There’s this ongoing kerfuffle behind the scenes between business owners and consumers. Buyers want to make the most of their money, and sellers want to earn the most from their products. It’s all good and dandy when the commodity is worth the price you paid, but when the high price point doesn’t match up with what you’ve been promised, it can be infuriating, to say the least.
Unfortunately, many of us have been there—saving up for a nice meal or getting our nails done for a celebration—and then left completely in shock because your $20 salad came with three pieces of croutons, and your treat-yourself manicure looked like a child’s coloring.
These scenarios happen more often than we’d like to admit, and what better place to let our purchase frustrations go than on social media? The Bored Panda team has scoured the web to find the most unfair deals that make people feel ripped off. Scroll through the curated list to see expectations vs. reality in this economy that might leave you thinking twice before purchasing something.
#1 Paid $12 To Go To This "Pumpkin Patch", Also Known As A Field With Pumpkins Placed In It
Image credits: _grumpycat1
#2 Paid $300 For 3 Nights At This Specific Hotel Because They Advertised A Free Continental Breakfast. This Is Their Continental Breakfast
Image credits: awitcheskid
#3 I Paid $20 For A Burger On My Cruise. Here Is The Result
Image credits: Rafael_king_potato
Nowadays, trips to the grocery store become more expensive every time. For example, inflation for food in the US was 3.3% in October 2023. However, the cost of a commodity is much more complicated than the business setting a number they deem suitable. In a free market, it’s usually determined by demand and supply. The price will be higher if many buyers are seeking a product and lower if there are only a few.
#4 Got Charged 9k For A Doctor To Tell Me It Was Just Period Cramps, And After Going To Another Doctor, It Was Diagnosed As A Ruptured Ovarian Cyst
Image credits: Carlpoppa1738
#5 This Haircut That I Paid $60 For
Image credits: rainstorm22
#6 I Paid $47 To Upgrade To This "Window Seat"
Image credits: time_fo_that
Additionally, product cost is one of the most important factors that affects the price. It includes expenses such as materials, equipment, labor, packaging, marketing, distribution, selling, and even rent. Competition in the market also adds to it. If there aren't any other suppliers in a specific area, the firm can fix a price of its choosing. Additionally, the government usually doesn’t interfere in their determination, except for things like wheat and drugs, which are essential for humans and require set pricing.
#7 My Wedding Cake (Yes, We Paid For This)
Image credits: reddit.com
#8 This $18 "Caesar Salad" My Girlfriend's Cousins Got In Vegas
Image credits: LeftysSuck
#9 Just Paid $300 For This Textbook And Peeled Off A Sticker To Reveal It Shouldn't Have Been Sold
Image credits: MathDude95
Despite all of these factors constituting a price, it may increase due to something entirely unpredictable. Let’s take unfavorable weather conditions, for example. The summer of 2023 was Earth’s hottest since global records began in 1880, according to scientists at NASA. Due to extreme heat, wildfires, and violent storms, some crops end up being destroyed. As a result, veggies, leafy greens, nuts, berries, and other produce may cost more.
#10 I Paid $45 To Add Ride Photos To My Daughter's Amusement Park's Season Pass. It's An Extra $20/Photo To Download Without The Watermark
Image credits: cincymatt
#11 $8.99 Kids Buttered Noodles
Image credits: Urdnought
#12 I Spent $12 On "Anti-Fog" Mirror Film
Image credits: kelleh711
Affairs between nations can also drive up the costs of some of the most necessary products. The Russia-Ukraine war raised the price of grains by 110% between 2021 and 2022. Ukraine has more than 50% of the world’s cereal market and is also the main supplier of sunflower oil. The export restrictions from the country and the heightened demand for crops due to the pandemic reached near-record prices.
#13 Ordered Fried Pickles As An Appetizer. I Got 1 Pickle Cut Into 4, Cost Me $10
Image credits: joeyvesh13
#14 Caprese Salad I Purchased From A Pizza Place. I Should Have Checked The Reviews First
Image credits: Umman_manda6632
#15 The View From My 30€ Ticket
Image credits: Michaluck
Mass outbreaks of diseases are also known to contribute to the rising costs. In late 2022, highly contagious bird flu forced poultry farmers to reduce their chicken population in the US, which affected the prices of eggs and other livestock products. The outbreak resulted in about 27 to 28 million dozen eggs per week missing on the shelf. The lack of access to necessary food drives up prices and can result in people not being able to meet basic household food needs.
#16 I Paid $10.95 For This
Image credits: dog_eat_dog
#17 Just Paid $800 For My School "Books". It's A Loose Leaf Paper
Image credits: Xaephod
#18 I Paid $5.50 For These Cheesy Chips At A Football Match
Image credits: billywright4
However, it doesn’t mean that business owners don’t take advantage of these circumstances and raise prices just because they can. Even though we spend a lot of money, the purchases we make don’t always meet our expectations.
One way businesses profit without us even knowing it is called "shrinkflation." It's done to reduce the size of a product while maintaining the same price. From a business perspective, it’s a useful way to boost or maintain profits without drawing too much negative attention. Retailers often employ it to level out higher production (e.g., materials, labor) costs. If you spot a packaging redesign, chances are there has been a weight change. Mars Inc. took this path in 2017, shrinking Maltesers and M&Ms in the UK by 15%.
#19 $17 For Sad Pizza My Friend Ordered
Image credits: Parking_Pineapple440
#20 This Restaurant Has An Automatic 18% Service Charge For Parties Of One Or Higher
I’ve seen restaurants include gratuity when it’s a large party but never for parties of 1.
