Things that are just bafflingly expensive

yeah but that's not baffling

(printer company has (more or less) a monopoly over making cartridges for its printer -> $$$$)

lol i'm only posting here because i was just looking at my tub of grapes and saying "two quid for these wot a rip off" and seconds later just saw this thread

Took a smallish painting to be framed the other week, came to £90 - when I looked at the price list I exclaimed "christ, that's expensive" exactly as mr spacecadet (who has had things framed before) declared it to be very reasonable

but an incident a few years ago led to me attempting to, uh, reconstruct the small wooden frame around the 4"x6" glass pane in my parents' front door - thought this would be a simple task but after much measuring and sawing had 4 pieces of wood which did not fit together at all, so yeah, not going to make my own picture frames any time soon

i used to be a framer (lol to see a link to the grumble on ilx). even the simplest moulding starts at about $10/ft. retail, plus they get you for glass ("oh, you're gonna want the UV-protectant, glare-resistant glass too"), upsell you to the nice suede mat board, then talk you into a decorative fillet around the bevel. then of course the price has got to account for my minimum wages. yes it's all overpriced, but no more overpriced than the art itself. 90% of the clients who came into my shop were all rich old ladies anyway.

cell phone service is needlessly expensive.

fucking amoral greedhead
http://www.thecompletepictureusa.com/images/nancy1.jpg

i do not miss that velcroed wall

Framing whatevs, I can dig why it would be $$$. What gets me is how much it costs to buy a pre-made canvas compared to the price of knocking one together yourself. And the canvases available at the one place that sells them here in town could not seem cheaper or shoddier in quality. I'll save $$ on the canvas & then cry when I got to get it framed.

if i didn't buy razor blade cartridges for six months i could probably use the money to frame a poster

stretching your own canvas is really satisfying once you get good at it. professional gift wrappers at the mall also know this joy, although they're limited to scotch tape while framers get to use a pneumatic staple gun.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21GrdRowR4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Much much cheaper.

Framing is a scam, but how to get around it? It's a sellers market cause you already have the art... what the fuck else are you going to do with it? Blu-tack it to your wall? Also, what iiiijjjj said above – a good percentage of the customers are not very price-sensitive. And, the raw materials are very expensive for unclear reasons. The shop obviously has to keep a lot of stock on hand, which is inefficient.

my family thought about getting my diploma framed but after seeing the prices, no. I think it's currently rolled up bound with rubber bands sitting in some desk drawer at home.

yeah xposts cellphone service in canada is even more expensive than most places! it is dumb
i don't think cellphone and laptop batteries should be so $$ either

i got something framed for a christmas present a few months ago and was gen surprised at how cheap it was so maybe this is a US thing.

shampoo

Shampoo is $0.99 for a bottle of VO5. Not shampooing at all = freer and better for your hair in the long run.

not down w/ dirtbag style

I'd like to agree with the comments from '07 that printer cartridges are absurdly so

If you search ebay or amazon you can find refillable cartridges that match your printer, and they have chip overrides on them so you can refill until the end of time. I bought one two years ago -- it came with little CMYK refills bottles -- and have just now run out of ink. And now replacing everything will only be 10 bucks or so.

But yeah, the ink racket....sheesh!

ayo just use less shampoo afaik

The Rev. you have like no hair! How is shampoo a big expense? Are you like an Aveda groupie or summat?

I gave my upstairs neighbor whose hair is same length, etc., as yours 1/2 a bottle of shampoo (a small bottle) and it lasted him like 3 months before he asked me for more shampoo. (I am an Aveda groupie so I felt odd knowing this guy was using some girly-smelling shampoo. Also why was I giving this guy shampoo?)

the odd part is that he came back to you for more 3 months later

cant believe you guys are such framing haters

dont hate the player hate the frame

Soundmen. The kind that "operate" a mixing board.

"cell phone service is needlessly expensive."

Yes! I was talking to this guy who was in said business and he said starting up was expensive but once that stage had passed, profits were ridiculously high. Belgium is one of the most expensive btw. :-(

The Rev. you have like no hair! How is shampoo a big expense? Are you like an Aveda groupie or summat?

― How to Make an American Quit (Abbott), Wednesday, March 10, 2010 10:47 PM Bookmark

the length of my hair tends to vary quite a bit. and it's curly, thus longer than it looks. thick, too.

besides, I didn't say I go through a ton of it, just that it's bafflingly expensive

HDMI cables

bay scallops (the little ones)

NY TIMES home delivery (never understood why subscribing costs MORE than buying the paper everyday)

I found through dedicated study that if you spend $10 on one of those giant bottles of "salon" shampoo it will last longer. Even Mane and Tail. Whereas the VO5 is used up in two weeks. Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems if you spend more you get a product with a stronger concentration.

I am too old to spend like a college student. Not complaining though.

Soundmen. The kind that "operate" a mixing board.

― Josefa, Thursday, March 11, 2010 8:33 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Priceless if they're good. Scum of the earth if not.

the big value size tub of head and shoulders I bought last september is still going strong

um the times home delivery is WAY cheaper than buying the paper daily! I'm paying thirty bucks a month.

dry cleaning

actually dry cleaning is pretty rad if you read about it, it requires all sorts of specialized machines and detergents and trucking stuff away to dry cleaning factories and stuff. I'm surprised it doesn't cost more than it actually does

HDMI cables are cheap online.

and monster cabels are a ripoff btw

Beer in Singapore.

Paid SEVEN POUNDS for a pint the other night.

HDMI cables are cheap online.

i paid less than $10 online for one that radio shack sells for 79.99!!

eyeglasses.

It seems in all these cases we are baffled by markets we don't fully understand.

It seems in all these cases we are baffled by markets we don't fully understand.

Well, if you boil it right down, there's not a lot to understand. They charge a lot because you will, for one reason or another, pay that amount. Maybe the thread should be called "things I spend a baffling amount of money on".

Yeha, but unless there's a monopoly, these items' prices ar also subject to downward pressure from competition. If the prices are baffling there's something about the supply or demand we aren't taking into account.

I don't understand why there isn't some non online store that sells hdmi cables for $10. It seems like there would be a market for that kind of thing.

Soundmen. The kind that "operate" a mixing board.

yeah, it's rough when they're making way more than anyone in the band and doing a shitty job, but it's also a pretty thankless gig. if you do a good job, you usually don't get props, but everyone hates you if the sound is bad. and i would hate to have to show up early, deal with bands, and be the last one to leave. it's like all the worst parts of being in a band without getting to play any music.

AMERICAN COLLEGE TUITION

re: the parts we aren't taking into account -- You mean the baffling part? Who buys monster cables? I know who supplies monster cables... those brigands!

I, for one, would purchase a pair of the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, which are made by Monster. They are REALLY expensive. But I have no need as the ones I have currently are doing just fine.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the association with Monster, and has EVERYTHING to do with its association with Dr. Dre. The amount of joy that man and his music have brought into my life is kind of extraordinary when you consider that I have never, nor will I probably ever meet him.

re: the parts we aren't taking into account -- You mean the baffling part? Who buys monster cables? I know who supplies monster cables... those brigands!

Please see
Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil