Six Outrageously Overpriced Items

[Eff-1]

Unless you're filthy rich, you've probably noticed that movie theatre popcorn costs an arm and a leg. Still, for some unknown reason, countless consumers shell out the big bucks for this greasy flick-food.

Of course, movie theatre snacks aren't the only budget busters. Just think about the exorbitant cost of greeting cards, printer ink and bottled water. The sky-high price tags on those products are enough to send today's cash-strapped consumers spiralling into debt. Yet, we continue to cough up the cash for these absurdly expensive items.

Here are six outrageously overpriced products that consumers can't seem to live without.

1. Movie theatre popcorn

At the grocery store, microwave popcorn runs about $3 per box, and each box includes three 3.5 ounce bags. So why on earth would consumers even consider paying a whopping $6 for a single medium-sized bag of popcorn in the movie theatre? No one knows exactly why - but for some bizarre reason, movie-goers continue to drain their wallets to crunch on a bag full of those greasy little nuggets during their favorite film.

After considering that movie theatres purchase popcorn in bulk, the average markup of movie theater popcorn is a whopping 1,275 per cent! At that steep price, you'd think those buttery bags were laced with gold. (To learn more about the movie theater business, check out Movie Theatre Finance.)

2. Greeting cards

Since when does a folded-up piece of paper cost $2.99? Since someone slaps a precious kitty picture and a cleverly written message on it and then stamps the back of it with a well-known logo. That's right - we're talking about those pricey greeting cards. Many consumers spend hours poring over the neatly arranged stacks in the greeting card aisle, searching for the perfect message for their sister's birthday, their parent's anniversary or "Just Because."

The average greeting card costs between $2 and $4, and we consumers don't seem to think twice about paying that precipitous price. The markup is between 100 and 200 per cent - which is not quite as shocking as movie theatre popcorn, but it adds up quickly. When you consider how many of those paper jewels you buy each year, it's enough to send you running for the construction paper and markers. After all, it only costs a few cents to create a home-made card. (Do you know how much you're really spending? Find out in What's Eating Away Your Money?)

3. University textbooks

In 2010, the annual in-state cost for the typical state university soared to more than $15,000, and private colleges now charge an average of $35,600 a year. As if college kids (and their parents) aren't financially drained enough, there's yet another inflated price they face: textbooks. College students pay an average of $900 a year on textbooks and other supplies.

College textbook prices have skyrocketed by 186 per cent since 1986, and these expensive volumes of knowledge now account for 26 per cent of the overall cost of college. Unfortunately, broke college students are required to purchase these costly books for their classes. At least they can try to sell their books back to local book store at the end of the semester - for a few measly bucks. (It's not just tuition fees that are rising. Keep your book buying in check with A Foolproof Budget Plan For Textbooks.)

4. Bottled water

You've probably heard that "Evian" is simply "naïve" spelled backwards. OK, so the well-known company probably did not choose their name for that reason - but many people believe that consumers who buy bottled water are certainly naïve. After all, water is one of the most abundant resources in the world and is available for free from countless water fountains and sinks across the nation. Yet, many consumers are still willing to pay $3 a bottle of it.

In 2009, the U.S. Congress revealed that about 45 per cent of bottled water comes from municipal taps - and then the bottled water company may or may not do some additional filtering before pouring it in their logo-stamped bottles. Still, Americans continue to buy more than 500 million bottles every week, making it the second most popular purchased drink (after pop.)

5. Printer ink

You may be able to buy a surprisingly affordable printer at your local office supply store, but don't start celebrating just yet. The printer companies make their biggest bucks on ink.

Over the life of your printer, you'll probably pay more than 500 per cent of the total price of the printer itself on ink refill cartridges. At $30, a 42 ml cartridge of black printer ink comes out to 71 cents per ml. On the other hand, the Red Cross charges $200 for 500 ml of blood, which comes out to about 40 cents per ml. (Do you know the latest ways to keep more coin in your pocket? Check out Social Buying: A New Way To Save.)

6. Brand-name fashions

How much did you pay for those True Religion jeans, that Burberry scarf and those towering Louboutin stilettos? Probably a small fortune. But it was worth every penny, right? Not so much. When it comes to designer clothes, it's pretty obvious that you are paying for the label.

As a matter of fact, brand-name clothes are often marked up by 500 to 1000 per cent. Yet, fashion-conscious consumers continue to drain their bank accounts and pile up massive amounts of debt to stay on the cutting edge of couture.

