Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Describe The Most Overpriced Things They've Ever Seen

People Describe The Most Overpriced Things They've Ever Seen
Million Dollar Price Tag Vector Clipart image - Free stock photo ...
Make us preferred on Google

From the seller's perspective, the best price is the highest one possible that people would still buy. Usually, that's a careful game: supply and demand are balanced and the ideal figure is honed.

But sometimes, the price seems to come way out of left field.


A recent Reddit thread asked folks to discuss the most cartoonishly ridiculous prices they've ever laid eyes upon.

Often the culprits were the peddled products of niche internet companies or high end brand stores. But some truly weird examples from the furthest corners of commerce also made appearances.

For anyone who has ever been taken for a ride, this is a thread you'll empathize with.

Thic_water asked, "What's the most overpriced thing you've seen?"

Amazing Picture

"There's a 50,000 dollar HDMI cable on Amazon" -- BiscuitMiscuit

"I once read a review of an 'audiophile' grade ethernet cable. This guy actually claimed changing the ethernet cable from his router to his PC made his music sound better." -- ConspiratorM

"I heard that it is easier to change the list price of an item instead of make the item unlisted So sometimes you'll see an item listed for an absolutely absurd price because it is out of stock"

"I went to buy a $30 item once and the price changed to $10,000" -- Yomommassis

As High As They Go

"In a downtown consignment shop, an oil painting of sheep grazing in a meadow had a price tag of $18,700."

"It was by an unrecognized artist. When asked why it was priced so high, the shopkeeper said 'because someone will like it and buy it.' " -- Back2Bach

"My high school art teacher told me your piece is worthless until you have a buyer. Same idea." -- Solobotomy

INFUSION

"That $6 asparagus water Whole Foods sold a couple years ago; it was a 16oz bottle of water with 3 stalks of asparagus."

"Also, everything from goop."

-- Ahhh_Ahhh_Ahhh

The Ethical Underbelly

"Insulin. Discovered over 100 years ago and is now synthetically produced and still is being sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars in many cases."

"The drug companies decided they were going to make their gigantic profit margins off life-saving medicine."

-- t1runner

The Highest Stakes Party of All

"Weddings."

"I don't disagree with wanting the day to be special and memorable, but the industry jacks up the prices if they know it's a wedding, and there are way more affordable options while still getting to celebrate love and the future."

"No reason to break the bank. Use the money saved for even more memories."

-- The_Tell_Tale_Heart

Paying for the Name

"A few years back Nordstrom was selling a rock in a leather pouch for $85." -- Happy_Fun_Balll

"Neiman-Marcus used to put out the most hilarious Christmas gift catalog."

One year they offered his and hers Lear jets. No kidding. Just about anything in that catalog was wildly overpriced. More recently, they offered in their Christmas book, as a potential gift, a Boeing Business Jet for the wonderfully affordable price of 'north of $35 million.' " -- dramboxf

A Fitness Boom

"Literally any pair of dumbbells during the Covid lockdown." -- Nicod27

"I managed to walk into a Dick's Sporting Goods as they were offloading 300 lbs. Barbell sets. When they were helping me load the set into my car the employees said some guy had driven from Chicago (~5 hours) and bought a pallet of them."

"I know that motherf***er must have made a killing flipping them on CL." -- frankhaith4missouri

But It's So Cool Looking...

"Bottle service at bars is f***in stupid... I'll just go to a corner liquor store and buy the '4000$ bottle' for like 40..." -- Lone-Oak

"Bottle service seems great when I'm blacked out and my friend orders it... when he venmo requests me the next day it does not seem great" -- Sleepy_Tortoise

People We Trust

"Celebrity line of products."

"Companies hike the prices of products by hundreds of dollars just because the name of a celebrity was on it."

-- PianistCryuff

Out of Whack

"College" -- Universal_MJ

"That's the USA for you 'Don't wanna pay minimum wage? Get $100,000 in debt for school and some papers' " -- Thic_water

"Its sad when people say $30k of college debt is not too bad" -- ijustneedanametouse

Value Added Products

"A couple of years ago, Mark's and Spencer Food, a high end supermarket in the UK, tried selling 'Cauliflower Steak' which was a thick slice of cauliflower for £2.50. It was covered in plastic"

"You could literally buy a whole cauliflower in the same row a bit further down for 40p."

