Have you heard of the Keurig Kold? It’s a new device from Keurig that produces cold drinks instead of hot. Just like the coffee machines, you pop in your pod (soda, iced tea, flavor water and sports drinks), fill up the tank with water and turn it on. It makes popular name brand sodas, like Coke and Sprite, as well as craft sodas, like root beer and cream soda.

Sounds like a neat machine, right? Don’t get too excited, Keurig is charging consumers $370 for the Keurig Kold ($350 on sale) and pricing a 4-pack of pods at $5. Each pod makes 8 fl ounces. That’s less than a can of soda, which is 12 fl ounces. You can buy this 12-pack of Coca-Cola on Amazon for $5 (not even a great price compared to grocery stores) and still get 4.5 times the volume of Coke that would be produced from the 4-pack of Coke pods!

Of course, if you are really into the idea of making your own drinks, we don’t want you to waste your money on the Keurig Kold. Here’s a selection of reasonably priced alternatives to help you save hundreds:

SodaStream Fountain Jet (MSRP: $79)

Arguably, SodaStream kicked off the maker-your-own-soda market in a big way. They can’t even get an ad slot in the Super Bowl ad lineup because the NFL is frightened of Coke and Pepsi pulling their ad dollars. There are mulitple SodaStream models that you can choose from, but the standout from a price-point perspective is the Jet.

The Jet was chosen as Sweethome’s Best Soda Maker and makes over 60 different types of soda. While you aren’t going to find name brands in the mix, each bottle of soda mix makes up to 33 cans. The downside is that you will have to purchase replacement 60-liter carbonators over time (usually $30) in order to continue carbonating the soda. The Jet does come with a mail-in rebate for a free 60-liter carbonator, assuming you swap out the starter 4-liter carbonator.

Be aware that there are plenty of other models in the SodaStream line, ranging up to $200. Other variations will include length of warranty as well as build quality. However, you can’t really go wrong with the Jet, which frequently goes on sale in the $45 to $50 during most of the year and in the $30 to $40 range during November / December.

Search Amazon for SodaStream Deals

Takeya Flash Chill Iced Tea Maker (MSRP: $30)

Giving you the option of using either loose leaf tea or tea bags, the Takeya “Flash Chill” iced tea maker is a simpler, less expensive alternative to standalone tea makers. Snagging 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, you basically pour in the loose tea or bags, add hot water to about halfway and allow it to brew. Then you just add ice, tighten up the seal at the top, give it a shake and it’s ready to go.

Interestingly, you can also use this this pitcher to cold brew coffee using the same tea infuser. Takeya also sells a fruit infuser for this model (roughly $10) that you can use to add additional flavors to a pitcher of tea or water. On average, you will see sales on the Takeya pitcher in the $18 to $25 range.

Check Amazon Price on Takeya Iced Tea Maker

Asobu Samba Shaker (MSRP: $18)

Ideal for mixing up sports drinks for hydration or protein shakes for working out, the Asobu Samba Shaker includes two shaker balls on the inside of the bottle that help blend powdered mixtures. Also attaining 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, the shaker will also help blend ingredients like peanut butter or yogurt into the mix.

Available in five different colors, the 100% BPA free Samba Shaker bottle also withstands subfreezing to boiling temperatures and offers a 20 ounce capacity for your drinks. Be aware that the large bottom of the bottle isn’t likely going to fit in a car’s cupholder, but should be fine in cupholders on exercise equipment. When it goes on sale, look for a $12 to $16 price point to get the best deal.

Check Amazon Price on Asobu Samba Shaker

Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Maker (MSRP: $39.50)

Interestingly, the Keurig Kold doesn’t actually cold brew coffee, a method of brewing that’s often preferred by serious coffee drinkers. If you want a simpler process to cold brew coffee, check out the Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Maker. Designed to brew your coffee with 66% less acid than hot brewing, the 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Amazon will give you an idea why this is so popular with coffee drinkers.

Of course, you will have to purchase additional filters over time, sold in a pack of four at a price of $10. Besides coffee, you can also brew hot or cold tea with the Toddy machine. While the Toddy doesn’t go on sale often, you may be able to see a sale price point between $30 to $35 from time to time.

Check Amazon Price on Toddy Coffee Maker

4 Great Alternatives to the Insanely Priced Keurig Kold

Of course, there’s one thing that Disney knows quite a bit about: overcharging customers. Here’s a batch of toys and collectibles that you should absolutely avoid, unless you like using stacks of one hundred dollar bills for blaster practice.