Broke consumers are saying no

The recession has hit many households hard, and thousands of broke consumers are passing on these and other overpriced products. So, does that mean the inflated prices of these items will eventually fall? Only time will tell. In the meantime, you may want to check your bank account before you hit the movie theatre snack bar.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle1692811/

[Vinny G]

They forgot Apple products

[flagella]

and Fast Food product in general if you wanna talk about cost in making those.

[spoon.ek9]

they should also mention how book stores at universities/colleges make continuous profit.

ie, langara sells you a brand new textbook at 100% (probably some mark up here to boost profit in the first place), buy it back for 50% then sell them used at 75% (or more)

and of course, they do this continuously until a new version of the textbook is released for sale.

[Qmx323]

HAH.

True Religion jeans.

[Gumby]

I wonder what the actual cost price of pop is. Even when McDonalds is having a $1 promo on all soft drinks, they're probably still making a killing off consumers.

[Ferra]

I have no problem with overpriced items as long as they are not "necessary".
spending money is all about making yourself happy and comfortable...no need to penny pinch everything in life and make urself miserable.
I spent money on "outrageously overpriced" popcorns at theater and on clothing...but they make me happy and it is worth the $3 or $100 extras.


Textbook & printer ink on the other hand are totally evil tho. These are stuffs that you don't have a choice and you have to buy...
fucking publisher always try to rip poor students off by making new edition of books every year....they make 15 editions of one book and all they did was change the pages.

[Greenstoner]

There are too many overpriced items out there.

You wont enjoy life if you take these seriously

[tonyvu]

Originally Posted by Qmx323

HAH.

True Religion jeans.

not if you know the proper hook ups.... 250/ pair

[TheStreetDream]

Originally Posted by tonyvu

not if you know the proper hook ups.... 250/ pair

I get them cheaper :| LOL

[punkwax]

Originally Posted by Gumby

I wonder what the actual cost price of pop is. Even when McDonalds is having a $1 promo on all soft drinks, they're probably still making a killing off consumers.

I remember my brother saying a large pop costs McD's something like 19 cents including the cup, lid and straw. That was about 15yrs ago when he was a McManager.

[raygunpk]

1. Women

[bengy]

Originally Posted by tonyvu

not if you know the proper hook ups.... 250/ pair

They're cheaper than that at most outlets in the states

[Yuffa]

I'm guilty for buying bottled water.....it's just so convient having a pack in the fridge ready to go....

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by Nodnarb

I remember my brother saying a large pop costs McD's something like 19 cents including the cup, lid and straw. That was about 15yrs ago when he was a McManager.

The cup, lid, and the straw cost more than the pop itself and 19 cents sounds about right.

[Hondaracer]

well think of the quantitiy mcdicks buys the syrup at as well

even when I worked in a few clubs, the syrup we got for coke etc. cost like $28 a box, and you could serve drinks all night without changing it, so when we were buying it at $28 a box, how much does mcdonalds get its syrup for? under 5?

[Gt-R R34]

what bout....good old Starbucks. Someone that worked there once told me a Latte was like 25 cents all included.

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

well think of the quantitiy mcdicks buys the syrup at as well

even when I worked in a few clubs, the syrup we got for coke etc. cost like $28 a box, and you could serve drinks all night without changing it, so when we were buying it at $28 a box, how much does mcdonalds get its syrup for? under 5?

There is no way they get it under $5 . I'm guessing around $15 to $20.

[Soundy]

1. Movie theatre popcorn

At the grocery store, microwave popcorn runs about $3 per box, and each box includes three 3.5 ounce bags. So why on earth would consumers even consider paying a whopping $6 for a single medium-sized bag of popcorn in the movie theatre? No one knows exactly why - but for some bizarre reason, movie-goers continue to drain their wallets to crunch on a bag full of those greasy little nuggets during their favorite film.

I'm sure a lot of people would just bring their own, but that's not allowed. Same thought applies to buying drinks at the bar - the trendier the place, the more you pay for the same drink. Case in point: a four-pack of Smirnoff Ice (my poison of choice) goes for $11 in the liquor store, or <$3/bottle, which right there is probably 200-250% over cost with gov't markup and taxes. Now you go to some place like the Red Room, and they want $7.50 for that same bottle. Meantime, a place like Envy (formerly Cheers), they're $4.75. Not as crazy a markup as popcorn, but same idea: when you can't bring your own, they can shaft you for whatever they want.

2. Greeting cards

Since when does a folded-up piece of paper cost $2.99? Since someone slaps a precious kitty picture and a cleverly written message on it and then stamps the back of it with a well-known logo. That's right - we're talking about those pricey greeting cards. Many consumers spend hours poring over the neatly arranged stacks in the greeting card aisle, searching for the perfect message for their sister's birthday, their parent's anniversary or "Just Because."

