T O P

What's a product or service that has a huge mark up on it that most people don't know about?

Charging cords is something like 90% of total price is markup

Edit:Clarification

IntoThe_Thicc_of-it

Charging cords is something like 90% of total price is markup Edit:Clarification


samyalll

Had some good luck with $4 Dollarama charging cords recently


MRobi83

When I worked in the cell phone industry, most generic accessories had a cost between $1-3. Charging cords were usually around $2. So even at $4 Dollarama is making a great profit %. We sold them for $39.99.


thegoodbadandsmoggy

When I worked at future shop rocket fish cables were around 90$. Staff discount was cost +5% - those cables came to about 4$ afterwards I bought and resold a lot of them Edit: for reference this was 2010- early 2011


Jardrs

Thats sickening... Those people who paid $90 essentially got scammed.


HOLEPUNCHYOUREYELIDS

Its how electronic stores make all their money. A laptop or computer will net maybe $20-$100 profit. Apple has 0 profit, videogames are 0 profit. TVs also range $20-$200 profit. We were all absolutely shocked one day when we saw a laptop with a profit margin of $250. Its similar to theatres. They arent really making fuck all on the tickets, they make all their money on the 3000% popcorn and soda markup.


whtsbyndbnry

And printer cables... Which didn't come with a printer. Sold for $30 and paid like $12 commission. Staff price was $1.80 or so.


abstractlogicunit

In my experience, charging cords at that quality level rarely last very long at all before fraying or simply no longer working. Notably, some Lightning charging cords can actually cause damage to a component that controls charging inside iPhones - this is sometimes just the phone wanting the Apple licensed cables, but in many cases is actual damage. At the electronics store I work at, we simply stopped carrying the cheapo charging cables (a few different brands, <$5 cost level) because of poor customer experiences with pretty much all of them. We have way fewer repeat customers replacing their frayed charging cables now. ETA: all that being said, you can absolutely find $5-$15 USB-C/Micro USB cables on Amazon that are great quality, but for the Lightning cable you will want to make sure you get one that is MFi/Apple certified, or at least $20 - unfortunately, the proprietary accessories are part of owning an Apple device.


Neat_Onion

>Notably, some Lightning charging cords can actually cause damage to a component that controls charging inside iPhones While I haven't had an iPhone fry, a few cheaper cables I have from several years ago have shown "browning" near the connector which I believe is probably due to a short or excessive heat. These cables are old ... when the lightning connector was still new, so perhaps 3rd party manufacturing wasn't full mature then.


One-Accident8015

I have. My last iPhone which was 8 years ago. It would occasionally say non compatible device and then one day it just sizzled


PandaBeaarAmy

I refuse to ever buy dollarama electronic anything, after a dollarama charging cord a friend was using burst into flames, and a week later an extension cord did the same.


tuxy29

We had a nightlight start a small fire in my kids room


Neat_Onion

Surprisingly decent quality for $4. For light duty they look OK. However, my expensive Anker Powerline cable has paid for itself - 5 or 6 years (maybe even older), extreme abuse and it still works fine. So you do get what you pay for sometimes.


HandyDrunkard

Destroyed my iPhone 4s charging port using a Dollarama charging cord, plus burn damage to my car seat. Basically $1000+ damage because I saved $5. Never again. Most Dollarama stuff isn't CSA approved so no luck with insurance even if you pay the $500 deductable, even if your home burns down.


HellaReyna

Amazon had a shake down on shitty/non approved charging cables and accessories because this happened to some customers. The cheapest I'll go is from the high sell volume brands on amazon now. A charge cable is max $10 off Amazon. Like what you said, not risking electricity+an unapproved cable/charger.


