Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 12:10:46 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 21:56:01 GMT
Anything that has the word "wedding", "funeral" or "baby" in front of it. It's all a scam... but you can make wicked money if you get in on the action. But it blows my mind how inflated things are when you attach those words. I got two quotes for cupcakes; one saying it was for a wedding one saying it was for a birthday party. The orders were almost identical (same categories of cupcakes)... the wedding order was more expensive. Freakin' scam! Future daughter-in-law wants cupcakes at her wedding instead of a cake. I told her we will make them. I make 2 dozen cupcakes all the time with fancy icing on them. I made 100 mini ones last summer for my mom's 80th birthday party.
She told me no, that is too much work. To which I replied "we are not paying someone to make cupcakes". I would tread lightly here. People pay for cupcakes all the time and its her wedding.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 12:10:46 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 21:59:54 GMT
I would tread lightly here. People pay for cupcakes all the time and its her wedding. "too much work" is code for----- "I really rather have the specialty bakery ones". And? Her wedding her choice.
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gloryjoy
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,332
Jun 26, 2014 12:35:32 GMT
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Post by gloryjoy on Oct 4, 2014 22:02:32 GMT
I would tread lightly here. People pay for cupcakes all the time and its her wedding. "too much work" is code for----- "I really rather have the specialty bakery ones". No she is good with it. We've discussed it. Both her and my son want to cut as many corner as they can. We're going to have a cupcake afternoon, her, my sister, my 26 year old niece and myself.
She comes from a family who doesn't like to help out a lot, so she didn't feel she could ask me to do that. I have been very careful about not being too pushy when it comes to the wedding. I don't want to be that mother-in-law?
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Post by hollymolly on Oct 4, 2014 22:28:42 GMT
College textbooks. DS's calculus book covers Cal I, Cal II, and Cal III in one massive, nearly $600 volume. He's only taking I and II. More pity for his classmates who are only taking I.
And this is a definite racket: I just paid $2.45 for bottled water out of a vending machine at the hotel because I can't get any downstairs and it's raining so I don't want to walk 4 blocks to the nearest store. Ugh.
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Post by alittleintrepid on Oct 4, 2014 22:43:47 GMT
Children's hair cutters. I'm pretty sure that sitting in a toy car instead of a chair doesn't make it worth triple the price of the barber across the parking lot.
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Post by scrapApea on Oct 4, 2014 23:28:00 GMT
Anything to do with getting pink eye. $178 for the urgi-care place ( after insurance and for which most of the time the Dr. looked at her computer instead of DD with the flaming red eye(Don't get me started as to why they need to ask when her last period was-I did let them know that had nothing to do with her eye)) AND the $80 for the prescription (which I later found out you can get similar stuff for $4) of which has precisely 10 drops in the bottle. Really? I think every single mother out there knows what pink eye looks like. Why can't those drops be OTC?? Too many people abuse them? Take them for the thrills?
How about most health care? DH doc wants him in before renewing blood pressure pills. Fine goes in gets different prescript now. Dr bill was $138 (after ins) prescript is now only 30 days because doc wants him back to check BP again. Goes back to Dr, bill this time is $189 (after ins). He was only in for a check. I call ins co to find out why the difference. One was billed for 10 min the next trip 15 min. Really? OMG. Who earns that much for 25 freak'n min. The average American according to a news article today makes about $20/hr. So 16 hours of working (that's before taxes so effectively it took about 26 hours ) to pay for 25 min at the Dr's office. That's nuts.
