Everyday RIP-OFFS (1 Viewer)

[Kevin P]

Other rip-offs:

Most vending machines*
ATM fees
Pay phones
Postage
$3/month to NOT be listed in the phone book--give me a break
Bottled water
Soda just about anywhere except for a grocery store

And last but not least...

CDs!!!!

KJP

* Case in point - the vending machine at work recently switched to packages of the same size but less product--e.g. fewer M&Ms in the bag, THEN they had the nerve to raise everything a nickel, when the prices were steep to begin with!!

 

[JasenP]

Vending Machines are my biggest Rip-Off pet peeve.

$1.00 + .10 deposit for a 12oz Coke or $1.29 + deposit for a full 2 liters. Asinine.

 

[Ralph Summa]

I was at a restaurant in NYC last week where cheesburgers were $13.95 and a piece of watermellon was $8.00. If I'm at the South Pole, and you want to whack me $8.00 for watermellon, that's fine because I'm sure it cost a little more to get it there. But tell me what happens in NYC that increases the price of watermellon from 39 cents a pound (retail) at a NYC supermarket or fruit stand, to $16.00 a pound at the restaurant. It's not like there's a lot of overhead in slicing a watermellon into eight pieces!
Supply and demand is a fact of life whether we like it or not, but anyone who demands an $8.00 pice of watermellon needs a beating!
Ralph

 

[ShawnF]

How about $9 for a 16 ounce cup of beer at a rock concert!!

 

[Matt Gordon]

I think the some of the other ripoffs are:
1.) Gasoline prices rising for the weekends.
(Funny how they'll jump up 10 cents a gallon overnight, but not drop 10 cents overnight!)
2.) Paying more than a buck for a 4-minute-do-it-yourself car wash.
3.) Bose.
Matt

 

[Jeff Pryor]

No thanks. I'll get drunk in the parking lot before the show.

 

[Micah Cohen]

Yeah, a lot of these things you guys are mentioning are purely extraneous expenses, not stuff you HAVE TO HAVE to live (excepting prescription drugs of course). I avoid most all these rip offs by just not partaking. I don't ever buy out of vending machines. I never go to STARBUCKS. I don't eat fast food. I use only my own bank's ATMs. Never buy bottled water or soda. I try not to go to the movie theater (and never ever buy candy there), and I'm able to buy most of my CDs and even DVDs "used" at off-prices.

It just takes a tiny bit of effort to really cut the amount of money you put in the pocket of those who don't deserve it.

I was getting local phone bills filled with wacky add-on expenses, till I made them change my "plan" to "limited local"; it cut my phone bill in half with no other consequences. I have basic DSS, so my "cable bill" is pennies and I am not missing anything. I never buy socks for more than $1/pair.

I have a couple of rules, inspired by my dad:

Cohen's First Rule of Patrimonial Spending: Never, ever pay retail.
Cohen's Second Rule of Patrimonial Spending: Pay wholesale often enough, and you can treat yourself to retail every once in a while, especially with travel, food, comfort services, etc.

I stopped buying into the corporate marketing mindwash, and I don't have all these expenses any more and my quality of life has actually gone UP. Hoorah!

MC

 

[Patrick Sun]

Isn't it only a rip-off if you actually buy the item at a price you feel is too high?

 

[Dustin B]

Besides what else has been mentioned here. Dairy Queen Blizzards and most everything else on their menu. I so wish I owned the Dairy Queen that is across the street from the University I attended.

 

[RobertR]

Isn't it only a rip-off if you actually buy the item at a price you feel is too high?

Makes sense to me, Patrick. If you refuse to buy it because you think the price is too high, you'e not ripped off. If you buy it because you think the price is justified, obviously you don't think you're being ripped off. So there's no rip-off in either case. And it's not a reasonable response to say "yeah, I bought it, but I wish the price was lower". Wishing the price was lower is obvious. Who wouldn't want 2 cent DVDs or a $1000 house or a $200 Lexus? You either think it's worth paying for or you don't.

 

[Matt Gordon]

Isn't it only a rip-off if you actually buy the item at a price you feel is too high?

Patrick --

If I sell you something for $25 that you can get for $10 down the street if you knew about it, aren't I ripping you off? I don't think the purchaser's perception of price necessarily determines the "rip-off factor."

Here's another twist: What about, for instance, a $6000 Rolex watch? You may consider paying $6000 for a watch a joke, but it may be worth it to me.

 

[Colin-H]

Ralph: Do you have any idea how much rent is in NYC? Do you have any idea how high utility costs are? This causes both a direct and indirect burden on the restaurant: you have to pay more yourself, and you have to pay your workers more because their rent and utility costs are higher. "Overhead" is not just the simple act of cutting the watermelon, as you seem to believe.