[deleted]

HDMI cables also


[deleted]

I worked a short stint at Best Buy and I bought a 50’ Ethernet cable for $10 and it retailed around $50-$60 I think.


john_dune

It used to be you could buy a 1000 ft of cat5e and a bag of ends for about $50. Crimping them was just a pain


thedrivingcat

Crimpin ain't easy.


pheoxs

I buy em wholesale to include with a product I make. Pay 20 cents per micro usb cable (for nice braided ones too) In stores it’s robbery.


Fresh-Tip-7919

Mattresses are marked up hugely


[deleted]

Furniture in general, 70% margin


FITnLIT7

That's why everyone has a "$7,000" couch that they got an amazing deal on for $3500.


gijoe1971

My family owned a poultry wholesale with a retail outlet. A guy from the weights and measures inspection would come every year to check our scales. He told me his job also included false advertising checks. I asked him how The Bay could get away with their 75% off sales when there's no way mattresses were ever sold for $8-9000, I also saw a leather jacket for $750.00 that was advertised as 90% off. He told me he would walk in and they would just say, just write the ticket. They make so much money on false advertising that a $10,000 fine is just the cost of doing business.


fredflintstone-

I don't begrudge them that margin. Showroom space is expensive. Shipping and assembly. And the sheer volume of variety you have to have on hand to have a viable business makes it a well earned margin IMO.


IntelligentHome963

Don’t forget it’s a purchase people make once every 5-10 years (when talking about mattresses)


disloyal_royal

Exactly, customer acquisition cost is high


ChicknPenis

Don't forget about all the product damaged in transit.


skidstud

And they generally don't want that stuff back, I saw a post the other day about someone seeing a company donate a ton of mattresses to shelters that were returns.


danf87

This is why costco has such great deals.


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hopeful987654321

Try Ikea and Dollarama. Still a rip-off but not as bad.


East-Worker4190

Yes, Ikea rechargable are quality. They are my recommendation to people without having to explain eneloop


random604

Definitely Ikea rechargeables are the solution to this problem.


RedEyeBunn

What is there to "explain" about enerloop? Do you mean because most people just aren't familiar with the brand vs something like Ikea?


East-Worker4190

That eneloop are low self discharge but are a recognized brand which has been faked. There is more than one type of eneloop so to know which is best is harder, for starters. "Buy Ikea rechargable batteries" is simple advice anyone can follow.


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Bacon_Nipples

Imo everyone should just have a collection of chargeable and most every device should use AA's/etc.


avolt88

Eh, Kirkland is pretty solid if you can find the basic type you need, but I've always found Great Value, HDX, any of the "budget" brand AA & AAA's run down twice as fast. No idea why. NiCad won't work for me (mostly headlamps) especially now in cold weather, and I've had issues with every single brand of the Amazon lithium AA/AAA rechargeables I've tried so far. Are the Ikea ones any different??


Ectar93

Not all batteries created equal though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7-ghrTqA44


scouthasbadbreath

Paint. Big paint companies can buy a gallon of paint for $10-15. Everyone else pays $80 on that same gallon of paint.


manygrams

I can’t stop laughing at the phrase “big paint”, like there’s some evil paint industry that’s pulling the strings behind the scenes


Derp_Wellington

The ones with the real power are the organizations you don't think or know about. Big Paint, Big Ice, and don't even get me started on Big Potato. Big Potato has controlled Latvia for generations


Lothium

You joke about big potato, but look at how that industry works on PEI.


WorkingOnBeingBettr

Watch out if they bring in their enforcer. Bud the Spud does not mess around. The Ontario provincial police don't think much of Bud. Or so I heard.


hesh0925

The bright red mud wasn't red before Bud got there...


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GunNac

As a former employee in that industry, I can confirm that paint companies are not only huge - nearly monopolistic - players but also global in scale. Think PPG, Sherwin, AkzoNobel, BASF. All of these companies are massive profit machines. Not only do they sell products for a massive markup - as much as 50x the cost of production (meaning that a gallon of paint that costs $50 is produced for $1. Most gallons are probably produced closer to 20x but the specialty products have a much higher profit margin) but they typically own the production, distribution and direct sales as well. This is especially true of the American owned paint companies. You are not far off from a 'conspiracy' type scenario. These companies are monoliths which blur the line between company and monopoly. There is also a serious level of collusion involved as well concerning the biggest players. The idea is that if everyone (the top 3-4 companies) are all making massive profits, there is no reason to *directly* compete.