$28,500 Imperial Star Wars Watch

Designed to combine elements from Darth Vader’s helmet and gloves as well as a TIE Fighter and the Imperial crest, this horrifically overpriced wristwatch requires a $2,500 down payment just for the privilege of paying another $26,000 on delivery. But hey, they are throwing in some TIE Fighter cufflinks with a watch that costs more than some midsize sedans.

$4,500 to $6,500 LEGO 1st Edition Millennium Falcon

Regularly selling on eBay (or Amazon) for several thousand dollars, the original LEGO Millennium Falcon sports more than 5,000 parts with sections such as a rotating radar dish, extending boarding ramp and detachable cockpit with all the original trilogy mini-figures. While the new version is a far less complicated build, it’s also about 3% the current cost of the original version.

$4,000 Millennium Falcon Star Wars Bed

This insanely priced twin bed at Pottery Barn is crafted out of hardwood and includes a faux control panel with all the knobs and gauges on the Millennium Falcon. We recommend saving your money and use Instructables to build you own Star Wars bed. Perhaps the AT-AT Imperial Walker Loft Bed or this Star Wars X-Wing bed.

$1,500 to $2,000 LEGO Star Wars Death Star II

Selling in brand new condition for $1,500 or more on eBay frequently, this highly complex build of more than 3,400 pieces ranks up there with the original LEGO Star Destroyer in both complexity and cost. Interestingly, the new version can be purchased for 25 percent or less than the cost of this model.

$1,300 Star Wars Stormtrooper Costume

Probably forcing you to wear this for the next 10 to 15 years as a primary Halloween costume to justify the cost, the super expensive Stormtrooper costume includes EVA molded-pieces, a two-piece helmet and a black polyester bodysuit to complete the Imperial ensemble.

Five Ridiculously Overpriced Star Wars Toys / Collectibles

You hear all the time about these billionaires who donate ridiculous sums of money to charity, and it’s like, “ohmigod, you’re wasting it!” You may be good at business or acting or being related to someone with money, but you really need to develop your skill of spending it. You know who are experts in the best ways to spend money? People who don’t have any!

So instead of working, we searched around the Internet for stuff we wish we could buy. You know, “if you had a million dollars…” type stuff. The Ultimate Wish List, because we want to be prepared when we make our first billion – we don’t want to make a rookie mistake like donating it to charity.

Terrafugia Car-Plane ($279,000)

Yeah, like we’re the first people to immediately think of new transportation when the topic of “buttloads of cash” comes up. We scanned Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and even Batmobiles, but how can we differentiate ourselves from a guy with a mid-life crisis? One word: car-plane. Whether you’re traveling by land or by air — not by sea, but who cares, you got air! — the Terrafugia Car-Plane will get you there in style! While this is just a prototype, it’s enough to tide us over until the Jetson car is invented.

Martin Jetpack ($150,000)

What do we do when our Terrafugia Car-Plane is in the shop? Well, we’re not going to walk! We’ll just take the Martin Jetpack, the way people will “walk” in the future. It can take off in a small space and has an automated hover feature, but it’s a bit bulky. Maybe we’ll distract people from its size with spinning rims…

Human Regenerator ($557,000 – $10 million)

What good is having all this money and cool stuff if we’re just going to die eventually!? Stupid fragile human body. Don’t worry, money will solve the problem. The makers of the Human Regenerator claim it uses quantum pulses to enhance the body’s natural frequencies… but we’re skeptical. If it works as well as they say, why did they have to cover it in gems?

Prima Cinema ($35,000)

It’s opening night: do you want your film experience to be riddled with sticky floors, obnoxious teenagers, and $80 popcorns, or would you like to enjoy the movie in your living room, on a big screen, with 2¢ microwave popcorn? Prima Cinema is more than just a home theater – it’s theater-quality and gives you access to movies at the same time as real theaters.

Game of Thrones Life-size Replica Throne ($30,000)

You know… for our new Prima Cinema home theater.

Kuratas ($1.3 million)

So, with all our money, it’s time we start thinking about home security. But we’re more of the take-care-of-ourselves type, so we’ll save money on a security system and just buy the million-dollar mech warrior! Yeah, that’s right, the Kuratas is a working mech warrior with… get this… customizable weapons. We’re going to go with the hand gun for our first model, and then maybe invest in the lohas launcher when we get our second million.

