Things that are a rip off

[Atticus808]

- Movie popcorn
- Bottled water
- Ice cream from DQ. Sure it's good but it costs like $0.10 to make.
- Pho (but so good)
- Paying for p0rn (never paid, but had to pay to get my computer cleaned due to p0rn sites with viruses)
- Any extra warranties for TV's
- Tickets to sporting events (I have season tickets for the Oilers)


What else?

[cdrazic93]

The new apple macbook and anything else with the used fruit on it.

Escalades; im not paying $70,000 for that, when i can get a range rover with much better quality for a few grand more.

College; the amount of affordable higher education these days is slipping between the fingers of everyone except for the super rich. The amount of money we as a country spend on our military budget vs higher Ed, would obliterate everyones student loans and make college free for everyone. Dont get me started on standardized testing...

Oh
gasoline,
crawford,
fa20club,
vinsconti...

[yomny]

Dealer prices
1 gal gas container at loca gas station is $17, but this may be a Miami thing only
iTunes movie rentals and they're getting more expensive as is Netflix
Mixed nuts at(publix)
Gas station air pumping machines $1 for a couple of mins of air

[Tcoat]

Medication! I have no clue how people without benefits or insurance can buy what they need.

[rice_classic]

-Paying for music
-Ebooks
-Apple products
-Any new Tech. (early adopter principle)
-Chiropractors
-American health care
-Any coffee more complicated than "drip"
-Event beer (stadium/movie food and drink in general)
-Property tax (in principle)
-All eyeglasses made by Luxxotica (about 90% of all eyeware.. google it)
-The entire realestate/mortgage process.
-Civil Forfeiture laws (legal theft so definitely a rip off)
-German luxury cars
-Marriage without a prenup (statistically speaking)
-Living in gentrified area like SF or Seattle or Manhattan.
-Current price of ammunition
-Auto repair by the dealership
-Auto repair if you're a woman
-Lottery tickets (statistically speaking)
-Cereal
-Cable/Satellite TV
-NCAA

[rice_classic]

How could I leave out college!?! Good call cdrazic93.

When college debt is greater than all consumer debt (over 1 trillion), you know this country has lost its way.

[cdrazic93]

Lol cereal.

[Tcoat]

I think for the sake of my mental health I will stay right away from this thread moving forward!


I can see all sorts of luxury items or people just trying to make a living hitting this list.


Things cost what the market will bear and not one penny more.


The whole "pay me more but charge me less" mentality just irks me to no end.


Have fun guys!

[Tbird232ci]

Women.

[murdoc]

Beats by Dre for studio headphones. If you're just buying them as a fashion accessory then the cost might be worth it for you, but as far as sound quality goes, you can get better for cheaper.

[Atticus808]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I think for the sake of my mental health I will stay right away from this thread moving forward!


I can see all sorts of luxury items or people just trying to make a living hitting this list.


Things cost what the market will bear and not one penny more.


The whole "pay me more but charge me less" mentality just irks me to no end.


Have fun guys!

but note that it's things that are a rip off.
Meaning the mark up is like 10000% basically.

Toothpaste is reasonably priced. It's only like $5 for Sensodyne, and it lasts a long time, in a good quality can, transportation of goods, etc.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Things cost what the market will bear and not one penny more.

Whoa whoa whoa.. Hold on, I'm not letting you off that easy! You're one of the fun (and reasonable) ones. I mean c'mon.. think about it. What in the world that you know other people buy and you don't because you're like.. "that's a ripoff". Do you buy $50 t-shirts? No?! Why not?.. Oh yeah because that's a rip... you finish the rest.

I think "what the market will bear" is too simplistic of an economic viewpoint because markets can be manipulated, monopolized or saturated so what they will bear in terms of cost is irrelevant to taking into account their actual value. Just because the market will "bear" the high cost of diamonds for example doesn't mean diamonds have much intrinsic value (They don't). They've been monopolized so their price is wholly devoid of their intrinsic value. Diamonds... are a "rip off".

We really haven't defined rip-off yet but from reading some of the things in this thread that are considered a rip-off we can safely assume that it means:

1) significant increase in cost without a significant increase in value is something most people would consider a rip off. There's a sucker born every minute, just because that sucker will pay a suckers price, shouldn't exclude something from being considered a rip-off.

2) Something we have to pay for that's way over priced because we have to meet a social obligation. Flowers on mother's day are a rip off because they're much cheaper when it's not mother's day. Diamonds for an engagement ring are a rip off (because diamonds have almost no intrinsic value because they are not rare). Having to buy an engagement ring to get married is a rip off because before the 1920's that didn't occur but thanks to advertising creating a social norm in the 1920's, engagement rings are now a social requirement. Sorry fellas. I say fuck it, bring back the dowry!

3) The same thing is offered almost anywhere else for significantly less but when purchased at venue where it's 2 to 10 times the cost, it's a rip off.


My latest ripoff: I paid $100 for a Richard Sherman jersey and it simply ain't worth that much intrinsically but I still wanted it enough to pay that price.. That, however doesn't mean it's not a rip off. It's still a rip off. Most things that are licensed are and don't get me started on religion.



So there I need to add a few to my list:

-Sports Jerseys
-Diamonds
-Just about anything with a famous person or famous team on it.
-Most things that are "licensed".
-Religion/tithing (if you're spending money on it)
-Social obligations where the expenditure of money is required to fulfill a social contract: Easter, Christmas, Valentines day, and BS like that. AKA the social taxes.

[cdrazic93]

I dont have the time to go back and post some of my microeconomics notes...i would if i could though lol

[pushrod]

Insurance