Every day we deal with something we probably shouldn't, but what is so widely accepted that shouldn't be?
u/eggaboy asked:
What is the biggest everyday scam that people put up with?
Here were some of the answers.
A Scalper By Any Other Name
Giphy
Ticketmaster and their resale policies. We arrest/fine/ticket people who scalp outside of venues but it's perfectly legal to resell the tickets on ticketmaster or stubhub because the website gets a kickback and that's just messed up to me.
Also processing/convenience fees when no other option to purchase exists.
Not Just A Board Game
Not sure how "scam" this is considered but, internet package prices. It is super easy and cheap to provide basic internet speeds these days with the foundation we've already laid so when ISP's charge insane amounts for a mediocre package that's very much abusing their regional monopoly powers.
Not My Info
Giphy
Having to give your email address out to basically any company you buy something from so they can spam your inbox. Yes, I'm aware you can unsubscribe, but it's a pain in the *ss. I've got a life to live and it doesn't involve meticulously curating my email inbox on a regular basis.
Fees Fees Fees
When I bought my car in August, I hammered out all the details before closing on Tuesday, leaving with a written price and a promise to come back the next day with the check from my credit union. Wednesday morning I come in with everything ready, only to have the person looking at the final paperwork with me quickly gloss over the $150 documentation fee. I stopped them there and said I'd brought a check for $x, not $x+$150. They insisted it was necessary and non-negotiable, I insisted I'd take my business elsewhere, have a good morning. They hemmed and hawed about it, but eventually got permission to lower the price of the car $150 so my check would be enough. I tend to let people walk all over me, so I was really proud of myself for standing up this time.
Drowning
Payday loans. I haven't ever done one but they are obviously all over and they prey on poor decisions made by poor people.
Hundreds if not thousands of percent interest just because people can't get out of the trap that they put you into. Predatory lending is just awful.
People get into this routine and can't get out because they are drowning in fees.
LOTTERY
Giphy
A few weeks ago I was in London, enjoying many of the completely free museums they have to offer. I wondered why such world famous museums would be free when they could easily charge money. I saw a sign that said, "this Museum is made free due to lottery funds." And I thought it was really really cool how lottery taxation and profits in London go towards making something so amazing free. I don't know how much lottery money in the states really does go to helpful causes, but I hope it's a lot and isn't just a scam.
The Book
Textbooks, at least at US universities.
Depending on the subject they can cost anywhere from $100-$400 USD per book. New editions are released annually to ensure that the content remains up to date. (and the price remains high)
For an egregious example: I had a graduate level economics course that required a $300 textbook ($150 when rented for the semester) which actually had an "international version" available online that was the exact same book but instead cost $60 retail. The only thing is that the book was listed as being"not for distribution in the US".
Snake Olive Oil
When I was pregnant with my youngest my fiancee and I went to some pan demonstration. They wanted to sell us these "miracle pans" that you can stack and cook everything on one burner and it was just complete bullshit. The absolute gem was when they said if you use nonstick pans you are giving yourself cancer. Also if you use anything except super expensive pans then they are just made of Chinese metals and full of stuff that will give you cancer. So basically if you use anything but their pans you are cooking with cancer! Dude was absolutely incredulous when I told him I wasn't interested in buying them because I was a cook and not impressed.
It's Gonna Die
Giphy
Built-in obsolescence.
Consumers spend good money to buy products that are designed to fail or become obsolete in order to stimulate further sales.
Not only that, but replacement parts become unavailable or are so expensive to buy and install that consumers end up replacing the item completely, even though it should have much more useful life.
Money Is My Nourishment
Food labels! "Good Source of Whole Grains" on sweetened cereal....."All-Natural" on orange and apple juice...."No High-Fructose Corn Syrup" on bread that has bleached white flour and some other form of sugar.
The best is "Low-Fat"....when we're finding out that "fat" was never the issue!!! It was the sugar and carbs that cause diseases. The food industry is biggest scam in the world!!!
Tone For Fools
LPT for toner. The way your printer detects the level of toner is to continuously shine a laser (or infrared) beam from a source to a receiver; this beam goes through plastic windows on your toner cartridge.
When the cartridge is full, the beam can't make it to the receiver, but as the toner is used, the beam can be detected.
To avoid this, place duct tape over the plastic windows, and the beam can never make it. I seriously got over 500 more pages by doing this trick.
Monopoly Ain't Just A Board Game
Giphy
Local utilities monopoly. Comcast sucks but nothing compares to my city that charges me 50$/mo for water and 70$/mo for sewer. They raised the sewer price to pay for some renovations but never lowered it. And here I am thinking maintaining the system should be part of their regular operating budget and not something we all have to pay extra for.
Plans, Scams, And Automobiles
Extended warranties on second hand vehicles. Especially when the warranty is void before you've even driven it off the lot. Sales people like to push them because they get commission on it, but most of them have clauses.
E.g. the car has to have a full service history (yet they sell them on cars without a full service history) or the car has to have a full service history and must always have been serviced at the dealer (yet the car they're selling has a full service history, but has been serviced at a third party workshop once and not always at the dealer).
Then there is the fact that even if the car DOES have a full service history and has always been serviced at a dealer, the insurance company will ALWAYS find a reason why they don't have to pay claims. The most common one being that the damage is wear and tear and because of that it's not covered.
Reverse Psychology
Listing prices as $xx.99 to make them seem cheaper.
It's a psychology trick. It works. We see 199.99 and think "That is less than 200." But it's exploiting human security vulnerabilities.