(I'm lucky. The vending machines at my workplace are $0.75 for a 20oz bottle, and on really hot days, the boss will open them.)

What annoys me are highway rest stops. Everything is more expensive there. Gas is 10 or 20 cents more, soda machines are a buck fifty, even the McDonald's charges more. I try to pull off at an exit and buy from a "regular" gas station or Mickey D's to save cash.

 

[MickeS]

That's what I mean by rip-offs: the prices are too high, the seller knows it, but the consumer doesn't (in most cases). Like, Sam Goody's is consistently ripping off DVD customers by selling DVD's for MSRP, when they're available for well below that in most other stores, but the consumer doesn't know it.
RobertR, I get your point about "if the customer agrees to pay, the price is not too high", but that only applies if there are actual, real-life choices, and the customer is aware of all those choices. The rest stop for example, if I'm running low on gas and that's the only place available, I have to stop and get ripped off. If the customer at Sam Goody's knew about all the other options, they might not buy the DVD there, but the store is using ignorance to rip off its customers. IMO, of course.

 

[Ralph Summa]

Colin,
Having been a city boy at one time, I understand what the cost of living is like in NYC and why rents, wages and prices are high. While I was there last week, I had the best $7 bowl of soup, I gladly paid $25 for a baked stuffed shrimp and scallop dish, and I thoroughly enjoyed my $8 heavenly piece of banana cream pie, but for $8 I want my watermelon served to me on the bare belly of my beautiful waitress.
Ralph

 

[Colin-H]

Yeah, that'd be worth $8.

It's just that many of my friends from outside the area don't understand that NYC is not a place you can be frugal easily!

 

[Philip_G]

If I sell you something for $25 that you can get for $10 down the street if you knew about it, aren't I ripping you off?

No. Because this example I chose to purchase it from you. A fair price is what a buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to sell right then, not down the street, not 5 minutes from now, not last week.
a true rip off is something you have no choice in, like utilities you have to buy from one company and can't go to another, gas prices.. we all need gas, why is it the prices always change all over town the same amount, at the same time? After 9/11 people all rushed to the gas stations to fill up before the price skyrocketed (maybe it was just here? not sure) some stations jacked their prices up, some didn't. I don't fill up at the ones that did (I drove around to watch the insane lines of stupid people ) Were they ripping people off? not really, no one HAD to buy gas RIGHT then and there.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Biggest Ripoff: Bottled Water, water is available free from drinking fountains most everywhere. Bottled water costs more than gasoline.

 

[RobertR]

If the customer at Sam Goody's knew about all the other options, they might not buy the DVD there, but the store is using ignorance to rip off its customers.

It's not Sam Goody's responsibility to inform people what the lowest price is. They sell stuff at a certain price. People either think it's worth it or they don't. It's interesting how companies are sometimes put in a "no-win" situation with respect to price (depending on the agenda). If Sam Goody charged the SAME price as some discount outfit, they could be accused of "collusion". If they charged a lower price, they could be accused of "cutthroat competition". And, of course, if they charge a higher price, they are "ripping people off". Like I said, they can't win!
The "collusion", "cutthroat competition", and "ripping off" charges are all things that have actually been leveled at various companies. To use the original Subway example, you can bet your ass that if Subway dropped its sandwich prices to $2, and thereby starting making huge gains in market share, people would be screaming BLOODY MURDER that they're "unfairly" driving out "family delis", Quizno's, Arby's, etc. etc. etc.

 

[MickeS]

Well, finally we agree on something! If I was in their position I'd do the same thing, but that doesn't make it less of a rip-off.
I prefer that they rip people off rather than go the Wal-Mart route and sell everything so cheap the competition can't keep up. At least with Sam Goody's prices, the informed consumers can feel good about themselves for not shopping there.
/Mike

 

[Bill Eberhardt]

I think the ultimate rip-off is the dollar or more a restaurant charges for a glass of soda. Our local diner for example charges $1.50 for a 12 ounce glass of soda, filled with ice, of course.

Having a friend who delivers fountain soda to restaurants, I can truthfully say that glass of soda costs the restaurant a big whopping 7 cents...or a dime without the ice.

You're right. The military dining hall here bases its ala-cart meal prices on the cost of the ingredients. A glass of soda is $.10, a small salad or piece of pie is $.40 and the main entree is usually $.70 to $1.00. I can get a great meal for around $3.00.

The second biggest "ripoff" in a restaurant are the pasta dishes. They have the biggest markup. The best bargain, surprisingly, is a steak dinner. They have typically the smallest markup percentage wise.