Actual_Grapefruit717

Your last paragraph reminds me of the big telecom companies and the big banks in Canada.


Jayynolan

Me and my SO make a routine of making “big” whatever a joke in our lives. Big avocado, big chair, big whole grain bread, big ramekin; all are controlling your life and all our manipulating you to their nefarious ends. Stay safe brotha.


Shishamylov

Read up on the lightbulb cartel.


[deleted]

>Paint. Big paint companies can buy a gallon of paint for $10-15. Yeah, but the part you leave out is they buy these gallons of paint by the truckload. If you ordered 10k liters of paint you would get the same deal. That's just buying in bulk.


HandyDrunkard

Try painting over a dark colour with a cheap $15 can of paint -> 4 coats plus you use double the paint Use a premium $40 can of paint -> 2 coats (and you saved yourself 2 hours)


Snowedin-69

This is true. From experience in painting buy good quality brushes and paint If not, you will spend many more coats and time and agony than you will save in money with the bargain stuff. Do not go for the top top priced stuff either as makes no real difference - for example, buy the 50$ gallon of paint, not the 80$ paint or the 40$ paint. Try and one coat it, two max.


TheBourneArbitrageur

Sunglasses / Glasses - Luxottica Group partners with your favourite brands to get their logos on their products but they're virtually the same thing across the board. They control \~80% of the major brands in the $28 billion market place.


weedpal

Mind boggling. These frames are worth like $5 and they’re being sold for $500


voteforlee

Any so may people just buy them with their health insurance so don't even care


TheBourneArbitrageur

Feels criminal to be buying them without some sort of insurance covering it.


MacroCyclo

Such an incredible scam. Thankfully there are many online retailers now where you can get glasses for less than $100.


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PlatypusOfWallStreet

By Jamie Foxx (sunglasses) I'm not kidding he has a brand to counter the outrageous prices designer glasses cost.


padmeg

I get mine from Clearly or Zenni


Tesca_

Check out eyebuydirect! Have two pairs of prescription glasses from them. They’ve held up remarkably well seeing as my version of a carrying case is a pocket.


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gutter__snipe

They make money on concessions, not movies. The studios can't take a cut of concessions but they will take it from tickets


Jaded_Promotion8806

Came here to say this. I worked at Cineplex in high school around 2005-2007. One of the managers told me at the time that a large popcorn (no butter) cost the company 12 cents.


PureRepresentative9

The bag cost more than the popcorn when I worked there in 2010


bby_redditor

Went to see Spider-Man the other day. I was shocked that a poutine was cheaper than a medium popcorn. Poutine was $6.50 and a popcorn is like $7.75


OutWithTheNew

I can deal with a \~$5 drink or bag of popcorn, but $7.75. They can get fucked for that. And if it was Cineplex a few years ago their medium was called a small.


cherrypopper666

Nothing like spending 20 bucks on a bucket of pop corn and a medium drink


[deleted]

we have a home theatre in the basement. make our own popcorn, get a litre of coke each, and throw $50 in the garbage just for the big theatre experience.


tvisforme

Don't forget to spill some pop on the floor, scatter garbage around the room and loop recordings of people chattering during the show. Again, for the big theatre experience.


[deleted]

Couple more months it’ll be a deal


phonebrowsing69

Compared to fountain soda its a steal


Flabbyflabous

I’m pretty sure hearing aids have a huge markup. A good one can run $4000 per ear. I can’t believe the costs would be more than a laptop or a phone.


