About every four years I make myself a new wallet out of an old tyvek envelope, an empty mylar chip bag (for RFID blocking), and some packaging tape. It takes about five minutes, I can write on it or decorate it how I see fit, and I get TONS of comments from cashiers and salespeople.
I'm betting the $500 wallet that started this thread doesn't block people from reading your credit card numbers as you walk around in public, which makes my $0 wallet clearly superior.