The products you're paying a huge markup for
As consumers, we are often relegated to an unfair fate, which is to say many things are out of our hands.
And from a pricing perspective, we’re okay with a lot of it. We’re fine with, for example, paying a princely sum for diamonds because we can’t exactly fly across the world, whip out our boom drills and roadheaders and mine for the things ourselves.
But what about products we can make, find or consume on our own?
Which ones are we getting hosed on the most?
Mark-up, of course, is built into the nature of shopping. It’s how stores turn profit, and consumers understand that. Not everything can be bought as if it’s from Costco.
*Bing: How to shop smarter
To some smart consumers, that sentiment extends only so far. They won’t pay X dollars for Product Y, because they can get Product Y at home for a fraction of X dollars.
The rest of us, though, we pay. And pay lots. Finance site Money Talks News recently put out a list of the everyday products with the highest mark-ups, and you’ll be astounded what you pay for regular things.
Among the highlights:
1) Movie popcorn – an average mark-up of 1,275 per cent.
2) Bottled water – according to some, a mark-up of as high as 4,000 per cent.
3) Salad bars – on average, items like chickpeas and radishes sold in salad bars are marked up 350 per cent.
4) Eyeglass frames – those designer duds are marked-up big (1,000 per cent) from what they cost to make.
5) Text messages – each text you send costs plenty, but gets marked-up about 6,000 per cent from what providers pay.
6) Hotel minibars – no shocker here; items can be marked up by as much as 400 per cent.
7) Greeting cards – holiday wishes cost lots, as much as a 200 per cent mark-up.
Many of these things, including water and the stuff you find in hotel minibars, can be skimped on, or the costs can be wiped out almost completely with a little planning.
But as in life, sometimes consumers are screwed. We can’t well send our own text messages now, can we?
What items are you resigned to spending well over their true value for?
Posted by: TT | Nov 2, 2021 11:17:10 PM
everything that comes to Canada from the states is marked up by 1000% by the Canadian Border Services. Why?
Posted by: GB | Nov 5, 2021 3:51:04 AM
The popcorn gets me. Why hasn't anyone challenged the theatres creating their own monopoly with the ban on outside food and drink. I would think that somewhere there must be a law in Canada against this.
Posted by: banty | Nov 5, 2021 8:29:54 AM
I have never eaten popcorn at a movie theatre because of the markup. In fact, I don't snack at all at theatres because of this fact. I only drink bottled water in foreign countries where I'm not sure if the government purifies it. This is also because of the markup. I have never liked salad bars. I can make myself a delicious salad at home. It's not hard at all. Text messaging is definitely a waste of $$. I don't do that much either. Hotel minibars have never been on my list to try. I used to use greeting cards instead of gifts, as it was still cheaper. Now that the economy is bad, I don't use greeting cards or gifts unless you are a very close family member. I just voice the greeting. The only thing on this list I would use are eyeglass frames. However, even with the markup it's still cheaper and easier than laser surgery. I believe I'm doing well not wasting $$.
Posted by: SP | Nov 6, 2021 9:53:56 PM
Somewhat disappointed that gasoline refinery costs, media promotion costs and government contract 'consulting' fees are missing from this list.
Well, perhaps that and home phone line costs. (I can still remember back to the 1990's when it was possible to have a home phone line for $5 a month that would connect you to a real, live human operator). I'm surprised that the phone lines installed in the 1950's and fully automated by the year 2000 still haven't been paid off (that's why it's so expensive right???).
But hey, it's Canada, why have real competition when our elected leaders already know their favorite election sponsors?
Posted by: ME | Nov 7, 2021 8:37:24 AM
I hope you all realize that without markup your bosses can't pay you or ever give you a raise, let alone stay in business. Gas prices inlcude a lot of tax - take a look at the great country you live in, all the ammenities and infrastructure we have and then complain again about what you pay.
There is no law against a company not allowing you to bring certain items in to their establishment, you can't bring food in to a restaurant either. And it isnt a monopoly as you can buy popcorn anywhere - you just cant bring it in to a private enterprise.
there are people all over the world who would give everything to live in such a place. Lets stop complaining about the price of luxuries we dont need anyway. if you want to stop paying high prices for things decrease demand.
Posted by: Bryan Jaskolka | Nov 11, 2021 4:39:43 PM
The theatre popcorn doesn't surprise me at all, and I'm quite certain there are no laws in Canada surrounding them. There was a case in the U.S. of a man that brought his own snacks in, was caught, and wasn't allowed to keep them on him duirng the movie. I believe he took it to court, not sure whether he won or lost. Remember that these are the majority of the theatre's profits, as when you pay for your ticket you're largely paying the director, the actors, the crew, etc.
I'm all for informed consumers though, and the text messages surprise me. Especially when there are free apps for your smartphones available.
Thanks for the post!