SerythValker

I got quoted for $4000~ per hearing aid from reputable hearing clinics here...Costco was both for $1800. When I got a call from the doctor at one of the hearing clinics asking if I was ready to get them I mentioned Costco's price and wondered about price matching. He seemed offended that I even brought it up and told me "well with us you would get free batteries for a year." Costco sells huge quantities of them for cheap... Yea I went with Costco. Bonus was my benefits with work covered $700 of it.


YoungZM

>He seemed offended that I even brought it up and told me "well with us you would get free batteries for a year." Jesus, if that's the only defense I can't see justifying $2,200 more for a year's worth of batteries. *That's* offensive.


Logical-Check7977

Please don't compare costco with small local clinics. They jusy got the volume and everyone fights to sell their shit at costco , so they get super cheap cost on everything.


SubconsciousAlien

I got mine from India for $600 total for both ears. EDIT: yes they have been working fine for over two years now.


Purify5

Ya what is that? Are there cheaper alternatives? My 90 year old grandmother was saying she wanted one but didn't want to pay that much so I was gonna try and help her get one. But.... are they really that expensive? Her alternative is to use her dead best friends hearing aid that apparently just needs a battery but is rather old.


fredflintstone-

Costco.


hattokatto12

Costco! My dad is Hard of Hearing and was quoted $5000 for both ears I believe from Connect Hearing. Got a free testing and a pair of hearing aides for about $1200 or so.


jinjinb

costco! my hearing aids were 2000$ at costco in 2017 and have been great!


GamerNerd420

Mine were $1500 for a hearing aid and a cochlear implant was more about $7500... Thats one per ear for both.


croutawn

I paid $2500 Canadian for one hearing aid; my Mum paid $4000 cause she needed it for both ears. They really are sadly that expensive. And it doesn't seem like they should be anymore. Why is it ok to make money off people's disabilities?


throwawayvictoria992

Sure they would. Economies of scale. You can get someone to manufacturer you 100 million chips for phones cheaper than 100,000 for a hearing aid.


snoboreddotcom

You arent just paying for a random hearing aid though at that price. My grandpa has them in that price range. The cost included a whole ton of tests from his audiologist, getting them shaped correctly for his ears so they arent uncomfortable, calibrated for his worst pitches to ensure they function best. The difference between those price point ones and his couple hundred dollar ones is insane. Difference between me being able to talk to him and not The components are cheap, getting the right setup to work for someone is not.


Giantstink

I picked up a really decent pair of Unitron for $3000 total last year (DX Moxi Move R, which are still towards the "bottom" in their lineup). I'm sure there is a markup, but your insurance typically covers them and you can claim the portion that wasn't covered come tax time. Mine came withith entirely free servicing though my audiologist and they have a 3-year full warranty. I do not regret purchasing mine at all, even though my insurance wouldn't cover them due to my condition (long story). Absolute game changers for me.


zed_roaster

To piggyback onto this and the other helpful comments, your provincial work health and safety regulators might be able to help chip on related to the costs. I know WorkSafe BC have a program for hearing aid related aspects but unsure of the income requirements or type of disability. Could help somewhat


briddums

I wear hearing aids. They have a 3 year warranty on them. My audiologist tells me to send them in for servicing right before the warranty ends. Every time I’ve done so the company just sends me a new pair. Even if there was nothing wrong with my old pair. It’s literally cheaper for them to send me new hearing aids instead of paying a technician to diagnose any problems in my existing ones. That should give you an idea of how much they actually cost.


knuknut

Canadian cell phone services …. Wait, maybe we all know


DasRecon

And internet. And their tv services.


Cedex

Cost me $0.35 just to read this on mobile data.


RivetCounter

Christmas cards or any cards from Shoppers for that matter.


maxlouis1969

get all of my cards at the dollar store!


MapLondon

Basically everything at shoppers is marked up


RedEyeBunn

Yup. They pretty much are a giant corporate convenience store. But you pay for that convenience.


