I have a problem. I suffer from FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out. I saw online on the sub-Reddit r/DuroGang that people all across the United States of America were getting my favorite watch, the Casio MDV106B Duro on clearance at Walmart for only $11 each. I bought some for under $40 last fall and I felt like it couldn't get any better than that. Seeing people get them for $11 was enough to motivate me to action. I went to the two Walmart locations nearest to me, with no luck. I checked inventory online and found none in my state. A friend travelling in another state found three. I had checked inventory online for that state and it showed nothing. I decided to gamble and drove the 15 miles to the location that I have had luck at before. I found 3 Duros! One is the original, Casio MDV106-1A black dial with black bezel, and the other two are the Kermit or Starbucks Casio MDV106B-1A3V black dial with green bezel variants. Score! I also found nine other watches for upcoming reviews on the blog. It was a great trip!
I woke up the next day and I was thinking how happy I was with the good deal on watches I got. I had a three day weekend, my son wanted to go to Walmart to look for a Lego set. I thought, let's take a road trip to a farther location and see if we can get lucky again. Maybe find another color variant. The blue dial with blue bezel is my personal favorite. I also had hopes that maybe I could find a Pepsi or Batman version. Or maybe even the black and gold version that my kids affectionately call Goldilocks. I would be happy with any of them and I would love to find them all several times over at the price they are going for.
So we decided to make an adventure of it and headed out. We got to the store and they didn't have any. Bummer. We checked the map and we were only 15 minutes away from another location. Why not. We drove there and just our luck, they had nothing also. Bummer. I realized we could head East for another 15 minutes and try another location. Back to the car and on the road again. We arrive and headed into the store. Once again, we found, nothing. I look at the map and realize we can make a loop and hit 4 more stores on the way back home. This is going to be good!
I get it all mapped out. Talk the plan over with my son. We add a couple other stops in for food and errands. We head out on our newly planned path. We get to the next Walmart and find a couple watches we want, but no Duros. I figure something is better than nothing, so we get some watches. Now we are feeling successful. The next store will probably be a good one. We get there and hurry to the counter. Again, we find nothing. Drive some more and get out, my son realizes that almost all the stores are the same layout. Now he seems to know where he is going. He gets there first and let's me know they have none here either. Back to the car and back on the road. By now, we have been to half a dozen Walmart stores and haven't found a single Duro.
We get back in the car and drive to the last Walmart on our loop. We go in and find a single Casio MDV106B-1A3V black dial and green bezel Duro for $11. It is a black dial with green bezel version. You always find it in the last place you look. Dad jokes rule! My son was very excited about it, because green is his favorite, of course we bought it. They also have another Casio watch for $8 that my son was interested in, so we bought that also. In total we bought 8 new watches. Only one was the watch we were in search of.
This adventure was 112.5 miles and cost about as much in gas, as the amount we saved on the single Duro that we got. The trip gave me plenty of time to talk to my son about watches, and just about life. That is something you can't really put a price on. I got several ideas for blog posts along the way. Including a sub-$200 starter watch collection for my son. I let him pick out a few watches based on what he likes and wants, and I have to say, he chose very well. I think all of them are watches he will appreciate for a long time. Look for an awesome blog post about his new collection coming up soon.
I will say this, I let FOMO get the best of me. I really wanted to hit the jackpot and buy a dozen or more Duros. I had ideas for modifying some, and using some to learn how to change the crystal out for sapphire. I even thought about trying my hand at doing a hydromod and filling it with silicon oil. Plus they are strap monsters, so I could get a bunch of different straps. So, I am still feeling a tinge of jealousy about all those people, who were able to get as many as they wanted, at such a rock bottom bargain price. Admitting that I have a problem, is the first step. At the same time, the day wasn't a waste, it was still a great adventure, and I got to spend a lot of quality time with my boy. Don't let FOMO get the best of you, recognize it for what it is. Know how to make the journey a success, regardless of the outcome. This hobby is supposed to bring you joy, but don't let it be the determiner of your happiness.
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