Perfex pepper mill: $135?

I use a lot of pepper, both black and white. And I've decided to "invest" (I now use the word advisedly) in a separate pepper mill for my white pepper. I don't recall what I paid, oh so many years ago, for my Perfex, illustrated below. But whatever it was, I'm thinking that it was some plausible, reasonable number.



So I mosey (internet-ically speaking) on over to Amazon to add Perfex to my cart and what to my wondering should appear but a price tag of $135.95. Or, I can buy it, I suppose, from another vendor for the bargain basement price of $114.95.

Yes, this is an above-average mill. Yes, it's "from France." Over $100!? Okay, okay. Accounting for a poor economy, a poor dollar (though it seems to have recovered of late), for the cachet of products from France (okay, I'm reaching), what in all tarnation is going on?


(Am I on Candid Camera?)

(Should I go long on aluminum? or did them nasty Bass boys beat me to it? (yes, I know they're dead))

For a fraction of the price, you can buy a unicorn pepper mill (www.unicornmills.com). I use the magnum plus for black pepper and it is the largest capacity, fastest grinding mill I've ever come across.

Hi,

It looks like my pepper mill I bought at Crate and Barrel in the late '70's or early 80's for $40. It was pretty expensive purchase, which fortunately has never failed in its daily use in 30 years.

Regards,

Gypsy Boy wrote:So I mosey (internet-ically speaking) on over to Amazon to add Perfex to my cart and what to my wondering should appear but a price tag of $135.95. Or, I can buy it, I suppose, from another vendor for the bargain basement price of $114.95.

I bought my Perfex pepper mill 15+ years ago for $50, it has seen constant use and still works perfectly. Over $100 certainly seems exorbitant, but at least the quality is there.

Gypsy Boy,

Reread your post, I do believe that extreme price is related to the weak dollar. I would check e-Bay for similar, because there is always someone who has something they don't appreciate.

Regards,

You can take a look also at Atlas mills. They're still up there in price...but built nice and made for a lifetime of use. Some vendors are cheaper than others...I'll take a look later to see where I ordered my copper mill from.

dan