Over the course of time, we often find ourselves discovering things we once loved as a child that didn't turn out to be quite as wonderful as we remember.
Up to and including a restaurant we used to love, a clothing brand we almost exclusively shopped at, or an amusement park which dazzled us when we were young. While the disappointment could be owed to a slightly foggy memory, there might have also been an overall decline in quality at any and all of those places.
Making this experience all the more perplexing, however, is the fact that the less happy experience was much more expensive than it was when these same things brought us joy.
A curious imbalance indeed.
Redditor Keyblad3master was curious to learn about the many things which have increased in price despite declining in quality, leading them to ask:
"What has simultaneously gotten worse and more expensive?"
So Much For The $1 Menu
" Fast food."
"I rarely eat it, but every time I do it seems more expensive and I feel horrible after."- TheSecretStuffs
Fast Food Cheeseburger GIFGiphyHence The Shared Password...
"Netflix."- Lazy_Adhesiveness812
Nothing I Couldn't Make Better At Home...
"Going out to eat, Restaurants."
"It used to be fun, now it's too expensive and the experience has become mediocre."- mojoisthebest
"Dining out for sure."
"Mid tier restaurants are using lower quality food, much of it prepackaged from major suppliers, prices are up and service is terrible."
"Many of our local restaurants have gotten away from table service and you order from a counter and pick up your own food."
"I don’t go out often, but I do go out expecting a decent meal and service."- Caspers_Shadow
gordon ramsay cooking GIF by Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and BackGiphySometimes Bigger Is Better...
"Bars of chocolate."
"It used to be a fairly cheap and substantial treat when I was kid, but they keep getting smaller and smaller and they're ridiculously expensive now."- eezgorriseadback
You'd Think They'd Have Solved This Problem By Now...
"Most technology designed to be replaced every few years."
"We used to design things to last."
"Now we design things to wear out so people keep buying new ones."- riphitter
Lucky For Vegetarians...
"Meat from the supermarket."- pretty_monotonous
Supermarket Sweep Shopping GIF by ABC NetworkGiphyNo Matter Where You Get It...
"Food, in general."- BillyBobBarkerJrJr
Renting Or Buying...
"Housing."- pineconewashington
Something's Afoul...
"Scented candles."
"In fact, what used to be the premier candle, Yankee Candle had so gone down in quality the son of the original founder of Yankee Candle made his own company based on the original premise, quality, and scents of the original candles."
"It's called Kringle candle, but they're not available everywhere, so unfortunately, Yankee Candle it is."
"Yankee Candle, while never cheap, were of good quality and smelled good."
"Now the scents aren't as strong, the candles tunnel way too easily (they never used to do that), and they don't burn evenly."
"Yet they cost up to twice as much."- llcucf80
christmas sniffs GIF by TargetGiphyEspecially In America
" Education."- Inevitable-Ad-6315
Especially Over The Last Three Years...
"Living."- Callistai
Things Ain't What They Used To Be
" AirBnb, Uber, Lyft, and pretty much everything else that has always been too good to be true."- CatherineConstance
When Even The Nosebleeds Are Too Expensive...
"Tickets to major sporting events."
"I read somewhere that going to a family of 4 going to an NFL game is like on average a $1000+ expense."
"Who in the world is paying for that?"- lUNITl
Jacking up the price of anything is an easy way to make people believe it must be a quality product.
Even if customers will quickly realize they did not get their money's worth.
@LeeMerrittesq/X
@bob_moss/X
@jelanijones/Bluesky
@Aurkayne/X
@sadcommunistdog; @froglok/Bluesky