• Have you ever bought oxygen in a can?
Fell for the bank gift card scam?
Here are 15 of the dumbest ripoffs we’re all still buying for some reason
15 – Hotel Room Movies, • Tens of millions of people stay in hotel
rooms every night.
A LOT of those people buy ludicrously expensive films just because of the convenience of the
TV.
• In a world where Netflix and YouTube exists, you need to… maybe… not do that.
Get a Chromecast.
Or stream on your laptop.
Or read a book.
• Books don’t cost $20 a read.
14 – ATM fees, • All of us at some point have been so lazy
that we’d rather take the 2 or 3 dollar hit rather than walk down a street to find
our own banks ATM • But you can just hit up a supermarket
and take money out with no fee.
You can do electronic transfers.
You can move your body slightly, save money and get exercise.
• We recommend not being lazy.
13 – Pre-packaged meats, • We see here another example of not walking
a few paces.
If you visit the deli in a supermarket, they’ll provide fresh meat and cheese of your choosing.
• Check out the packaged section though, and you’ll be looking at the same products,
only 20-60% more expensive.
Support your deli.
They need you.
12 – Oxygen in a Can, • Now, these aren’t the same as oxygen
tanks which are mainly used medically for people with lung problems.
No, these are just cans with oxygen.
That you whiff.
And they’re scented.
• Usually these things are aimed at tourists who don’t want to breathe that “nasty
polluted air” and instead want to breathe nice mountain air from some exotic country.
• Pro tip: Earth has lots of air.
Relax.
It’s safe.
11 – Electronic cables, • Buying the “trusted brands” for cables
is dumb.
Cables have literally one function: they send a signal through, or they don’t.
If they don’t, it means they’re broken.
• When you buy a TV and they “throw in” a brand name cable that only costs $49.99,
it means they want ALL your money.
Just look for the cable online.
Buy a cheap one from the market.
10 – Travel Insurance, • Right off the bat, you might think this
shouldn’t be on the list.
Insurance can be genuinely useful – true!
But more often than not it’s redundant.
• Did you know a lot of home insurance also covers luggage?
Did you know that going through a random insurance agent comes with a hefty fee?
Just talk to your existing insurer.
There’s no point hunting down a “travel insurance agent”.
9 – New Cars, • Of course, you should be very wary buying
an old bomb, but there are plenty of used cars that are basically new and a fraction
of the price.
• This is because cars go WAY down in value the instant you drive them out of the dealers.
You should be looking in used car lots, just find one with low mileage & get it checked
for obvious issues.
• Or get a bike.
They’re good too.
8 – Oil Changes, • You honestly don’t need that signature,
full synthetic oil.
You’re not a race car.
If you’ve been buying anything but the most basic oil, you’re getting ripped off.
• In fact, even when you’re paying for the high quality stuff, a lot of places will
just USE the basic oil anyway and not tell you.
• Also, unless the air filter in your car is black with dust, don’t let them replace
it.
It’s a scam.
7 – “Travel size” Toiletries, • These ones are bewildering.
The only reason you buy them is because of travel restrictions for flights, but they’re
between 5-10 times more expensive than full size bottles.
• It’s recommended to either wait until you arrive at your destination and buy cheap
alternatives, or purchase travel size and refill it yourself if necessary
6 – Cable Tv, • Back in the day, getting cable TV was
a luxury.
And while it still is, it’s extremely hard to compete with on-demand services like Netflix,
Hulu, Crunchyroll and the rest.
• It wouldn’t be so bad if cable wasn’t ludicrously expensive, for a lot of channels
you won’t even end up using.
• Good if you want your always-on TV fix, bad if you like having money.
5 - Weddings, • Don’t fall into the trap of buying anything
with the word “wedding” in front of it.
There are some things you can’t avoid, like a wedding dress, but you don’t need a “wedding”
hotel room.
Or “wedding” earrings.
• The instant that merchants hear that word, the cost of everything immediately shoots
up by 50%.
It’s your special day, but when it comes to your wallet, use some subtlety.
4 – Bank Gift Cards, • This is a neat idea for a gift, until
you realise it’s actually a burden and you’ve done a horrible thing.
You’ll buy a hundred dollar card, and they’ll charge you a few bucks just to buy it.
• THEN, some banks actually charge you a monthly fee just to have it exist.
Not to mention a lot of the time, if you go to buy something and the price doesn’t exactly
match the amount on the card, they’ll refuse to use up the remaining few bucks.
• Just give the person CASH. 3 – Insurance for Pets,
• Yes, insurance may often mean the difference between life & death for your pet if you’re
on a budget.
But the reimbursement is so laughably inconsistent you might as well just keep the insurance
money.
• Over the course of the pets life you’ll spend thousands on insurance, and maybe never
use it.
Surgery would’ve cost that amount anyway.
Then you might a refund of between 20-90% what you paid - assuming the accident wasn’t
on their exemption list.
That’s a… crazy dice roll.
• You might as well put that money on a bank gift card and pay fees.
2 – Fast Food Chips & Drinks, • Most of the revenue generated by fast
food comes from these.
McDonalds size their French fries to absolutely perfect mathematical sizes purely to fit more
in a box for shipping • They buy these boxes at fractions of a
dollar, then mark-up massively for stores.
Drinks are the same, they cost all of 5 cents to produce and then they sell them to you
in a meal.
• Aren’t they fantastic?
1 – Myer • In Australia, this is the swankiest store
you can find.
Perfume and cologne is often sold at 30-40% higher here than anywhere else in the country
– and people still buy it in droves.
• It’s commonplace for products to be marked up in Australia purely because of international
shipping and taxes, and luckily Myer is always willing to price match.
• Here’s a final note from Dolan for the voice actor to read out: Gooby and I were
walking through Myer and I picked up some nice shorts and they cost $250.
My brain nearly imploded right there and then.
Love the store.
It’s my favourite.
Always good for a laugh.