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Post by BeckyTech on Oct 4, 2014 23:30:33 GMT
Emmissions testing (a test you have to have done to your car every two years in order to renew your licence) Womens dry cleaning Dentistry - why if I have insurance is something $200.00 if I don't its $80.00 I worked at a dry cleaners in high school and college, and people always complained about women's dry cleaning costs. The problem is that most women's clothing has to be hand pressed as opposed to the mans which is much less time consuming. Granted, if a woman is large the items fit the presses better and don't have to be hand pressed, but they would have to be pretty big. Also men's shirts go though a totally automated pressing, women's blouses have a lot more detail and are completely pressed by hand. The pressers where I worked always did the women's stuff first so they could get it out of the way when they were fresh and just whip through the men's items when they were tired and hot. Also, women's clothes require more prep for the person assembling, at least they did when I worked there, we had to stuff all the sleeves so they weren't crushed, skirts were a pain to hang, where as men's clothes you just threw on a hanger. It really isn't a racket, they are more labor intensive. Sorry about my soliloquy about dry cleaning! Anyone who wants a lecture on stain removal and what picrin smells like, what the fluid they use is and feels like (rofl)or what "cleaning the still" involves, just let me know! This was very interesting and helpful in understanding the differences in costs. Thank you for sharing!
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Post by melanell on Oct 4, 2014 23:39:07 GMT
I think it's a total racket that car insurance rates are based on your credit score. As someone who suffered a bankruptcy a few years ago, it's been slow going to improve my credit. Yet, I haven't had an accident in 22 years and have no tickets. That's what they should base my car insurance rates on. I did not know that they did that. I'm sorry. It seems unfair that car insurance rates should be based on anything other than your car & your driving record.
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Post by Legacy Girl on Oct 4, 2014 23:59:07 GMT
Big 10 college football tickets (especially premium games). Boo! Anything school fundraising related (I really should just donate directly to the school). Movie theater concessions, especially popcorn ~ one famous comedian (Rita Rudner?) used to say, "Popcorn costs 13 cents a silo!"
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Post by Scrapper100 on Oct 5, 2014 0:24:53 GMT
I know that printer ink is expensive but the printer companies loose money on each printer they sell the only way they make any money is on the ink. My DH works at HP. If they could sell the printers for what it costs to make them vs loosing, ink would be cheaper - they also know that a lot of people will be buying the cheap generic ink that will ruin their printers and then wonder why.
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Post by moveablefeast on Oct 5, 2014 1:14:12 GMT
I think it's a total racket that car insurance rates are based on your credit score. As someone who suffered a bankruptcy a few years ago, it's been slow going to improve my credit. Yet, I haven't had an accident in 22 years and have no tickets. That's what they should base my car insurance rates on. The reason is that people with bad credit tend to skip out on premiums and end up owing the company money. I know someone who periodically stops paying their car insurance and just moves to another company, owing the prior company for a month or two of premiums. Thats not to say you personally would do that, just that insurance is all about risk and you are paying more due to a different kind of risk. Insurance on the whole is a racket IMO.
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Post by Miss Lerins Momma on Oct 5, 2014 1:36:39 GMT
Halloween costumes!!! School Pictures
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Post by Bitchy Rich on Oct 5, 2014 1:39:33 GMT
I think it's a total racket that car insurance rates are based on your credit score. As someone who suffered a bankruptcy a few years ago, it's been slow going to improve my credit. Yet, I haven't had an accident in 22 years and have no tickets. That's what they should base my car insurance rates on. The reason is that people with bad credit tend to skip out on premiums and end up owing the company money. I know someone who periodically stops paying their car insurance and just moves to another company, owing the prior company for a month or two of premiums. No, it's not. You have to pay for insurance up front - so how can you stiff an insurance company? Research shows that credit scores can accurately predict accident potential. Statistical analysis shows that those with higher credit scores tend to get into fewer accidents and cost insurance companies less than their lower-scoring counterparts.
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Post by moveablefeast on Oct 5, 2014 2:15:08 GMT
The reason is that people with bad credit tend to skip out on premiums and end up owing the company money. I know someone who periodically stops paying their car insurance and just moves to another company, owing the prior company for a month or two of premiums. No, it's not. You have to pay for insurance up front - so how can you stiff an insurance company? Research shows that credit scores can accurately predict accident potential. Statistical analysis shows that those with higher credit scores tend to get into fewer accidents and cost insurance companies less than their lower-scoring counterparts. Jane's car insurance is due on the first of the month, for that month. If Jane doesn't pay her premium on time, they don't cancel her policy that day - they cancel her policy when it is 30 days past. If 30 days falls on the first of the following month, Jane now owes two months' premiums to the insurance company. If Jane simply doesn't pay that premium that month, but switches her car insurance to another company on the 30th day, she has a month and possibly two of coverage for which she did not pay, for which she now owes the car insurance company. They will attempt to collect from her themselves and then will send her file to a collections company, representing a financial loss to the insurance company. Yes, people do this. It is actually one reason that people with poor credit pay more for insurance. It's the same reason they pay higher interest rates - because the company is making up for what it knows it can statistically expect to lose. The only reason I know this is because a relative has stopped paying her Geico bill and owes them two months' premiums, and they (and now the collections firm they have sold the debt to) seem to think that it's my responsibility to pay it even though it's not my car and it's not my policy.