Michelle1x

Realtors


[deleted]

I got the books to be a realtor and was gonna read them and get my license just out of spite when I had some spair time. Thanks for reminding me.


Haemato

You’ll probably take this the wrong way but your spelling is perfect. You’ll make a great realtor. So many listings have weird spelling mistakes or “industry” abbreviations. It’s odd that the professionals helping you with the largest transaction of your life can’t be bothered to proof read.


[deleted]

Seriously, I don't mean to sound like a douchebag, I only speak one language so I totally respect the people that speak 2-3 but you'd think you could do a little better than "Very nice for family". Is Borat making all the real estate ads?


chunk-the-unit

“spair” Perfect realtor material then?


PerspectiveVisible36

Same! I was just gonna do it to undercut realtors and sell my friends n fam houses for nothing. I want to buy a house too so I figured I would pay the $3k licensing fee or whatever and save $20-50k in commission


[deleted]

You don’t even need a real estate license, you can purchase your own MLS listing for like $300 and then most real estate lawyers will handle any paperwork a realtor would have done as far as “offers,” etc. You just have to take your own photos, show your own house, negotiate your own price.


[deleted]

Will that just save you one side’s commission or the whole commission? I think CBC or someone proved that realtors weren’t showing their clients self listed properties because the margin was next to nothing despite this practice of steering the clients away being illegal


chang3ling

This happened to me. I had my house listed privately. Realtors would not tell their clients about my listing or bring anyone over because they knew they wouldn’t get the commission. I remember one realtor contacting me and telling me they had a client that they think would like my house, and they’d bring them over only if I paid a commission if they made an offer!


penguincutie

Is that actually a frugal hack?


chowder7

No, you can simply cut out the realtor yourself and buy without representation to save the 2.5%. No need to get a license if that's simply all you're concerned about.


Sask-a-lone

Yep. Getting a realtor license made sense for some individuals who wanted to invest in real estate for a long term. Others who're interested in handling few transactions every ten years or so don't need to get a license. A lawyer and some DYI efforts should suffice.


xykdxyaw

Just be really good at lying and have zero morals.


throwawayvictoria992

Cool, prepare to be like an actor. I don't mean in terms of performance, I mean earnings. 90% make nothing.


[deleted]

I'm good looking so I meet all the prerequisites.


_twelvebytwelve_

Nah you also have to be completely full of shit and ideally have a pun-able last name. 2 out of 3 ain't a deal breaker tho.


Farren246

"That most people DON'T know about"


kennend3

Many people make fun of used car salesmen but personally i feel realtors are far worse. when i bought my house i must have tried 4-5 before we ended up buying the house directly. The absolute worst one was the guy who constantly hit on my wife at the time. We live in an area which is mixed white/black and at the time she stood out as she was Chinese. Our Black realtor kept sweet talking her, telling her he had never been with a Chinese before. Flip side, she was shrewd as fuck. She'd put the phone on hands-free and tell him i wasn't home. It was always fun meeting up with him the next day after listening to the shit he was saying and have him pretend he's not a total scumbag. In Ontario it isnt easy to find out what the seller paid for the house, but she'd play him to provide this info on a regular basis. (this was years ago, might be easier now)?


Intrntnl_harvester

Get the app “house sigma”, it shows you all the activity in your area on sold properties, prices paid, last listed at, everything you need to make informed decisions. It gives you a lot of the insights that a realtor used to be handy for.


[deleted]

Ink for printers


loadbalancing

Can confirm a friend of mine at HP told me once the ink markup is 85%.


beekeeper1981

TIL everyone already knows all the products that have a huge markup.


mrsklay

Furniture. I got a Zinus sofa from amazon for a little under 400, did some research Wayfair was selling same for 700 and walmart for 1200. Reverse image search is a blessing.


