On a shelf of amigurumi kits, the sticker prices span a factor of three. You naturally reach for the cheapest. It is almost always a mistake, and it is easy to demonstrate.
The €6.87 box
The Paintbox “Rudolph the Reindeer” kit is the cheapest we came across: €6.87. It contains three balls of cotton and a PDF pattern.
The seller spells out the rest. You need to add a 3.5 mm hook, a pair of 9 mm safety eyes, a yarn needle, stuffing, embroidery thread, pins and stitch markers.
At the prices charged by the same kind of retailer: hook €6.99, eyes €3.50, needle €6.50, stuffing €6.50. That is €23.49 of further purchases.
Kit as listed
€6.87
3.5 mm hook
€6.99
9 mm safety eyes
€3.50
Yarn needle
€6.50
Polyester stuffing
€6.50
Real total
€30.36
The €17.99 box
Opposite it, a Graine Créative kit at €17.99. Its page lists: a hook, the yarn, an embroidery needle, two stitch markers, embroidery thread, safety eyes, polyester stuffing, an instruction sheet.
Real total: €17.99. There is nothing to add.
The box that looked two and a half times dearer comes out 40% cheaper.
The caveat that matters
A fair objection: the hook and the needle last for years. On a second project, you don't buy them again.
True, and it changes the sum — from the third or fourth kit onwards, the yarn pack becomes the better deal for someone already equipped. The trap doesn't concern established crocheters.
It concerns exactly the person a “kit” is sold to: the beginner, who owns nothing, and for whom the box is meant to be the way in.
How not to get caught
One habit is enough. Before comparing two prices, look for the contents list — not the title, not the promise. If it mentions the hook and the stuffing, the price shown is the price paid. If it doesn't, add twenty euros before you compare.
That is what we do on every page of this site, and it is why we refuse boxes whose contents we don't know.
