There are certain products that are quite expensive, but the cost of manufacturing is really cheap. Sometimes, the company marks the price up to offer a discount. Or, it could just be plain greed and a market monopoly that makes a company put the price of a cheap product really high. Regardless, it is the consumer that gets screwed in the end. So let’s see some of the products which are really cheap to make but cost a boatload.
Products That Cost A Lot But Are Cheap To Produce
1. Eyeware
No pair of spectacles cost more than $14 to make. But you are quite familiar with royal brands that sell their glasses for a whopping $600. This, for those who are unaware, is a profit percentage of around 1000%.
2. Greeting Cards
Archies made a fortune out of this sham. After all, how expensive can a piece of cardboard be? The cost of making a single card should ideally be less than $2, but these are sold at around $4- $5. Although these prices aren’t earth-shattering, it is greed that is despicable.
3. Cartridges
Not the ones used in bullets- although a bullet would probably be cheaper than a printer cartridge. Just FYI- they are manufactured at $2- $3. But they are sold at a whopping $25- $50. Why not stick to black and white- they look clean too!
4. College Textbooks
The only reason why pirate sites like Z-Library, and Archive.org are so famous and admired is that college textbooks are exorbitant in their price. Why would anyone want to buy a book that costs $410? What could possibly be written that it would sell at such a price? The cost of manufacturing the book is $10.
5. Candle
A candle costs around $7 to $50- if they are scented and designer branded. But they are still created at a low price of $5. So it is the brand that sells- not the product itself.
6. Soda Cans
A single can of soda is quite cheap to produce- just $0.30. But the companies actually profit more if they sell less. So just 12 oz of liquid is being sold for $2!
7. Epipen
What can explain the greed of private corporations more than Epipen- a medication whose scarcity can be quite fatal? Epipens have a very high price- somewhere around $100 to $700- but they actually need just a few dollars to make. Human lives aren’t worth that much, you see.
8. Smartphones
People run after $1000 Apple iPhones, simply because of the brand, and the status associated with it. If one were to remove the logo of the half-eaten apple, the phone would probably sell for $400- at its highest.
9. Mattresses
Not only are our waking lives painful, but our dreams are costly as well! Mattresses cost around $75 to make, but they sell for $1,000. And if you want your sleep to be more comfortable, you will really have to shell out the big bucks.
10. Bathbombs
Do you want your bath time to be pleasant? Well, fork out $10 for a bath bomb, which takes just a dollar to create.
Read: Photographer Captures People And Their Bedrooms To Show Their Different Ways Of Living
11. Bottled Water
You would think one of the most essential resources for human survival would be exempt from greed. Unfortunately, no, because bottled water can have a markup of 4000% – from a 5 cent production cost to a $2 marketing price.
12. Movie Theater Popcorn
First, they disallow any kind of outside foodstuff or drinks into the theatre. Then, they sell the allowed foodstuff at an exorbitant price. An elaborate ruse to get the audience to pay about $5 for a bag of popcorn that takes 37 cents to make.
13. Branded Cereal
The branded cereal packs are household names, by now. Why not? After all, they are quick and efficient in what they do – getting the day started with a light meal. However, the brand name usually comes with a markup of nearly 40% so try out the generic cereals next time.
14. Prescription Drugs
Another essential resource to saving human lives – another case of tremendous markups. In many countries, including the US, manufacturing companies are allowed to sell prescription drugs at whatever price they think they will sell best. That, coupled with the monopoly of a handful of companies, means prescription drugs remain highly-priced.
15. Halloween Mask
Forget love or sleep. Even fear is expensive. If you want a simple Mike Myers Halloween mask, it will cost you $70. As it turns out, it costs $20 to make it. I can understand why Jason Voorhees decided homicide was the answer.
16. Wedding Cakes
Given the frequency and specialty of the occasion, a mark-up on wedding cakes is probably justifiable. After all, they have to stay in business too. However, just for your information, sometimes the markups can be as much as 1000%.
17. Beauty products
When Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian made their fortune from makeup products, they probably forgot to mention that the profit margin on their product was exorbitantly high. A lipstick that costs $10 to $100 probably takes less than $3 to make.
Most of the expensive products are quite cheap to make. It is just a lack of competition in the market that drives their prices up high.
Keep Reading: These valuable pennies are worth up to $200,000—and they might be in your pocket