$1 Universal Remote from the Dollar Tree

I have briefly mentioned this Universal Remote sold at the Dollar Tree for $1 on my LaserDisc remote thread, but here's a full review:

If all you need is a universal remote for many an older electronic such as a CRT TV, LaserDisc player and/or DVD player, the $1 universal remote sold at your local Dollar Tree does work just fine. In fact, I bought one to try and use the video inputs on the Toshiba TV in my bedroom that no longer had the original remote, and all I have to do is push the "TV/VCR" button on the $1 universal remote and any plug and play electronics that use RCA cables can be used. If you are wanting a universal remote that controls stereo receivers, Blu-Ray players, etc. you do have to pay more for those.

I was able to program my Pioneer LaserDisc player (CLD-2080) and my Pioneer Universal DVD/DVD-A/CD/SACD player as well (the DV-563A) with it, and also my JVC S-VHS VCR as well.

 

You gotta wonder: if they're selling these things for $1, what did they actually cost to manufacture?

Scary.

 

They have sold these for years though but they do work for the products they target although they are and do feel very cheap. Many do have trouble programming them as the manual is in very, very fine print and as a result, many people have a hard time getting them to work.

 

I bought a new RCA Universal remote still in its package at my Goodwill for $2 and programmed it for my Toshiba TV and with this RCA Universal remote, I managed to be able to access the menu to adjust the color, tint, etc. by pressing the menu key and by either going to the front of the TV or using the Dollar Tree universal remote, used the up and down buttons for the adjustment after I used the RCA remote to access the menu, of course.

 

I do recommend the $1 headphones for transistor radio, portable MP3 player, etc. use for casual listening, of course.

 

I tried some $1 ear buds from a dollar store. They didn't work. I plugged them in a portable player and all I heard were crackling sounds attempting to make some sort of music.

The reason I got them was Sennheiser was running a rebate promotion where you needed to send in an old headphone along with the rebate form. I sent them $1 ear buds that never worked.

 

I have used this $1. Remote a number of years ago, and it worked great.
I had bought a used Sony analog TV with no remote. So for a buck, I thought, what the heck.
Later saw this same remote selling for $8. in a discount store.

 

Hmm, I need a remote for an old Kenwood VR-409 receiver. I'll check it out thanks.

 

wortha

sure worth a buck to try it out...

 

A lot of the time mark up is 75%. So some poor guy in China can buy rice tonight.

 

they are good remotes and they work pretty good.. it doesnt matter how much they cost or how much people make off of them..

 

90% markup.

I'm sad for the people in 3rd-world countries who are toiling at assembly lines for 12 hours a day making this crap for $1.36 an hour.

 

dollar stores also buy bulk old-stock of things and just dump them

I have seen some cool stuff sell for very cheap, but then once it was gone, it was never seen again

 

Is there any reason this should not work with an LG Blu-Ray player?

 

God bless China.

 

Yes, you can try it with an LG Blu-Ray player as well.

 

I found the remote. It works with my LG BluRay player !

 

And the 20 cent/hour workers who make fine products like this...

 

Yeah, who cares about quality. Just make sure it is cheap. Pathetic...

 

I bought a pair of $1 earbuds from the 99 Cent store. "Skull Earbuds" they were called. I listened to them and was trying to come up with a critique to write about their sound quality. I was flummoxed. They were so awful in a weird way; I couldn't describe their sound. They went against every term I knew as an audiophile because they did everything wrong! There was no treble, no bass, and the midrange was indescribable -- it honestly sounded like cardboard somehow. Deader than the worst AM dashboard radio you heard in as a car radio 40 years ago. Maybe the closest sound was the dead sounding audio that used to come out of those metal Drive-in movie speakers. They were bizzare!

But here's my tip: the reason I bought them was for the little rubber tips. They fit perfectly on my real Sony earbuds.

 

Geez....I remember an universal remote was nothing but a dream. I think it was Onkyo who came out with the first one. God, I am old.

 

I used to always buy the same brand of reading glasses that they sell at CVS and Walgreens for $15-$20. I mean the exact same brand "Easy Readers." And they were 99 cents! I used to buy a dozne pair at a time to have around. I guess Walgreens and CVS complained because two years ago that brand vanished -- never to be seen again.

 

These are not being sold at regular retail prices. They are being dumped at a loss. It's the end of the line, call a "close out". They may have cost $2.00 to make, and sold for $14.99 or more by the thousands, back last century.

 

Nope. I've been to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea, and I have a pretty good sense of what this stuff actually costs to make. You'd be shocked to know how little stuff like this goes for; often the shipping costs more than the product.