about store locations or request a catalog.
That brings this installment of the AT Bargain Basement to a close. As always, I’d like to thank you all for reading and invite you to share your bargains and feedback about the column. And if you share your bargains, I’ll give you all of the credit while only taking half of the praise! Please join us next time when I’ll bring you more bargains than you can shake a cane at! So, until next time, remember, just because it’s a bargain, doesn’t mean it’s cheap!
