These days, it seems the cost of everything is rising. The need to purchase everything required to get through life is a burden we all share together, so who would we be to not lament about the prices of said things?
A Reddit post asked people to share what they believe to be stupidly overpriced, a discussion that many were happy to participate in. Who doesn’t love a good complaining session?
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Hidden fees.
“Concert tickets.”
This is thanks to the fees on a particular ticket website that shall not be named, but really, it’s so disheartening watching the price immediately double for no discernable reason when buying tickets to anything.
Day in, day out.
“[Backpacks] cost nearly a hundred [dollars] for a decent one that doesn’t rip from my experience.”
Huh. I’d never thought about this one, but they’re right! I guess a good backpack will last you years and years, but that still seems expensive when you’re just looking at it for the first time.
The price of knowledge.
“College books.”
I’m lucky that my college program only required one textbook, but even that was $250! No book should cost that much, I don’t care how much info is in it!
Lovey-dovey.
“Valentine’s Day. Yes, the whole day.”
Some people were saying they had a theory that restaurants and stores jack up prices around Valentine’s Day on purpose, and would that really surprise anyone? That’s the most reasonable conspiracy theory I’ve ever heard.
When you need it least.
“Funerals.”
It really is crazy how much of a bill holding a funeral will get you, as if you need more to worry about when you’re in the middle of mourning a loved one.
Reputation-based price.
“Diamonds.”
This is more of a market driving the price thing, as the stone itself is not that valuable or rare, but it’s considered such a necessity when it comes to weddings or other jewelry presents because it’s a ‘classic’ so they can get away with charging way more than it’s worth.
Costly refills.
“Printer cartridges.”
Thankfully, many people came out with suggestions for getting around this. Some recommended getting a laser printer, others suggested investing in one of the large-tank printers, while some said to just steal the cartridges. I don’t recommend that last one.
Pearly whites.
“Toothpaste. Anytime a manufacturer creates a ton of artificial differentiation within their own brands, you know you are being ripped off.”
A tip for those looking to save a few bucks and who hate mint, “I use kids crest because I’m allergic to mint. $5 for three [full-sized] tubes.”
A simple snack.
“Foods and drinks at movie theaters.”
Someone replied explaining that movie theaters actually make very little from ticket sales, so they charge much more for food since that’s where all their revenue comes from. Do with that info what you will.
Brick by brick.
“LEGOs.”
Believe it or not, I was shopping for Lego sets the other day out of curiosity, and imagine my surprise when I see some going for hundreds of dollars. I had no idea they had such a high price tag, it’s a lot for these little bricks!
Adding it up.
“TI-84 I could get an old cell phone from a dumpster that’s 10x as powerful. Why the [expletive] they still charging $80 or more for these things?”
If you blanked on what a TI-84 is like I did, it’s a calculator. They charge $80 for a calculator?
Getting help.
“Mental health services. Blessings upon blessings to the mental health professionals who offer sliding scales.”
“Therapy and medication are expensive, yet a huge amount of mental health therapists are actually not paid all that well anyway,” replied an observant user. “Somehow it always costs a lot, but the therapist probably isn’t making nearly as much money as lots of people think.”
Your big day.
“Anything tied to a wedding.”
A commenter replied with a story that perfectly showed this absurdity: “Friend of mine needed a generator for a wedding. He booked it as a ‘corporate event’ to get cheaper hire. When the company arrived to setup and saw it was a wedding they demanded extra money, because it was a wedding.”
Seeing clearly.
“Glasses. They can cost you 2 arms a full heart and your first born child.”
Thankfully, there are tons of online stores that are making cute, cheap frames and making glasses way more affordable. I won’t list any as they’re not paying me to sponsor them, but if they want to, my email’s open.
Covering up.
“Cosmetics, the markup on luxury brands especially is MASSIVE.”
As many pointed out, a lot of the time you’re just paying for packaging in cases like these, but this is true for a lot more than just makeup.
