Why not set up a "group buy" situation and maybe everyone saves $$
Well, at 3.4G for 19BTC its priced slightly cheaper than a BlockErupter USB, and possibly has a better resale value for when the difficulty goes through the roof, but the ROI is still the other side of never. But if you're just looking for an untraceable supply of bitcoin to feed into silk road, then a dollar purchase might just make some sense.