Curious to hear about customer regrets online, Redditor jezbez asked:
"What terrible product sells by the millions?"
Many items for sale seem to focus more on advertising than ensuring product integrity.
Growth Enhancement
"Penis enlargement pills."
"The pills keep getting larger but my penis is still the same size - am I doing something wrong?"
– Devonai
Late Advertisement
"Anything you see on the 1 AM advertising shows that take 1 hour to show you a single product."
"They are also sold on like Walmart shelves in the 'as seen on TV' section."
– Hephaestus_God
Getting More Ink
"Printer ink cartridges."
"I hate the printers that refuse to print a black and white page just because it's out of yellow ink."
– Cheese_Pancakes
More Ink Nightmares
"F'king hell, I hate printers, from their 'ceases to continue working after minimal use' thing to the 'ink whose price suggests it is drawn from the glands of rare sacred animals on another planet' crap. I'm sure there are lots of good, decent people who work in the printer industry, but I'm sure there were lots of good, decent people working on board the Death Star too."
– Dahhhkness
The effectiveness of some household wares and health & beauty products were questioned.
Toxic Flea Repellent
"Hartz brand pet flea treatments/medication. It's dangerous and has been the cause of death for many pets. IIRC it's a nerve agent that's supposed to make the pet's blood toxic to fleas."
"I used some on my cat once and she started freaking out, then had trouble walking normally (her legs were twitching and kicking, clearly out of her control), and tears of brown thick liquid started streaming down her face. I picked her up and frantically gave her a bath hoping to wash any of the remaining chemicals off the back of her neck before any more of that poison seeped into her skin."
– MoopyMorkyfeet
Dietary Supplement Corporation
"Herbalife."
– Inaboxwithafox
"I know literally no one that buys it. I'm convinced they're a drug front or are faking their financials."
– imbadwithnames1
Weight Loss
"Diet shakes/pills/teas etc."
– Odd-Plant4779
"My boyfriend was trying to lose weight desperately for a job."
"He made a list of everything he wanted. He wanted a girdle (to suck in his belly), eggs, and 4 different diet pills. The cost of just 1 box was well over 50 bucks. And he wanted 4."
"I told him the diet pills will never work, and they might make him sick. Bought 1 box anyway. He lost a couple pounds. Water weight. In order to lose more, he starved himself and ate 3 eggs, once per day, or nothing at all."
"He would have a smoothie a few times a week, which has several hundred calories."
– PmMeIrises
People Share Their Best 'Whoa, It Worked' Moments | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Clogging The Pipeline
"Detoxification miracle products."
"Get all the toxins out of your body!"
"You have already have a pancreas and liver."
"and kidney(s)"
"Glad to see so many people actually are educated about their digestive systems. One of my favorite areas of study right now are the gut microbiome and it's ever-increasing known impact on our overall health. So far it really seems like one of the most important factors (if not the most) is the quality of care you give your ol' poop machine. So yeah, don't consume garbage branded as detox products that f' upyour colon."
– Xalidos
Microbeads
"Stuff with microbeads."
"Seriously, how was this ever legal in the first place and why is it still legal?"
"Edit, apparently mictobeads were mostly banned in the US (where majority of redditors are from) in 2018 (enacted 2015) but I missed that. However, this is not a strict ban as they are still allowed in "non-rinse off" products such as make-up or pillow stuffing and you can order large quantities of them on Amazon. So while this is a step in the right direction, it is certainly not good enough. Furthermore, they should be banned worldwide like CFCs were as their environmental impact is equally as bad."
– moleratical
"Totally Unnecessary"
"Douche - like Summers Eve."
"That stuff is totally unnecessary if you're hygienic."
– 623326
Entertainment services have found ways to exploit customers by enticing them with features that promise elevated experiences but ultimately fall short of expectations.
Virtual Upgrades
"WILDLY Overpriced micro transactions in video games, it's genuinely absurd. 25 dollars for a little outfit for your character in a first person shooter where you do not see your little outfit is a perfect example."
– Marsupialize
Someone Else Is Keeping Score
"NBA 2K franchise. just keeps getting progressively worse, more ads, more incentives to spend money, gameplay barely changes."
– dyla4034
Cable
"Cable TV (from major providers)"
"They made money f'king people over and then when streaming services changed the game they decided to continue finding new ways to f'k you over. God help you if you live in a rural area."
– green49285
Big Brother Is Watching You, Tracking You & Taking Notes On You
"My data."
– Subfolded
"I saw you were thinking about toast today. Here's 10 ads on toast."
– Hxcmetal724
"I saw you watched a video review for a vacuum cleaner. Here's 30 more even though you've already purchased one."
Virtual Cash
"Shark cards, gold bars, or any other micro-transaction which gives you virtual money in a world you'll be playing alot *anyway*, so you'd be getting that money anyway."
The gimmick of the surprise toy is my pick for the worst use of money ​on terrible products.
It's confounding to me how people flock to acquire these surprise packages, unwrap them, and never play with the toys inside. The excitement is in the reveal, and that is it.
This reminds me of the "blind purchase" concept of the popular "Gashapon" vending machines all over Japan.
Enthusiastic collectors spend a lot of money in the hopes of getting "the one" toy to complete the series in the desired set.
The addiction to Gashapon is like a slot machine for young adults. And the mania for it is over a piece of plastic resembling their favorite manga or anime character that eventually collects dust somewhere up on a shelf.
But hey, it's their money to do with as they please.