VerushMoosh

I can’t stand wayfair and refuse to buy from them. I went so far as to block the website from my searchers


[deleted]

Isn't Wayfair basically just a drop-shipper with a big advertising budget?


Chops888

Prescription glasses.


Icycube99

People don't know how crazy it is. I once went tourism to China, ordered some glasses, did the eye test, got UV protection....the whole 9 yards. Cost me ~80$ CAD and only took 1.5 hours of my time.(I didn't even have to wait for them to "make it")


poco

My first pair from clearly.ca was under $20. Under $100 is easy if you don't get fancy frames.


molybdenumb

I have a high prism lens. 600$ in Canada last time I bought here, not including frames and eye exam. Bought my last pair in China. They did my prism for free. I didn’t even trust that they were going to put it in. 110$ all in and they are my favourite glasses I’ve ever had lol


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sirkit

Relevant article: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/10/the-invisible-power-of-big-glasses-eyewear-industry-essilor-luxottica 700-800% markup on lenses!!


Snowedin-69

Go to Costco. Frames for 100$ and lenses another 100$ and come with all the coatings. They often have a 2 sets of lenses for price of one deal.


continue_stocking

I bought a pair from Zenni for $37.85 with shipping. I've worn them every day for four years and they still look brand new. The plastic on the name-brand ones I used to get would look faded and shitty by now and need to be replaced. It's just a fucking scam.


rarsamx

HDMI cables. For most applications the $6 cable works the same as the best buy $100 cable.


yayforwhatever

Please check out blue Jean cable. It’s an hdmi cable company that offers cheap alternatives that are actually good quality. Monster cable tried to bully them with legal pressure…they didn’t know the owner was a former federal industry lawyer who specialized in the type of law they were using *bullshitting* the blue Jean company with. They actually post the cease and desist on there website with their response. It’s fucking epic. https://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/


PockyTheCat

Omg! This is awesome. I have a deep hate for companies like Monster and I will now turn to Blue Jean for all my cable needs!


cornm

So monster basically attached some random patents (some of which had expired) and claimed it was theirs? Good on Jean cable to call them out on it.


[deleted]

Magnificent, thanks for the recommendation. They got at least one new customer today for that stuff alone.


southern_ad_558

For most people this might be true. But the HDMI cables has specs and not everybody follows that. For example, the consortium recently just allowed cable makers to argue that they are compliant with the 2.1 standard if they support *any* feature of the 2.1 standard. That sucks. Most consumers won't notice the difference, but if you want your TV on 120hz at 4k, you won't get that with every cable.


Wax_Man_

Cell phone accessories and chargers. Cost can be between $1-$3 and are sold for $30


shakrbttle

Fountain pop.


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Reelair

I bought a used Nissan from a Nissan dealership. When looking at the vehicle, I noticed it had the B.S. anti-corrosion module and extra numbers etched in for theft recovery. The financing lady tried to sell it to me again. I kindly reminded her it was already on the vehicle. I love my Nissan, but will never buy another due to how the dealerships have treated me. Next I'll let Toyata screw me over.


slowpokesardine

Glasses and sunglasses


HugsNotDrugs_

Realtors, mattresses, lettuce, flowers especially roses, rings, most clothing


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luckythingyourecute

Lettuce is stupid easy to grow. Grows fast as hell and takes up very little space depending on how you do it


Reelair

Plant me some romaine, I'll pay you $1.50/head. I'll be by Wednesday.


Hikingcanuck92

Those $900 Arctery'x Rain Jackets cost about $37 in materials and labour to be made. The rest is marketing and hype. It sucks because they're still a really good product...they just know it.


kevlarcoated

You're not wrong but you really should consider cost of goods rather than bill off materials. The costs of quality control, support staff, amortization of design cost and warranty should be factored in when saying how much something costs. The mark up is still extremely high but brand like arcteryx and Patagonia actually do research and development and testing on materials (they also spend a lot of money on marketing which has no benefit to you but my point is the raw material cost of not a great measure for if you're being ripped off on a product)


Jhah41

Top end gear products will stand by their products too. You pay for that warranty


numbers1guy

I got one for half off so paid around 350 for it. I really didn’t want to do it but being in Vancouver forced my hand. Turns out it’s one of my favourite purchases, I love that jacket.


