CNN Shares America’s Biggest Rip-Offs

Texting services are marked up up to 6,500% sometimes, reports CNN.

Today there was a really interesting article on CNN’s website called America’s Biggest Rip-Offs.  It was a list of products we frequently buy that have astronomical markups.  It was good to know where you should definitely not spend your money.

Here are a few highlights …

• Text Messaging - Costs your wireless carrier one third of a cent to deliver but the customer gets charged 10 cents incoming, and 10 cents outgoing.  Even with unlimited texting plans the carrier is making a big profit!
• Movie Theater Snacks - Theaters don’t make much off of ticket sales so they mark up snacks for profit.  I think most of us figured this out when they saw a price tag of $5 on a box of Gummy Bears.  It’s always good to remember how much those gummies cost at Walgreens when you are tempted for a sweet treat.
• Free Credit Report Websites - These sites charge monthly fees to regularly check your credit report when you can get your credit report from the Federal Trade Commission free once a year.  Warning - They automatically charge you for the monthly service when you check your credit report on freecreditreport.com
• Name Brand Pain Medicine - CNN notes that a name brand, like Advil, has a 160% markup on their products.  Always buy generic.  It is the same stuff for a lot less.
• Wine at Restaurants - CNN reports that restaurants mark up cheaper bottles by an average of three times the retail price.  You might want to only splurge on wine at dinner once in a while because once again you are not getting your money’s worth.
• Read the rest of the article at CNN, for the other tips.  It is a good reminder to the consumer, that you are not always getting what you pay for.