"They were crucified for it, it was hilarious"

-- patchyj

GOLD STUFF

"When I was in Dubai 2 years ago there was a cell phone store in the mall that sold phones that ranged from $30k -$120k. They were basically phones covered in diamonds and gold."

"That's $100k for something that is probably already obsolete."

-- holla09

The Internet of (Overpriced) Things

"The $700 Juicero. As if a Wi-FI connecting juicer was even necessary, let alone worth the price point." -- brownsheepinasweater

"'Juicer' since it didn't even actually juice anything, just squeezed bags of premade juice." -- Ninjachibi117

"There's an alcoholic version of this called the bartesian. It literally just mixes alcohol with pods of pre-mixed cocktail juice. It's $350 and for some reason people have been going crazy over it. It was sold out for a while. Such a marketing gimmic" -- Plumrose333

Bad, and Worse

"You know, for the longest time I was amazed that the company behind Epipen would charge a whole $100 on their product up here in Canada."

"Then I found out they sell the same product for over five times that in the US."

"Y'all seriously need better governments."

-- A_Person_13

Price-Gouged Basic Needs

"As someone who is half blind, glasses. I get the dirt cheap ones, and it still costs over $100 for the privilege of being able to see." -- TheRealHirohikoAraki

"Also wheelchairs. The basic ones are usually pretty reasonable, but if you need any sort of custom support they can routinely cost more than most luxury cars." -- rachaek

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

'The Craft' cast, including Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Rachel True and Neve Campbell
Columbia Pictures/Getty Images

'The Craft' Star Speaks Out After New Bratz Dolls Were Sent To Influencers But Not Original Cast

Bratz enthusiasts have a lot to be excited about right now, as a new collection of the dolls have rolled out, this time inspired specifically by the original cast of the 1996 horror film The Craft, from which Bratz dolls came to be.

But just because it's an exciting campaign doesn't mean it's perfect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trick-or-treating
The Boston Globe/Getty Images

HOA Sparks Debate After Sending Letter Telling People Not To Hand Out Full-Size Candy Bars On Halloween

Within our communities, it's important to make everyone feel welcome and included, and sometimes that means making changes so that everyone can afford to be included. But sometimes changes are made simply because someone with the power to change it doesn't want to do something.

The question is whether changes are being made for inclusivity or convenience.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @serena_loscalzo's TikTok
@serena_loscalzo/TikTok

College President Goes Above And Beyond To Help Student Prank Her Chronically Oversleeping Roommate

University of Vermont President Marlene Tromp and UVM student Hannah Lapier have gone viral after their fabulous wake-up call—and fortunately not the negative, reality-check kind!

Lapier opened up to her roommate, Serena LoScalzo, about struggling to get out of bed in the morning for her classes. Lapier prompted her friend to use any means necessary to help her make it to her morning classes on time, because she wanted to take school seriously.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @itsvictoriavega's TikTok
@itsvictoriavega/TikTok

Woman Sounds Off About 'Worst First Date Of My Life' After Guy Made Truly Unhinged Request

There are bad first dates, there are the worst first dates ever, and then there are the dates that are so terrible, you can't help but wonder how they occurred in the first place.

TikToker Victoria Vega, for example, went on a first date with a guy after what she thought was a promising start, but when she actually went on the date, it was nothing like she'd expected. In fact, she called it the worst first date of her life.

Keep ReadingShow less
TikToker Kae; Walmart storefront
@lolxdlolxdlolxd23455/TikTok; Douglas Rissing/Getty Images

Fired TikToker Shares Bonkers Behind-The-Scene Stories About What It Was Like Working At Walmart

Whether or not we've ever worked there, we've all heard horror stories and seen internet memes about "people at Walmart" and the weird things that often happen within the oversized chain convenience store.

TikToker Kae, or @lolxdlolxdlolxd23455 on the platform, worked at Walmart for more than six months and ultimately was fired because he'd accidentally logged his PTO time incorrectly and also requested multiple days off,—but he'd intended to quit anyway given his unpleasant time working there.

Keep ReadingShow less