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consumerism
We've all seen those commercials and advertisements for products that promise to solve all of our problems, with a quick click of a button, and maybe four easy payments of $19.95.
But those products are too good to be true; in fact, they're often a huge waste of money.
Redditor EnchantedSophia asked:
"What popular consumer product is sctually a giant rip-off?"
The Most Expensive Options
"My 11-year-old cousin asked for THOUSANDS of dollars of skin care products this last Christmas and even a mini refrigerator for her bedroom to keep them in."
"And the thing with those is, it’s not like you can keep using them, you have to keep buying more every time they run out."
"I use a basic retinol serum and moisturizer and that’s it, I know some people need more specialized products but still, I have no idea which tik tok influencer is responsible for convincing an 11-year-old she needed all that s**t."
- HorseKarate
Printing Cost Included
"F**k Ticketmaster."
- iSeize
"How the h**l does an 'electronic ticket' require a 15% service fee? Insane that they are charging me to print my own ticket!"
- auricargent
"I live next to a venue. It is cheaper for me to go to the ticket window and have an employee process my transaction and print me a physical ticket than it was to purchase online and use the app. How?…."
- Towelwaver35
Pyramid Scheme Shakes
"Herbalife. Nutrition Shops. Those shakes are just Herbalife."
- vintagepoppy
"I once didn’t know what Herbalife was and almost bought into the great stories. Immediately noped out of there when the sales guy told me to phone some friends and family on the spot so I could sell to them and become a ‘member’ too."
- AccurateEquivalent21
The Pretty Smell Isn't Worth It
"Fabric softener. Every authority I’ve seen agrees that it’s bad for your clothes and your washer."
- itisthemaya
Nothing Is Permanent
"NFTs were probably the funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed."
- Ismokeradon
"'Hey, wanna buy the Mona Lisa for $5,000?'"
"'H**l yeah!' (hands over $5,000)"
"'Great! Enjoy your painting!'"
"'When do I pick it up?'"
"'Oh, you don't actually own the physical painting, I've just written that you paid me $5,000 for it in this notebook, which you can come and look at any time you want!'"
- TheMightyGoatMen
"You, the reader, may think this is an exaggeration. It isn't. They paid for links to JPGs on servers they didn't own with no guarantees of anything."
- Kodix
Kitchen... Sinks?
"Kitchen sinks. There are a lot of sinks that cost $1000 or even more. It's a f**king metal bowl with a hole in it. They cost less than $100 to manufacture in China and ship them halfway across the world but 'high-end' companies upcharge these things 10x the price."
"Source: Used to work for a company that bought these sinks for $90 a pop shipped to us and we were selling them for $1000."
"Since a lot of people are mentioning these must be American prices, let me clarify, you can get a sink for a couple hundred dollars at Home Depot or some big box store. These are the 'luxury sinks' you can buy at higher-end retailers. Their argument is 'the stainless is thicker so it's more durable.' Never heard of a sink breaking, but people are gullible."
- Frankie_Spankle
Specialty Eyeglasses
"Designer eyeglasses. Luxxottica is a monopoly that controls most of the market and commands a premium for cheap plastic glasses."
- ethsmither
"Don't forget that they also control most of the places to buy said glasses. They own Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, EyeMed, Pearle Vision, Target Optical, Sears Optical, and glasses.com."
- PM_MY_OTHER_ACCOUNT
Home Telescopes
"Telescope enthusiast here. The scopes you see on a shelf in a store are almost exclusively garbage. Research it a little and buy online."
"Do not buy that scope you saw at Costco. If you really want one of those crappy scopes, go on FB marketplace, and you’ll find people basically giving them away and for a good reason."
- nautalis_maximus1
Good Knife Selection
"Knife sets with like 10 different sh*tty knives in a decorative holder. Just buy one or two nice ones and take good care of them. You don't need a special one for every different kind of food."
- SmegmaLollipop
"Chef's knife (default for the vast majority of prep). Bread knife (serrations are useful for many things). Paring knife."
"Those three are really all you need to get started for most cuisines. Specialty knives should come later in the process after you've discovered the need for one."
- hellraiserl33t
Magic Erasers
"Magic Erasers. Go on Amazon and search for "Melamine Sponges". They're SUPER cheap and the exact same thing."
- timsstuff
"Yeah, in bulk, they are like 10 cents per sponge."
- captcha_trampstamp
Shining Bright
"Diamonds. They’re not super rare. It’s all a marketing ploy to get your money."
- Unapologetic_Cooking
"False scarcity, a truly horrible history, and engagement rings are literally just the result of an American marketing campaign. Sorry but if you really want a diamond engagement ring and can't accept a lab-grown one, we probably have very different world views."
- Pikawhoohoo
Sketchy Endorsements
"Celebrity endorsed everything. The company should spend their money making products better instead of the endorsement."
- byonddodd
"Hey! My George Foreman grill is still awesome."
"Can't say the same for this Thighmaster."
- MarlenaEvans
Detox At Home
"Any detox products. They’re all scams. Every single one! You have 2 things that are fantastic at detoxing your body, your kidneys and liver. Detox products are great for cleaning out your wallet and that’s it. Doesn’t matter if it’s a drink, pills, pads for your feet, etc. DO NOT BUY THESE! Save your money!!"
- JohnerHLS
Extended Warranties
"Home extended warranties such as American Home Shield (AHS). Assuming they don't manage to weasel out of covering every single thing that breaks, you're going to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to have random lowest-bidder contractors come break more things to install lowest-bidder used / junkyard parts and 'fell off the truck' specials."
"Save your money every month and set it aside for emergencies instead of sending it to these types of predatory @sshats. You can get much better contractors installing much better products with much better factory warranties for much cheaper."
"The same applies to CarShield (American Auto Shield) and other heavily advertised automotive extended warranties. I've been in the automotive service business for 20+ years and CarShield is the only extended warranty we've had to outright ban from our shop. My heart breaks a little every time I see someone pay $4,000+ for a contract that's not worth the paper it's printed on when CarShield refuses to pay for "covered items" because reasons."
- paralyse78
Ink to Print
"Printer ink cartridges. Companies charge insane markups and use shady tricks to make you buy more. Total scam considering how cheap the actual ink costs to produce."
- EnchantedSophia
There are always going to be things that we spend too much money on, but sometimes we don't even realize that what we're spending money on is a waste. But the more we know, the greater our financial literacy can be.