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Post by stampnscrap1128 on Oct 5, 2014 2:21:41 GMT
Airline flights - pay more for such little room... pay for becoming a sardine in an overcrowded can.
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marimoose
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,282
Jul 22, 2014 2:10:14 GMT
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Post by marimoose on Oct 5, 2014 2:31:24 GMT
I can't stand all the little extra charges for various taxes on a phone bill. You are quoted one price and the dang thing is double the quote once everything is added in. Just tell me what it will cost up front.
Companies that change their sizes like canned goods. They change the portions to keep the can cost the same but my recipe calls for a particular size, one that used to be standard, and now I have to buy two cans to get the right amount and end up wasting what I don't use. Say I need 16 ounces but the cans are now 12 ounces so I buy two, giving me 24 ounces. What should I do with the extra 8? Saving it isn't always practical. AND the company makes more money because of it. Just put the sizes back to standard and charge accordingly.
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Post by jemali on Oct 5, 2014 6:16:36 GMT
Cancellation fee for a cell phone contract - fee for switching to a new phone (Verizon $35) Beverages at restaurants- $2.99 for a glass of milk? I can buy a gallon for that much! Car insurance - health insurance
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 12:10:46 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2014 8:25:17 GMT
Parking at concerts or theme parks. Total racket
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Post by julieinmd on Oct 5, 2014 11:49:15 GMT
Parts and service from the car dealership make me insane. The number one racket that has angered me to the point of insanity are those tire pressure sensors. I have one on my tires go bad about once every six months. The car dealership tells me they "are defective" and need to be replaced at a cost of $240 per sensor plus labor. The last time that happened I lost my patience and threw a fit. How can you have a product that is constantly going bad every six months so the consumer constantly needs to replace it? Multiply that by four tires and you have a handy racket indeed. It is so completely unethical in my mind that I could go insane. I have a Honda but my husband has the same problem with his Nissan. Last time his tire pressure sensor light came on he just said forget it, checked the pressure and now refuses to replace the sensor. I would do that too, but would probably end up having a blow out that would send my car careening into a ditch or another car. That would be just my luck.
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Post by zeutdog86 on Oct 5, 2014 12:31:27 GMT
Personal property tax on every vehicle, every year.
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Post by giatocj on Oct 5, 2014 12:48:36 GMT
Valentine's Day and all those other "Greeting Card Holidays"...like Sweetest Day, Grandparent's Day, Administrative Asst. Day, etc. Those are all HUGE rackets.
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pyccku
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,817
Jun 27, 2014 23:12:07 GMT
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Post by pyccku on Oct 5, 2014 14:12:05 GMT
Children's hair cutters. I'm pretty sure that sitting in a toy car instead of a chair doesn't make it worth triple the price of the barber across the parking lot. I don't know that you're paying for just the toy car thing. I think you're also paying for the expertise and patience that come into place when working with children. Plus all of the little goodies they have to keep the kid busy so the haircut can get done. Sure, the cutting itself could be done in 10 minutes or less by a regular barber. But if the kid has a meltdown or is scared or whatever...the barber that charges $10 for a quick 10-minute haircut isn't going to spend 30 minutes calming and reassuring the child and trying to bribe them into being good with movies or suckers or whatever. They'll just say "sorry, we don't work with kids" and send you to the children's place. Of course, if your kid is old enough to behave or isn't the type to freak out, they can probably use the adult place with no trouble.