The average greeting card costs between $2 and $4, and we consumers don't seem to think twice about paying that precipitous price. The markup is between 100 and 200 per cent - which is not quite as shocking as movie theatre popcorn, but it adds up quickly. When you consider how many of those paper jewels you buy each year, it's enough to send you running for the construction paper and markers. After all, it only costs a few cents to create a home-made card. (Do you know how much you're really spending? Find out in What's Eating Away Your Money?)

You're largely paying for licensing fees here... whoever came up with the slogan gets a cut under copyright law. If there's a picture, it probably has licensing fees attached as well. And sure you can print your own at home, but have you seen most home-made cards? They LOOK hokey and cheap, especially printed on standard inkjet printer. price out cardstock before making this comparison (and this isn't even considering the cost of printer ink!)

4. Bottled water

You've probably heard that "Evian" is simply "naïve" spelled backwards. OK, so the well-known company probably did not choose their name for that reason - but many people believe that consumers who buy bottled water are certainly naïve. After all, water is one of the most abundant resources in the world and is available for free from countless water fountains and sinks across the nation. Yet, many consumers are still willing to pay $3 a bottle of it.

Again, paying for convenience. No different than going to 7-Eleven and paying $8 for a little bottle of a dozen Tylenol because you REALLY NEED them at 4am... rather than waiting until morning and getting a bottle of 48 for $6.

5. Printer ink

You may be able to buy a surprisingly affordable printer at your local office supply store, but don't start celebrating just yet. The printer companies make their biggest bucks on ink.

As much as people complain about this, consider that if they charged what ink is REALLY worth, they'd have to make up the difference by charging three times as much for the printer itself. The ink costs are basically subsidizing the printer... which as a consumer, is an attractive idea, because I can just buy a new printer and get newer technology for the same think it would cost me to re-stock my old one.

6. Brand-name fashions

How much did you pay for those True Religion jeans, that Burberry scarf and those towering Louboutin stilettos? Probably a small fortune. But it was worth every penny, right? Not so much. When it comes to designer clothes, it's pretty obvious that you are paying for the label.

True for SOME brands... I paid over $250 for a pair of Red Wing shoes for work some 12 years ago; I still have them, and they're still in great condition. Sometimes you DO get what you pay for with name brands... some times not.

Of course, let's not forget the insane dollars people drop for ricer toys for their cars... add-ons that amount to little more than bling or maginal performance gains that they'll never get to use (legally) on the street...

[Soundy]

Originally Posted by Gt-R R34

what bout....good old Starbucks. Someone that worked there once told me a Latte was like 25 cents all included.

Granted they'll get their milk wholesale, but assuming Superstore retail of $2.79 for (about) a gallon... that's about 31c for the milk in a Venti. Add the espresso.... that's a bit over 25c.

Of course, none of these comparisons factor in the overhead: store rent, staff wages, electricity, the big fancy steaming machines... not to mention the ongoing maintenance on all that gear. Starbucks lattes are only marginally more expensive than most other places (Blenz, Waves, etc.), and that's offset by the fact that Starbucks usually takes up the prime real estate and likely pays a good chunk more for rent than most of their competitors.

[Not really racist!]

Pop is really cheap anyways, they use 20L syrup which can be used for god knows how long.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by Manic!

There is no way they get it under $5 . I'm guessing around $15 to $20.

all our coke ones were $28 per box, and that was buying like 4-5 a week

gotta be under 20 for them

[Soundy]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

all our coke ones were $28 per box, and that was buying like 4-5 a week

gotta be under 20 for them

Gotta pay for the CO2 as well, for carbonation... regular refills there, not too spendy, but it still factors in. The maintenance guy who comes around to keep those machines running right wants a few bucks as well...

[q0192837465]

I never get the point of bottled water, especially in BC, where the water is as clean as u can get anywhere in the world. Tap water tastes just the same, if not better, than bottled water. Some ppl say it's convenience but how do u get more convenient than grabbing a cup & turn on the tap? I just dun get it.

I bring our own pop and snack to theatre all the time, that's what my gf's bag is for.

As for greeting cards, I spent time using photoshop to design make my own cards. I'm sure whoever receive my card will appreciate a custom made card more than a generic off-the-counter card. The card itself is not important, it's the thought behind it that counts. If u think otherwise, u can suck my dick.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by Soundy

Gotta pay for the CO2 as well, for carbonation... regular refills there, not too spendy, but it still factors in. The maintenance guy who comes around to keep those machines running right wants a few bucks as well...

yea true

I wonder how mcdicks even calculates costs of things like cups and syrup, i guess just per store