And worst of all, we could have all these beautiful, round numbers. But instead we end up with a bunch of nines everywhere. Zeroes are more orderly than nines and deserve more respect.
Seems Like We Should Do Something About This
Giphy
Health insurance in the United States.
I personally shell out 200 per check for insurance. So around 4800 per year. Then I still have to pay 2500 out of pocket before insurance will cover. Not included are prescriptions and doctor visit copays, which are hit and miss depending on the insurance.
An Existential Crisis
Kinda late, so likely gonna be buried, but I can't believe no one mentioned the Rat Race.
You get, at best, a century on this planet. One fifth or more is just figuring out who you are, how to walk and talk, learning how the world works and so on - and then you slave your life way selling your labor to make the owners of your company more money while you waste away at the seams.
You constantly have to struggle with financial burdens that are not only taxing on the very limited time you have, but also on the very core of your soul.
You are burdened with rising rents, financial disasters that you have little control over, and being at the whim of powerful people able to wage war using you and your brethren as cannon fodder for their own gain.
We have the technology to give every single person the highest standard of living, and it is achievable. But we cannot come together on these issues because the very basic unit of measurement we have, which is our time, is constantly sapped away by the powerful.
It's the greatest scam of all, because we feel we have no choice but to buy into it.
Wanna jump off the bandwagon? Then keep reading!
U/lit3rallyuseless asked: What doesn't deserve the hate it gets?
​Film and media are probably the biggest contender for being hated on randomly. It may seem harmless, but not always deserved.
Actors are people too!
Actors who played characters that people didn't like.
Really if you hated the character then the actor did a good job (assuming that was the role).
The best cartoons.
nice day summer GIF by PBS KIDSGiphyChild cartoons. Some are actually really good, even as an adult.
I feel like watching cartoons aimed at generally a younger audience allows for you to be reminded of some life lessons, I know I forget some things, or didn't realise others, or it at least partially renews my awareness of something I should still like or appreciate
This doesn't deserve awards, it's just my opinion that is apparently shared by many.
This man did nothing wrong.
Guy Fieri, he literally is the nicest person in the world but since he looks like he was electrocuted by mountain dew people want to saw his head off.
Even before that, I was witness to his other charitable work. A few years back, Santa Rosa was hit by some terrible fires and he showed up at a few shelters and personally cooked up and served some killer buffet food. No cameras, no massive team of PR, just a dude with an assistant to keep him on schedule to hit up other shelters in the area. Guy Fieri legit earned a lot of respect in my book for that.
You know who DEFINITELY doesn’t deserve hate? Animals. They’re just living their best lives, and need to be left alone.​
The best cats.
Black cats.
We got a black cat for the first time last year. I've since formulated the theory that black cats might get some of their reputation from the fact that people can't see them well in the dark and so they seemingly appear out of nowhere and they might be instinctually cautious because they know people have a tendency to kick them while walking in the dark. Our black cat is the sweetest cat I've ever known.
They get a bad rep.
Discovery Sharks GIF by Shark WeekGiphySharks. They are beautiful, complex creatures, deserving of respect and, like any wild animal should be left alone in their natural habitat, but they get this reputation as vicious bloodthirsty monsters. This is only because every shark attack is news, and only then because they are so rare. More people are killed EVERY DAY by mosquitoes than sharks kill in a year.
Any apex predator that has remained evolutionarily unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, whose existance predates TREES, is deserving or our respect and admiration. Shine on, you crazy cartlaginous fish, shine on.
So cute too!
Opossums. They're neat little critters. They eat tons of ticks that carry Lyme disease, (mostly) don't carry rabies because their body temp is too low, and they're the only marsupial native to North America! They get a bad rap because their first defense is to hiss and bare teeth, but failing that, they just play dead.
If you don't have the predisposition to hate them, you'll find they're pretty cute too.
E: this is about /opossums/, the north American species.
Kiwis, I feel for you, but this comment isn't about your possums.
​Hating on other people for just living their lives also seems to be a big contender for things that don’t deserve to be hated on.
This is so true.
Unemployed people. A lot of people genuinely are looking for work and did not want to lose their last job/it was beyond their control (like a layoff) but they get so much hate and called lazy by most people. I know too many unemployed people that are actually really trying hard. They definitely aren't lazy. (Not saying lazy unemployed people don't exist, but to be fair, so do lazy employed people too lol)
Leave the weather man alone!
Fox Raining GIF by Family GuyGiphyMeteorologists. They try their best to predict the weather based on patterns, models, and data. They're not perfect because predicting the weather is insanely difficult. When they get it wrong, I think we should go easy on them. It was probably an outlier result almost no one could have foreseen.
I've seen people get angry over the meteorologists for getting it right. Like they control the weather - it is their fault we are having rain, that kind of BS. Never made sense to me, but hey, I have plenty of relatives I clashed with growing up.
Please stop being d*cks to these people.
Customer service associates.
I hate when customers think that I, the minimum wage person forced to sit there and listen to them yell, am personally responsible for every policy they disagree with. Like, ma'am, if I had that much power and influence, I wouldn't be sitting here on a Saturday evening serving you.
Wholesome and necessary.
People don't deserve hate they give themselves when they are not doing too good at the moment.
I'm in a weird place and I didn't know I needed to read this. Thanks buddy.
If you haven't heard it from anyone else today, I'm proud of you.
It seems like people hate on things simply because they think they're meant to hate them. But you can always be the change and make an effort to stop being an a**hole about certain things.
No matter what though, sometimes haters gonna hate