List things which seem like they should be inexpensive but aren't.

[The Night Owl]

I'll start... painters' tape. $9.00 for painters' tape? Grr.

[flvegan]

1. Lap dances.

[PVnRT]

27. Why aren't you going during happy hour?

They're usually cheaper, or you get two for the price of one. Either way, win.

[derby378]

2. WATER.

$1.29 for a 20-oz bottle of the same stuff that comes out of a garden hose? Why do you think I carry a SIGG bottle with me?

[zanne]

3. Most craft materials.

Craft stores are such a rip-off.

[graywarrior]

4. Toilet paper

Yeah I know, I can't get off the bathroom humor.

[Richardo]

5. Fancy-schmancy hypoallergenic house filters

Jebus. A 1'x1'; a 1'x2' and a 1'x3' cost >$ 50. :grr:

[The Night Owl]

20. Wow! Really? {EOM}

[Richardo]

21. Yeah - that's the last time for THAT rip off.

Back to the standard $4 apiece filters next time.

[PeaceNikki]

23. I've heard from some HVAC people that the fancy-schmancy ones can damage your system, too

I guess they can restrict airflow.

[Richardo]

31. That's why we have dog fur, dammit

We'll restrict our OWN airflow, thankyouverymuch.


:hi:

[ghostsofgiants]

6. Living.

[DarkTirade]

39. Hell, the alternative is expensive these days too.

Ever seen how much it costs for a funeral?

[ghostsofgiants]

44. Yeah, really.

It's fucking absurd.

[azmouse]

7. Iced tea.

Many restaurants are charging $2.50 for what amounts to lightly flavored water.
Of course, refills are free but sheesh... how much could it actually cost them to brew iced tea?

[crimsonblue]

11. most places likely don't brew their own tea...

they get it out of jugs, or use syrup and mix it with water in a soda machine.

[azmouse]

14. Here in AZ iced tea is always served unsweetened.

I can tell they are brewing it because if they don't add enough ice the tea can be warm.
And well.... they say tell us they are brewing it.

[crimsonblue]

16. well aren't you special

living in a state where the only way to get around is by private plane, i'm not surprised.

[azmouse]

17. Yep.... I park my plane in the backyard.

:7

The skies around here get really crowded when everyone is thirsty. :rofl:

[ThomCat]

22. And you can always tell.

There's nothing that compares to really good fresh brewed iced tea. They really should make that little bit of effort. How hard is it to put teabags into a vat of hot water and then chill it? :9

[Bravo Zulu]

8. Dying!

[zanne]

40. And being buried! nt

[crimsonblue]

9. Champion brand boxer briefs....

last time I bought some at Sam's, they were $12. Also, 3 stitches in your head. It's a 30 second medical procedure, that cost me $1000 a couple years ago.

[jmowreader]

10. I have the KING of "expensive but shouldn't be" items

Solvent-resistant ink pump tubing.

Each ink pump on a wide-format printer contains two feet of 4mm outside-diameter, roller-pump-compatible, solvent-resistant tubing. In a normal, rational world, this would cost about two dollars.

It's NOT a normal, rational world. The only thing I can think of is the ink-pump company makes the tubing. To get any, you have to buy a $60 ink pump.

[crimsonblue]

12. try a tubing supply company?

or online, maybe?

[jmowreader]

46. No dice on both counts

I even tried a hydraulic supply company. All their stuff is huge.

[PVnRT]

29. You can always try McMaster-Carr

They have damn near everything.

For instance, 4 mm OD PVC tubing, unreinforced, for use with ethylene glycol (closest I could find to generic solvents) and 55A Durometer rating is $0.49 per foot.

http://www.mcmaster.com/ and search for item number 5347K21

[jmowreader]

45. I DID try McMaster-Carr

And I have tried PVC tubing--accidentally. Here's the problem: the ink we use is specially formulated to dissolve vinyl. (It dissolves the top layer; when the vinyl hardens, the pigment is locked into the substrate.) They have a vast number of tubing types, but everything they sell falls into one of three categories:

too stiff to use in a peristaltic pump (like the polyurethane tubing we bought from them)

soluble in ink

or

too big to fit in the pump.

[unpossibles]

13. me

no wait I am totally cheap. Never mind.

[Xithras]

15. Computer printer ink

Why is it that I can buy a box of ink pens at Office Depot for $5 that probably contains 2 ounces of ink between the pens, but a 3/4 ounce ink cartridge for my printer costs $15? Should I mention that my printer requires FIVE of these damned things?

[Chan790]

25. Interestingly...

it's not the ink that is expensive in this case...it's the cartridge itself. The ink is cheap...the container is expensive because the container costs a lot to produce and is a highly-sophisticated piece of technology.

[kat_kringle]

18. milk!

and for that matter, cheese...

[IndianaJones]

19. cereal. nt

[ThomCat]

24. Good Health.

Most people take it for granted that they'll be healthy when they wake up in the morning without it costing a dime.

I estimate that it costs me an extra $1,500 per month. :(

[AZSlacker]

26. Gas

[Chan790]

28. Beverages...

Coffee, Tea, Soft drinks, Beer, Cider, and Liquor...all cost cents to produce by the gallon.

Price today:

Coffee - $1.95 (Starbucks...20oz.)
Tea - $1.75 (Starbucks...24oz. Iced)
Coca-cola - $2 (Denny's...approx. 18oz. Free Refills)
Beer - $1 (Supermarket...1/6 of $6 6-pack of Yuengling.)
Cider - $1.34 (Supermarket...1/6 of $8 6-pack of Woodchuck)
Gin - $45.99 (Liquor store...1L of Bombay Sapphire)

The most expensive of these to produce is the Cider...about $.25 a gallon. The cheapest is the Coke...about $0.04 a gallon. We're talking mark-ups in the 1200%-10000% range here.

[raccoon]

30. Drugs people have to take to stay alive. nt

[BarenakedLady]

35. Amen. (n/t)

[DarkTirade]

41. If I could rec a comment, it would be this one.

[begin_within]

32. Raw food

[Shell Beau]

33. Razor cartridges

They are like $10 for 4 cartridges. Just seems like a lot to me.

[Richardo]

34. It's terrible.

And one of my BIG pet peeves. :pals:

[HERVEPA]

37. Get them on E-bay or Amazon. I've been doing that.

Buy in bulk, costs about 1/3 the price.

[Westegg]

43. That's GREAT advice! Never occured to me.

[Inchworm]

36. Medical supplies

like wheelchair parts, necessary breathing equipment and diabetes testing stuffs...

:grr:

[tigereye]

38. milk and gas?

triscuits and name-brand cereals - c'mon the actual wheat and stuff can't be that expensive!

[Chan790]

42. Price of gas here has fallen $0.15/gallon in a week.

given we had the highest prices in the country. (We've been battling back and forth with CA for that dubious honor.) Down to $4.21/gal now.

[Rambis]

47. Replacement rack for a dishwasher

139.00$ the thing only cost 275:crazy:

[bif]

48. Tums

Weren't they really cheap just a short time ago? I guess, now that everyones taking them for calcium, they're gouging them for all they're worth.

[The2ndWheel]

49. Time

The problem starts when you assign a number to something.

[Shakespeare]

50. Camera lenses.

Okay, they don't SEEM like they should be inexpensive, but I'd be so happy if they were...

[montanto]

51. Education and stupidity.