3233: Make It Myself

2026-04-16T13:33:00Z

69.80.149.9: The typo in the title text has been fixed on the comic

{{comic
| number = 3233
| date = April 15, 2026
| title = Make It Myself
| image = make_it_myself_2x.png
| imagesize = 284x438px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's not as big a loss as it looks, because now I have leftover supplies, which will help me talk myself into doing this all over again with a new project!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A BOT MADE WITH 20 MINUTES OF CODING, 30 MINUTES OF TROUBLESHOOTING, ANOTHER HOUR OF CODING, AND A SUBSCRIPTION TO CURSOR. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
There are many people who complain about the retail price of items (especially, but not only, after rising prices such as with the trend of high rates of inflation occurring at around the time of this comic). People sometimes claim that they could make something themselves, thinking it will be quick and easy. Instead, [[Cueball]] reflects real life by listing the actual effort he would expend on such a project. In total, he spends $60 creating his replacement, and requires 5-6 hours of "labor" which likely has a value greater than $80 by itself, and then ends up just buying the one in the store because his {{w|do it yourself|do-it-yourself}} replacement proves unreliable or fragile. This means that he actually lost $60 on this venture, as well as at least a few hours and several trips to the store.

Furthermore, Cueball misses the point that most people aren't as technically capable as him (or as [[:Category:Cueball's computer problems|irrationally confident]] as he is about his technical capabilities), so may not even be able to ''start'' to consider the self-built item, and might therefore reasonably consider the $80 price tag good value.

The title text has Cueball compensating for his losses by deluding himself into believing that the leftover supplies will help him with a future project. He shows unusual self-awareness in recognising that this will likely just cause him to repeat the whole process, but fails to notice that this is actually an argument against his proposal.

Whether building a new product is at all realistic depends, in part, on the supplies. When deciding whether to do work personally, versus paying for a product or service, a common dilemma is that the DIY approach requires specialized tools and/or buying a larger amount of material than one will need. There may not be a future personal project requiring a specialized drill bit or leftover screws, in which case the leftovers will gather dust until they are thrown out or sold off at a steep discount. If Cueball was determined enough to put the leftovers to use, he might offer to create improved versions of his solution for other people, gradually amortizing the up-front costs and ultimately creating a competing product years later. Barring major cost-saving innovations, that new product might end up costing a similar amount to the original. If the original's price was inflated, the two products might drive down each other's prices through competition.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball and White Hat stand together looking at two boxes on the right side of the frame. Each box has labels saying "Sale" and "$80" on one of the visible sides of the box, and illegible text on the other visible side of the box. Cueball is holding his arms out toward the boxes.]

:Cueball: They want $80 for this?
:Cueball: I could make one myself for $10 in parts, an hour of work, a trip to the hardware store, another $30 in parts, another few hours of work, two more trips to the store for $20 more in parts, another hour to redo the first hour of work because I messed up, and $80 to buy this when the one I made breaks.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]

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3233: Make It Myself