Image credits: TRTL2k
#21 Paid $9 For This. Speechless
Image credits: mdizzle40
The internet has also become a convenient space to rip people off. An investigation by Which? has found that Etsy, a global marketplace for unique and creative goods, included product listings with fake handmade products that could be purchased for a fraction of the price from retailers like Amazon and Asda. They also analyzed the first page of items on Etsy and found that 23 out of 192 handmade items were actually mass-produced and were seven times the price. One seller has made nearly 9,000 sales in “custom made” clothing that could be found on Amazon and eBay. In its annual report, Etsy said that it removed 1.9 million listings for violating its policies in 2022.
#22 This Is The Hot Tub At The Airbnb, Which Was Why I Rented The Spot. Smelled Terrible And Was Not Cleaned In Forever
Image credits: Forsaken_Storm_6397
#23 Went Out For Dinner With Friends And Got Sausage And Peppers As An Appetizer. This Is What We Got
Image credits: MikGusta
#24 Bought A New Build House And Chose A Location Across From Yet To Be Placed Park Since We Had Kids. Paid A Premium For This Coveted Lot. Here’s The Park They Finally Put In
Image credits: catusjuice
Furthermore, you can also accidentally purchase counterfeits, lookalikes, unsafe for use, banned, or mislabeled items on Amazon. CNBC found it has shipped expired foods—including baby formula—to customers, pointing to the lack of capacity to monitor expiration dates. The growth of counterfeit goods and Amazon's unwillingness to help fight them made brands like Birkenstock and Nike pull out of selling on this site. Smaller vendors with fake products now have access to millions of customers online, putting many people at risk of buying counterfeit and unsafe items. In fact, individuals have been burned by using a cheaper fake “Ove’ Glove” alternative.
#25 The Majesty Of An $8.00 Whole Foods Sandwich. The Good News Is The Chicken Salad Is Completely Tasteless
Image credits: beladona7
#26 This Was Served At A Networking Party. They Paid 500$ For The Venue
Image credits: etevian
#27 Dinner Provided By My School (On A Trip I Paid $1500 For)
Image credits: purpleeapple
Many of us aren’t really safe from the mind games and tricks of businesses. We don’t read the fine print when we should, and companies act illegally when they shouldn’t. To encourage awareness about brands ripping people off, we ask you, our dear Pandas, what’s the most bizarre thing you wasted your hard-earned money on and regretted it instantly?
#28 I Ordered A Baby Shower Gift For A Friend From Babies R Us And Paid An Extra $5 For A Gift Wrap With A Gift Message. Gift Message Printed On Invoice With Contents Listed
Image credits: swiggertime
#29 Getting Taxed On A Tip Illegally
Image credits: Lirsh2
#30 A "Caesar Salad" At Red Robin
Image credits: pb7555
#31 Just Arrived At My Hotel In My "Sea Facing Room"
Image credits: Sappok
#32 Bought A $44 Handmade Ceramic Mug. It Cracks As I Pour In My First Cup Of Tea
Image credits: reddit.com
#33 Power Went Out 20 Minutes Into Oppenheimer. Didn't Get To See The Last 30 Minutes
Waited about an hour for it to be restored, and the movie restarted, only for it to restart again automatically at the next showtime, leading to being kicked out of the theater.
Image credits: JakeBurnsRed
#34 The View Of The Stage At My Concert
Image credits: thatcancerfurry
#35 My Mom Paid $20k To Enclose Her Porch. I Saw It Today. All Of The Beams And Joints Look Like This
Image credits: UngodlyTurtles
#36 2023 Is The Year Of Paying More For Less
Image credits: reddit.com
#37 Glad I Paid For Pre
Image credits: CouchPotatoFamine
#38 My Wife Paid $200 For Front-Row Balcony Seats. They Closed The Balcony And Now This Is Our View
Image credits: WWDB
#39 We Lost Our Cat Thor On Christmas Day. My Girl Has Been Struggling To Cope Since. She Loves Stuffed Animals So For This Christmas I Ordered Her A Cuddle Clone. I Paid $300 For This
Image credits: WaddupThugsBunny
#40 The Server Said The Wings Were A "Good" Size
Image credits: TheCamiloCano
#41 I Paid $8 For This
Image credits: iAllosaurus
#42 This Costs $8 At Starbucks
Image credits: bradlomac1
#43 I Paid Over 4 Dollars For This. I Just Opened This. There’s More In The Photo On The Front Than In The Bag
Image credits: Appleenthusiasts
#44 This "Seasonal Fruit" Cup From Wendy's I Paid $1.29 For
Image credits: Superbaker123
#45 My School Lunch. Paid $3.25 For This
Image credits: jordan150000
#46 Paid Extra For A "Tower" Room At Our Hotel And Were Told We’d Get A Nice View Of The River
Image credits: justjokay
#47 Paid $30 To Get Professionally Cropped Out. Photo 1 Is A Family Photo That Was Taken. Photo 2 Is The One That Arrived In The Mail
Image credits: sandwichnerd
#48 Getting Charged Extra To Remove An Item
Image credits: swiggertime
#49 Paid $7 For This Hummus And Veggies Platter
Image credits: lightlybaked
#50 Hotel Took My Security Deposit And An Extra $50 For A Blood-Stained Towel And Stained Bath Mat
Image credits: FireBird2085
