Sometimes shelling out the extra cash for better quality is totally worth it. When it means those boots will last three years instead of three months, I'll happily spend the extra if I have it. It costs money to keep replacing cheaper items repeatedly. Hobby items tend to be higher priced as they tend to be more luxury items.
That being said sometimes the prices are jacked up high not because of quality…at the root it's just capitalism. Things like skyrocketed rent when investors own a significant portion of properties, the high rates of insurance costs that still leave people paying heavy out of pocket expenses for medication, or even the increasing cost of food are all things people today are concerned about.
Redditor dlo_2530 wanted to hear the things people found to be outrageously priced. They asked the online community:
“What is expensive for no reason at all?"
The pain of art supplies…
“Art supplies at art stores. I bought an exacto knife with no extra blades for 14 dollars at my local art store just to stop in a discount auto parts store a week later and find a three knife kit with 10 extra replacement blades for 4 dollars.”
“For an added kick in the pants the cheaper blades are sharper and last twice as long." canal_banal
Those $5 bottles of water add up fast…
”Anything in an airport.” Librarywoman
“One of the reasons the Portland airport keeps winning "Best Airport" awards is that PDX requires street pricing, so food, books, gifts or whatever must cost the same as anywhere else in the city.” Mackin-N-Cheese
A conspiracy going unseen?
Frustrated Cat GIFGiphy“Glasses.This industry's a joke." unlikelytom
“Luxoticca is a conglomerate that owns the vast majority of the brands we all know. So they just jack up the prices. It's pretty ridiculous.” appleparkfive
U.S. Pharma killing people through price gouging…
“Insulin." Gubble_Buppie
“I'm a Type 1 and I am so thankful I get an exemption here for prescriptions! I couldn't imagine the stress of if or not you can afford insulin to survive. Sickening.” Ninety-Five19
These Conspiracy Theories Are Easy to Debunk | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The rental market…
“Housing. My apartment complex is charging over $2,000 for a 2 bedroom because of ‘high demand’. Meanwhile 3 apartments near me sat vacant for months until they found people willing to rent them for that much.” OrdinaryRage
What exactly does it cover?
“Health insurance.” alexjfxwilliams
“When I moved to the states it was explained to me how the system works, with co-pays, deductibles etc. I had previously thought "insurance" was the thing where you pay some money every month and then if your insured thing breaks or is stolen or whatever then the company takes money from the pool and buys you a new one. Apparently I was extremely naive.” mrs_peep
Such a horrible history in these gems…
“Diamonds. A few companies own nearly all the world's diamonds and they purposely make the price high so they make more profits and the consumers cant go anywhere else.” olileoli
Dental care is healthcare…
“Dentists. (Not free in my country)” Unicornblaster00
“I am a dentist. I can't believe the price of care. My office is average in price compared to the region and whole US. I choke asking patients to spend 5 k to replace a tooth.” Itrout59
Wedding prices…
“Anything wedding related.” kurt_go_bang
“When my wife & I were looking for a wedding venue, there was a place we called and they quoted us $200 a day. When I made the mistake of saying it was for a wedding they said ‘oh for a wedding it's $800 a day.’ No reason. If I hadn't told them, we could have rented it for $200 and done everything the same.” Prossdog
Demi Lovato Popcorn GIFThese made us vice grip our wallets. It’s sad when basic necessities become so expensive contrasted with wages. Buying local is a great way to get quality items you need without buying into the corporate manufactured price increases.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
@IrnaEnglish/X