The Wonderful World of Blu-ray

I finally purchased a Blu-ray player. I didn't want one, mind you, but I did want to watch the Decline Of Western Civilization box set, and the only way I could get a copy to review was if I had a Blu-ray player. They were on sale at Target for $70 (normally $90), and that seemed reasonable. But when I went to hook it up to the television, which is Step 1 in the instructions, I found that the cord was missing. I called Target and explained that the cord which should connect the player to the television was missing.
"Oh yeah, those aren't included," I was told.
"What do you mean? There is no indication on the box that the cord isn't included. It says 'Wired Ethernet Cable for streaming services not included,' but says nothing about the other cord. And the player is useless without it. I mean, it's not an accessory. It's a vital component of the player."
"Yeah, but they're not included."
So I went to Target to purchase something that should have been in the box in the first place. I took along the Blu-ray player instruction sheet, because I didn't want to get home and find that I needed a few other things in order to play these discs. Especially as Step 2 in the directions was something about connecting to my AV amplifier, which is another thing I don't have (or understand).
The woman at Target was quite helpful. Until I asked about this Step 2. I showed her the instructions and asked if I needed to purchase an AV amplifier.
"No, that's just if you don't have an HDMI cable," she said.
"But in the diagram it seems to require two HDMI cables."
"Yes."
"So what you're saying is that if I don't have an HDMI cable, which I don't, I can just plug the Blu-ray player into the AV amplifier, which I also don't have, using two of those cords which I don't have even one of."
"Yes."
"Okay."
So I purchased one HDMI cable. There were a variety to choose from, of various qualities (maybe) and of various lengths (definitely). I bought the cheapest, shortest cable (3 feet, $15). So now my $70 Blu-ray player is actually an $85 Blu-ray player (and with tax is approximately a $100 Blu-ray player). So I spent $100 to get a free copy of The Decline Of Western Civilization. Hmm.