World View Experience ($75,000)

Around 200 years ago, the best you could do with your money was a hot-air balloon. But after mankind walked on the moon, we expect something a little extra. How about some kind of balloon ride that takes us to the rim of space? (We’ve always wanted to go to space, but NASA’s been cancelled and those astronaut training videos seem intimidating…) The World View Experience takes up to 8 people on a four-hour ride to the actual edge of the Earth… try that with a hot-air balloon and see what happens.

Ultimate Wish List… Of Things We Can’t Afford

Whenever we post LEGO deals on Ben’s Bargains, they’re usually quite popular because regular-price LEGO sets just seem outrageously expensive for children’s toys. The 3,803-piece LEGO Death Star (10188) is frequently cited as an example, retailing for $400.

Yet, we love LEGO anyway and continue to fork over our hard-earned cash for these fantastically well-crafted pieces of (ABS) plastic. The LEGO Death Star has been in production for 5 years (!) and is frequently seen on eBay for significantly more than the MSRP during peak buying periods, as are many other popular and/or rare LEGO sets.

Among LEGO buyers, it’s known that the price per brick hovers around 10 to 13 cents. According to Andrew Sielen’s excellent analysis What Happened with LEGO, the price of a brick has been relatively static for the past 8 or 9 years and was even significantly higher two or three decades ago — you know, back when most adults today were playing with LEGOs. And this price stability has occurred in the same time period as the advent of LEGO’s licensed sets (Star Wars, Harry Potter) which actually carry very little to no price markup compared to the non-licensed sets.

Expensive, Just Not Crazy Expensive

LEGO toys aren’t always tremendously more expensive than its closest competitors (knockoffs) MegaBloks and KRE-O, which have increased in popularity in recent years with its own licensing deals like Halo (MegaBloks) and Star Trek and Transformers (KRE-O). For example, while the 413-piece LEGO Tie Fighter (9492) can be found for around $45 to $50 and the 443-piece MegaBloks Halo UNSC Mantis is a comparative value at $32,  the 432-piece KRE-O U.S.S. Enterprise is the most expensive at $50.

LEGO USS Enterprise? Nope, this is the KRE-O USS Enterprise!

Even a comparison of plain bricks is a close call. A 450-piece MegaBlocks Ultimate Building Tub is $25 (5.5 cents/brick), while the 405-piece LEGO Ultimate Building Set (6166) is around $30 (7.5 cents/brick). So, yes, LEGO toys are generally pricier, but not by a huge margin.

Resale Value, Quality and Size

The thing is, LEGO sets hold their value and then some. Sealed and mint brand-new sets from popular lines like Star Wars have been known to go for twice as much as the original price, and sometimes even used sets can fetch higher-than-sticker prices. The LEGO Star Wars Slave I (8097) sold for $80 three years ago and can now be found on eBay for as much as $100 new and $75 for used.

LEGO is famous for its crazy attention to detail and precision engineering of the billions of pieces they’ve produced over the decades (over 400 billion since 1958, according to the company).

Not only do pieces from different decades fit together with consistent clutch power—which is not always the case for its competitors’ offerings (i.e. MegaBloks) from the same set!— but its high-priced molds are ridiculously accurate with tolerances as minute as 0.0005″. You’re not gonna be pumping out LEGO-quality bricks with a 3D printer anytime soon. You’re also not gonna find this special sauce in MegaBloks bricks, either.

Besides quality, the size of sets is a major factor in the perceived expense of LEGO toys. The aforementioned Death Star is one of the top-five largest LEGO sets with over 3,800 pieces. The more advanced Architecture series LEGO sets often have over 500 pieces with a few over 1,000 pieces. By contrast, the top-of-the-line LEGO set in 1980, the Inter-City Passenger Train Set (7740), had  786 pieces and the classic LEGO Main Street (6390) had 591 pieces—these sizes are now commonplace.

LEGOLAND Main Street — a classic of its time…

Higher quality production, the ever-increasing size and complexity of high-end sets and the impressive resale value of LEGO all contribute to its high price tag. But the number one reason is, of course, demand. We’re still willing to fork over more cash for LEGO sets, and that’s that.

Revealed!! Why LEGO Toys Are So Expensive