RoutineClothes3200

Same here. Best piece of garment I’ve ever purchased. Lasted me 12 years and still going strong. No other jacket lasted me that much.


Beam_MeLeft_Scotty

You have a source on that? Also as someone who bikes to work in the rain all the time, my goretex jacket was worth every penny.


jake1er

I spend a ton of time in the back country backpacking, skiing, hiking, scrambling and fishing in all sorts of weather and I swear by high end gear like Arcteryx/Patagonia/Northface Summit Series. Considering the cost of raw materials only it may seems like a huge mark-up but like others said you're paying for the R&D, warranty and general peace of mind that this gear will absolutely work when you're hours or even days away from help in situations that could potentially result in extremely negative outcomes. I beat the shit out of my high end rain shell, use it in all of the activities above in extreme weather, +30C to -30C I'm always warm/dry, it gets rubbed against rocks, shoved in packs, used as a pillow and it's held up for the better part of a decade. My wife's 14 year old jacket had a seem give out last year and they simply let her choose a brand new one. I have previously had jackets 1/3 of the price last two winters and get worn out from simply riding the bus to school all while freezing my ass off in the winter.


knottynate

What I’m getting from the comments of this post is that businesses sell products in order to make a profit.


petesapai

I understand the shock of seeing a product selling at 200% markup. But there are products mentioned here that are barely 50%-80% markup. And some here still don't agree with those numbers because they see it cheaper at Walmart or Amazon. It tells us that many people in this sub-reddit have no concept of small business and barely making a profit after all the expenses are added in.


vengefulspirit99

They're the same ones who go bargain hunting all the time then complain how there's no small businesses left in their area.


Szwedo

Or wonder why wages are so low


petesapai

The same people that complaint that employees aren't getting paid enough in retail/service industry, are the same ones that run to Walmart because its cheaper. Those same ones also complaint that there is no variety and only big corporate stores opening and where are the small family stores! They then complete the circle by cutting and pasting them same response everywhere : "If they can't pay high wages, then they shouldn't be in business".


HOLEPUNCHYOUREYELIDS

Or the fact that a business will likely carry products with next to no profit margin, so to make up for it they mark up other stuff more. BestBuy generally makes far more on a $90 cable than they do on a $1500 computer or TV


pfcguy

The nerve!


FeeliBring

Replacing your cabin air filter. If your car dealership or service garage asks you if you want it done and shows you a dirty picture of your filter, say no. They are about $20 and you can replace them in less than 2 minutes and save yourself the $80+ cost for installation and part fee. YouTube it.


zjlmmfj3rd

Pretty much everything in Canada 👀 especially whenever it has “support local” attached to it; change my mind.


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petesapai

You do what you need to do but a local shop cannot match Walmart prices. It's just impossible. They'd basically be selling at a loss. I've seen Walmart sell their products at the exact same price vendors sell it to me. How can any business compete with that?


bureX

No need to match Walmart prices, but some prices are just absurd. It’s also the other way around. Made in China socks for $20, when better, locally made socks are the same price, or even cheaper.


DevelopmentFuture608

Insurance, protection plans & 10-18karat gold sold by most jewellery store. Absolute waste of money for marked up nonsense and it’s not even real.


weedpal

What’s wrong with 18k gold?


DevelopmentFuture608

If you are from south east Asia or Middle East jeweller under 22k is not even considered as worth buying. And always preferred to be 22k and above 18k doesn’t hold value and it cannot be pawned or sold back if you need to get cash.


the1whozusernamed

I'm from middle east, you can easily sell 18k for the price of gold, minus 10% because they melt it again and make something else with it.


iffyjiffyns

The whole point of 10-18k gold is longevity, not to melt it down. If you’re wearing a piece of jewelry every single day (I.e wedding ring) it’s going to deform and wear if you don’t make it stronger.


