A friend is getting married today, second marriage.
For her first marriage (to another dog trainer), they requested 'practical presents' and I joked that I was going to get them a cooler. This was '85 or so, and I got them a blue 56qt steel belted Coleman for a wedding gift. A couple other people also thought that was a great idea, so they ended up with my gift, plus a 100qt marine cooler and another steel-belted cooler.
Fast-forward to now...they've divorced, and Jill didn't get custody of *any* of the coolers. We found this out two weeks ago when we catered a two-day obedience trial and she didn't have a single cooler to her name bigger than 32qt. I started joking that it was a good thing she was getting married again, so we could give her another cooler.
Went to price Coleman steel belted 56qt coolers and WTH?!? $139 + shipping was the best price I could find online; locally, $150 was the best I could do. Checked ebay and craigslist...nothing under $75 and most well over that price.
Looks like I'll end up getting her a maxCold 56qt (injection molded plastic), for about $40...not my first choice, but it'll do.
But seriously, when did the prices for new steel belted coolers crack the $100 barrier?