Redditor The_StoryTeller_Am wanted to hear what we're being ripped off on when they asked:
"What is cheaply made but sold at a ridiculous price?"
We've Failed As A Country
"Epi-pens. They cost like 2 bucks to make and then are sold for like $150"
Willis644
"Paid $400 two years ago."
Inlieuof456
stinging the simpsons GIFGiphySeeing The Numbers Laid Out For You
"I'll never forget learning that the movie theater I worked at paid $5 for a 24 pack of Dasani bottles. We charged $4.50 for 1."
DownBad1
"The movie theatre near me has a Starbucks built in with the same prices as other nearby Starbuxes. It's the cheapest drinks at the theatre."
ProfessionalYoghurt
You Might Say We're BLIND To The Costs?
"Glasses! I watched a video on the sunglasses/glasses/eyeware industry in middle school economics and we've been scammed this entire time!"
butteryturtle17
"I was a certified optician and ran a lens lab for Pearle Vision in the early 2000's."
"Our most expensive frames, excluding the weird Armani sh-t we carried, cost us $20-$30 per frame. They sold for $200-$400 depending. Our cheapest frames cost us $2-3 each, and none sold for less $50."
"The lenses, that's a lot of markup. I started in a brand new store, and we had a brand new lab full of Essilor hardware. Latest and greatest at the time. Standard lenses, nothing special just the standard CR32 plastic in a typical prescription? They cost $2 or so and we charged $40 each. So a "basic" pair of glasses cost us $8 in materials and was sold for $130."
Break It Down To Its Simplest Components
"Sodium Chloride IV bags in hospitals in the United States. It costs less than $1 to make but hospitals can charge over $200+ per bag."
ParaPixie
"$500 per bag...or so I have seen on medical records."
Inlieuof456
Overpriced Powder
"Makeup - that sh-t is produced cheap, especially the high end brands"
SlytherinGirl125
"This!! Most cosmetics in general basically. Part of why most makeup stores have such relaxed return policies... Eyeshadow palettes cost like 20 cents each to manufacture and sell for $50."
jengiekat
The Simpsons Reaction GIF by moodmanGiphyLess Clothing Material Somehow Costs More?
Baby clothes are marked up by 1000% on average
GlutonForPUNishment
"No kidding. Buying clothes at Christmas for my niece, nephew, and stepson was flooring."
"Now we have another one on the way. I'm hoping hand-me-downs will be like 90% of the clothing we have for it."
wHUT_fun
Alan Wrenches Are Not The Way Of Lasting Through The Future
"I definitely feel like furniture is in this category. It's not sturdy like it was in the old days. Like how did my grandparents pass down tables through generations but now you're lucky if a coffee table lasts you within your own home's generation."
Mary_massacre
You Ever Thought About How Much Soda Is Anywhere Besides Theaters?
"Carbonated beverages and popcorn are what keep restaurants and movie theatres in business."
HIPS79
Costs Little To Plug In
"Any cable (usb, hdmi etc). They cost pennies to make"
Magazines192
"Company I used to work for would give us cables at the price they purchased them for. I would get HDMI and cell phone cables that would retail at $15-$20 for around $1-$2."
mockg
Ever Taken One Apart?
"Beats by Dr Dre. They cost less than 20 bucks to make, they're cheap and plastic-y and the earcups feel awful. If you want good headphones with some style get a pair of sony xm3 wh1000's. Aka sony noise cancelling bluetooth headphones. They're much better quality, more useable and sound better, and are over 50 bucks cheaper."
Rydoggo5392
Moving The Simpsons GIFGiphyDon't Look At Them The Wrong Way
"iPhones. They are made with some of the same Samsung parts, but are made slowed down as new ones come out. They are God awful expensive, compared to the better, cheaper and easier to use, abuse and maintain, Samsung. Not to mention they the screens break when you look at them."
SpankingScreen
At-Home Printers Are A Nightmare
"Printer cartridges."
101forgotmypassword
"Lil fun fact. The [cartridge] in new printers are mostly just 1/2 or 1/4 filled :("
Feedcore
"Ink cardtridges."
"they only cost like .30 cents to make."
Which-Cockroach4958
Shoes Are Shoes
"Nike sneakers/gear."
"They are able to give so much of it away to their athletes and sponsors and still be Uber profitable because how much they make off the rest of us chumps overpaying"
aliciaf1
Coated In Gold
"Anything with fake gold on it. They will just raise the price because it has "gold" on it rather than the actual price it should be."
Guided_Gamer77
Pre-Game, Everybody
"Alcohol, just don't buy it at a bar or a club, buy it in a store and, if allowed, or if you can hide it well, take it to that bar or club."
"It is actually quite common in my country for people who go out at night to drink before getting to their destination, alcohol is so much more expensive to buy at certain places than it is at others due to the high demand that you could buy bottles of something for the price of a glass of it in a club, if you don't know how to make a certain drink yourself then you should really consider learning it and take it with you when going out."
HappyGuy223344
It's Only About Money. Every. Single. Year.
"College textbooks on their 2nd to 100th edition."
asecretspy
"It's annoying because they could keep the same text book and allow students to pass them onto the next generation of college students but no, they have to create a new book each time and make it a requirement to have that new book."
beluuuuuuga
the simpsons GIFGiphyOkay, Seriously, We've Failed As A Country
"Insulin"
Scaryassmanbear
"It's criminal how much they charge compared to the manufacturing costs."
The_Mr_Ibad
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
