Anthropologie is selling a $100 garbage can, and yes it is absurd

The real value of some purchases in life are subjective. Your parents or miserly friends might scold you for spending $275 on a pair of shoes, but you might have really really wanted them, and feel it’s worth the cost or the debt. It’s OK to spend some money to have fun.

However, some purchases in life are absolutely absurd. Within this category is the West Village Corrugated Can, brought to us by Anthropologie.

It is a garbage can that costs $99.95, plus applicable taxes. It is only sold online, and requires a $10.95 shipping fee. The can and lid are made out of corrugated tin and the handle is made of either mango wood or abaca rope. It is less than 2′ tall. It is reminiscent of a $68 bunch of sticks Free People was selling awhile back.

Here are some ratings for the West Village Corrugated Can from Anthropologie’s web site. It is not clear that all of these people actually bought the product before posting reviews, but they are nonetheless amusing:

• “Are you serious? $100 for a rusty trash can!!” exclaimed Jessican.
• “how did we come to this?” asked GrouchyGuyOscar.
• But there was one fan: “This can is a beautiful example of aged corrugated metal,” user heartmdr gushed.

Indeed. While some of us may think of corrugated metal as the covering of a shanty or a barn, this trashcan shows us the softer side of industrial materials.

As a reminder, garbage cans are used to temporarily store refuse before it is carted off to a dump. There are a host of garbage cans you can purchase online or in stores for a lot less money. Here, for instance, is one that only costs $19. There are many, many options beyond that one; just Google “garbage can” in Google shopping or go to Home Depot or even your local 99 Cent store.

They are not identified as “West Village” garbage cans, and therefore maybe they do not have the same glamour as the corrugated metal garbage can that Carrie Bradshaw would have in her apartment. But buying a fancy garbage can is a bit like buying a fancy toilet brush or pooper scooper. Please don’t be the person whose home the rest of us enter, and become afraid of dirtying up the trash.

I oversee Fusion’s money section and have spent most of my time as a journalist writing about banks and finance. I live in Brooklyn with my partner Geoffrey & our two dogs, Captain & Tallulah. Favs: leopard print, Diet Coke, gummy candy, Ireland.