Spent the last few months sourcing earbuds, headphones, and phones for students on tight budgets, and here's what nobody tells you:

Most "budget" electronics sold online are budget devices with premium markup, not premium devices with a discount. The actual bill of materials on a $20 pair of wireless earbuds is often under $6. The rest is brand tax.

What actually matters when buying budget tech:

• Battery cycle rating, not just battery life. A cheap earbud with a 300-cycle battery dies in 8 months of daily use.

• Bluetooth version — 5.0+ genuinely matters for connection stability, not a spec-sheet gimmick.

• Warranty terms — most budget electronics sellers quietly skip this. Always ask.

Built PulseTech around this: no markup games, real specs listed upfront, and shipping included in the sticker price so there's no checkout surprise. If you're a student replacing a cracked phone or dead earbuds without wanting to blow $200+, that's exactly who this is for.

Happy to answer questions on what to actually look for before you buy anywhere — not just from us.