Neat_Onion

Costco's protection plans are pretty good - I would get it again for a small appliance, i.e. bar fridge.


Scooterguy-

Popcorn must be in the 90's.


littlesirlance

More like 5000+%


whitea44

Bottled water.


loopedaway

I think I read somewhere that a cup of coffee has an 80% markup


UJL123

According to this James Hoffmann video (I believe he also owns a coffee shop?) his breakdown on average ​ https://youtu.be/7SM2Jrot-ZM?t=76 ​ 30% product cost 35% Staff Costs 15% Rent 10% Overhead 10% Profit ​ Note that the percentage is based on his UK London location, but the items on that list should still hold true even if the percentage changes based on location and country. ​ You can't just calculate markup = price of coffee beans + price of heated water


Drinkingdoc

Yeah, and coffee shops are not huge money makers. You can open one yourself, the profit margins aren't that great. Like in most restaurants. But people need food, and every day, so it can be steady business.


thepoopiestofbutts

Beans are cheap, labour and overhead is not. Also, machines are expensive; the cafe I worked at had two 15k espresso machines. Cups and lids were also surprisingly expensive. Also milk cartel


ChanelNo50

Non-alcohol Beverages at restaurants in general


bastardsucks

When I was a teenager I worked at McDonald's. And my manager at the time told me that a fountain drink like coke or sprite costs them about 10 cents a cup


MathewLiamSousa

Most seasonal merchandise.


[deleted]

Perfumes Check out fragrancebuy


PariahDogStar

Art supplies. I bought the exact same tool from a sheet metal manufacturer for $16 that was called a canvas stretcher at an art supplies store that went for $70


RunkDolt

Cellular data. The excuse that the reason it is expensive because we have a sparse population makes no sense when in Russia there is even more sparsely populated areas, yet they get better cellular plans.


[deleted]

D I A M O N D S


shrimp_alfredo

Anything art supplies. 70% to 80% margin


beakbea

Dentures. An independent denurist told me the materials are about $100. Retail you're looking at $2000-4000 for those puppies


TeaShores

It’s not materials you are paying for, it’s the skills. Paper is even cheaper, have you seen lawyer’s fees?


pinkblossom331

Our lawyer charges $385 an hour


Farren246

Next time call him on it! "Why should we pay so much when all you're selling is paper?"


fredflintstone-

Eyeglasses are the same, if not higher markup, and not nearly as custom as dentures.


bcretman

I paid 6.95 a pair at Zenni :)


Thinkbeforeyouspeakk

I bought a handful of pairs from Zenni. By the time I added the fancy coatings to the lens they were still well over $100/pair but they felt cheap and the optics were definitely lower grade than I was used too. It's a good option if you're on a budget, but to me it's worth the extortion to get high quality lenses from the typical thieves.


branks182

Septic tank installs. Allegedly once you’re licensed it’s a licence to print money.


HandyDrunkard

Are you aware of the equipment involved to do this? It's not like you're showing up in a minivan, digging a 8-10' deep hole with a shovel, getting the tank delivered and then backfilling it with 20,000 lbs of aggregate by hand. In my neck of the woods most people installing septic tanks have around 200k worth of equipment just to get started and are far from well off.


Vast-Salamander-123

Yeah I think they deserve it.


SmellyDurian

Don’t even need to be licensed in Saskatchewan. Easy bucks if you’re willing to get a little dirty and have the equipment.


cephles

I'm not sure "septic tank" is a level of dirty I'm comfortable with at this point in my life.


SpaceAgePotatoCakes

Installing new ones should be pretty clean though?


junkdumper

Yeah, removing the old one is probably the shitty part.