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Post by BSnyder on Oct 5, 2014 14:29:55 GMT
Disney anything Textbooks Educational materials Movies (theater and/or digital release) Pro football Senior photos Bottled water Taxes for upper middle class Most things with designer labels, but made with similar materials of no name brands Medical care for the uninsured Insurance of any kind
I'll stop here...
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basketdiva
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,622
Jun 26, 2014 11:45:09 GMT
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Post by basketdiva on Oct 5, 2014 14:45:38 GMT
$1 for air for my tires.
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Post by Merge on Oct 5, 2014 14:47:34 GMT
Concerts in general. Ridiculous to pay $75 or more for nosebleed seats in a stadium where you need binoculars to see the people on stage. Never mind that the sound quality in those venues is usually for crap. And if you want to sit down where you can actually see - forget it! It's a mortgage payment for two tickets. Then there's parking, concessions ... it's ridiculous.
I'm a musician and I love attending live music shows, but there are very few acts I will pay those prices for. I tend to save my ticket money for acts that play at smaller venues and command lower prices.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Oct 5, 2014 15:04:34 GMT
Parts and service from the car dealership make me insane. The number one racket that has angered me to the point of insanity are those tire pressure sensors. I have one on my tires go bad about once every six months. The car dealership tells me they "are defective" and need to be replaced at a cost of $240 per sensor plus labor. The last time that happened I lost my patience and threw a fit. How can you have a product that is constantly going bad every six months so the consumer constantly needs to replace it? Multiply that by four tires and you have a handy racket indeed. It is so completely unethical in my mind that I could go insane. I have a Honda but my husband has the same problem with his Nissan. Last time his tire pressure sensor light came on he just said forget it, checked the pressure and now refuses to replace the sensor. I would do that too, but would probably end up having a blow out that would send my car careening into a ditch or another car. That would be just my luck. We have had 3 different cars with the tire pressure sensors. They ALL light up. We have never replaced them. The way I see it is that a few years ago, we never had sensors and just checked the pressure ourselves periodically. Never once had a problems in 40 years of driving. Stop worrying and stop replacing. Because it is a racket. Don't be sucked into it.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Oct 5, 2014 15:07:04 GMT
Concert tickets Tickets to any pro sporting event The crappy food they sell at said sporting events ( but hell yes, I'll eat it) The service charges if you buy tickets through Ticketmaster is a huge racket. We just bought tickets that were 25% cheaper going straight to the venue. I don't mind a few $ service charge, but 25% is a racket, especially when I get physical tickets from the venue and print at home through Ticketmaster. We just looked up tickets for a comedy show at the big venue in our area. Going through Ticketmaster, the tickets were $155-212. Going through the venue's site, the tickets were $42--68.
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Post by Goldynn on Oct 5, 2014 15:18:36 GMT
E-books Movie snacks Rx eyeglass lenses. A single vision lens blank costs about 3.00 and the new pair of ground lenses often costs the customer $100-200. Huge profit margin.
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Post by nnnsmom on Oct 5, 2014 16:42:48 GMT
We just got back from the State Fair of Texas, where we had a blast, but dropped major cash on 5 rides and a couple snack items and drinks. Ridiculous! Cross that off my Bucket List!
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Post by ahiller on Oct 5, 2014 17:23:11 GMT
Parts and service from the car dealership make me insane. The number one racket that has angered me to the point of insanity are those tire pressure sensors. I have one on my tires go bad about once every six months. The car dealership tells me they "are defective" and need to be replaced at a cost of $240 per sensor plus labor. The last time that happened I lost my patience and threw a fit. How can you have a product that is constantly going bad every six months so the consumer constantly needs to replace it? Multiply that by four tires and you have a handy racket indeed. It is so completely unethical in my mind that I could go insane. I have a Honda but my husband has the same problem with his Nissan. Last time his tire pressure sensor light came on he just said forget it, checked the pressure and now refuses to replace the sensor. I would do that too, but would probably end up having a blow out that would send my car careening into a ditch or another car. That would be just my luck. We've found that ours go off in the winter every year. Something about the cold. After making sure the tires aren't low, we ignore ours too.
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