When it first started getting popular, bottled water was ridiculed as a completely unnecessary invention. However, it seems like it's here to stay, as there are more bottled water options on the market than ever! But just because you have options doesn't mean it's a smart purchase—you're probably getting ripped off!
It's not unusual to see bottled water that has a ridiculously high 4000% markup! Most bottled water brands take their product straight from the tap, which costs them roughly $1.50 per gallon. However, you can expect to pay upwards of $2 for just a few ounces! It makes no money sense!
They may be life-saving, but name-brand prescription drugs have some of the highest markups of any products sold! The actual amount varies from medication to medication, but you can expect to pay anywhere from 200% to 3000% more than it costs to actually manufacture your prescriptions.
It may not be a perfect solution, but thankfully there is health insurance to help cover some of the cost of these expensive drugs, but that still doesn't explain why something like an EpiPen (which has about $1 worth of product in it) is sold to customers for more than $600!
Graduating high school is a momentous occasion for students, and it makes sense that we commemorate this important milestone in our lives. Class rings might look like a fancy and adult way to celebrate moving on to bigger and better things, but you're probably getting ripped off if you buy one!
The companies that make class rings know that these are an important purchase for people, which makes them feel like they can jack up the price—sometimes as much as 500 times what it costs to actually produce the rings! Thankfully, class rings are a one-time purchase, so even if you are getting ripped off, it won't be a regular occurrence.
At this point, getting ripped off by movie theater food prices has become something of a joke, but just because it's funny doesn't mean it's not true! While you can expect to pay much more than a fair price at the snack counter no matter what you buy, popcorn is one of the worst products when it comes to markup.
While it's not uncommon to pay $6.50 or more for a bucket of popcorn, there's a good chance that it only costs the movie theater less than 50 cents wholesale! That is pretty ridiculous but there is somewhat of a silver lining to this—movie theaters often use markup on snacks to help keep ticket prices lower.
We might expect to face ridiculous markups at the grocery store but at the optometrist? Really? Unfortunately, you're probably paying way more for those prescription glasses than they're actually worth! Currently, an average pair of prescription glasses will run you about $300, but how much do they take to produce?
Quite a bit less, actually! The average pair of frames and lenses only cost about $30 to produce, which means that you're paying hundreds more for no good reason! These high prices in the world of glasses are mostly due to a lack of competition in the prescription lens market.
It's probably a safe bet to assume that going to college is going to cost you an arm and a leg, but even though it may be expensive, some of those costs are completely unnecessary—especially when it comes to textbooks. They have some of the highest markups of any product you'll need to further your education.
The average college textbook costs about $10 to print, but you can expect to pay $100 or more for it! While hidden costs like author royalties and marketing are some of the reasons textbooks cost so much, it's still pretty crazy to think that you're paying more than ten times what it costs to create.
When it comes to planning a wedding, picking the perfect dress is likely one of the most expensive purchases you'll make during the entire process. Most people realize that buying something as elaborate and beautiful as a wedding dress will cost an arm and a leg, but you may be surprised at just how much these gowns get marked up!
The materials and labor necessary for creating a wedding dress will often run into the thousands of dollars. However, it's not unusual for the designer to tack on several more thousand dollars in markup! While a designer's skill and talent may be worth a lot, they also know that brides are willing to pay almost anything for the perfect wedding dress.
Diamonds are not exactly the most essential purchase a person could make, so it's not entirely devastating that they are subject to some ridiculous markups. However, you may be surprised at just how much people are willing to charge for diamonds relative to the costs it takes to acquire them.
According to different sources, the markup for diamonds can range anywhere from 50% all the way up to 400%! While higher-quality diamonds will obviously cost more than lower-quality ones, at a certain point, it all just becomes needless markup. You definitely want to do your research before making a purchase like this!
These days, most phone plans include unlimited texting or something close. However, if you're still on a cell phone plan that charges you per text message, you're almost certainly getting ripped off—even if the cost of sending a text message doesn't seem that high to begin with.
While prices may very, the cost of a pay-per-text plan is usually somewhere in the range of 20 cents per text. That doesn't seem too bad until you realize what it costs the phone company to facilitate that text—usually less than a penny. In some cases, you could be paying up to 6000% markup on a text message!
It's no surprise that designer clothing is jacked up to be way more expensive than what it's actually worth. But there are some designer items of clothing that are worse about this than others—especially when it comes to jeans. It would probably be less expensive to make a pair out of dollar bills than buy a pair of designer ones!
A pair of designer jeans can easily cost $300 or more, but they actually take much less to produce. For example, True Religion's brand of T Jeans frequently retail for $335, but they only cost about $50 to make. If you're that concerned about designer brands, it's probably worth the cost, but that doesn't make it any less ridiculous!
