I'm not happy that the price went up $10 since last year, but these collars are still well worth it, and considering I only buy them once a year I can't complain.  I live on 80 wooded acres and the ticks are horrible.  I buy one of these collars for each of my dogs at the end of winter and they are tick free all year.  When we first moved here we tried every brand of drops available and they didn't work.  These really work.  If only I could find something that worked as well for humans.