# A Thread In Which We Call Out Ripoff Products **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270 "2018-01-23T04:11:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/121 "2018-01-26T01:21:52Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Now that’s not true. > > They usually last a full year 😃 Alright, I can concede on this one being true in some cases, but I have dealt with having to turn right around and buy another access code when my kid dropped a class and then couldn’t use it the very next term, for whatever reason. You know these textbook companies have no consistency whatsoever. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/122 "2018-01-26T01:24:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have noticed that women’s deodorant and men’s deodorant are of different sizes. Do men stink more? Yeah I guess they do. But, women’s cost more, that seems wrong. I always thought the men’s deodorant was bigger because men’s pits are bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/123 "2018-01-26T01:25:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Textbooks, airport food and broadband. Almost universally regarded as ripoffs, primarily because their markets are rigged. Airport food is less of a ripoff than it used to be. When I started flying, airport food was even more relatively expensive than it is now, and was also much worse in quality. Sure you often didn’t need it, since you ate on the plane, but if you were hungry it was something to dread. I’ve actually had reasonable meals in airports in the past decade. One or two even good. And lots of airport authorities force chains to charge the same inside as outside. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/124 "2018-01-26T01:28:05Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Not really more, just, the male chemistry. I have a bottle of Apple brand shower-spritz with the motto boldly emblazoned on the front: _ **Stink Different** _ 😛 Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/125 "2018-01-26T04:10:30Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Totino’s Party Pizzas. I feel weird talking about a product that regularly sells for 3 for $5 and is pretty much always on sale for even less than that in a thread about “ripoff” products, but these things have been going sharply downhill for a while. First they shrunk them by at least 30% about 10 years ago, then recently they got rid of the box in favor of a plastic bag, the pizza is now rectangular, and it doesn’t quite taste the same as before. I’ll be damned. I didn’t think they could have made them any worse. Is the “pepperoni” still rabbit pellet shaped? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/126 "2018-01-26T07:05:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Cite? Becuase if so the FDA would like to know. (cheap choco does sometime contain some, like forhollow easter bunnies, but mostly a tiny tiny amount is added just to give a glassy finish.) > > No, the difference is the _Hershey process_, which is part of chocolate history: > [Hershey bar - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hershey_bar) > > " > The Hershey Process milk chocolate in these bars uses fresh milk delivered directly from local farms. The process was developed by Milton Hershey and produced the first mass-produced chocolate in the United States. As a result, the Hershey flavor is widely recognized in the United States, but less so internationally, especially in areas where European chocolates are more widely available. The process is a company and trade secret, but experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This flavor gives the product a particular sour, “tangy” taste that the US public has come to associate with the taste of chocolate, to the point that other manufacturers often add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.[1] The American bar’s taste profile was not as popular with the Canadian public, leading Hershey to introduce a reformulated Canadian bar in 1983.[2]" > > I am not a fan of Hershey choco and it’s fine if you arent either, but lets get the facts straight. I am of the minions who loves me some hershey bars. Not a fan of kisses or the white chocolate hershey bar. Regular bar for me! I can’t, for the life of, figure out why anybody would not like them. They are perfect. I miss the two part wrapper, it was so satisfying to open. I love hersheys syrup too. ---
**Author:** ![Xandria](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/3bc359/32.png) [@Xandria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xandria)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/127 "2018-01-26T08:43:47Z")
Many probiotics are a con, [Probiotics: how each fared and what they contain](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11091887/Probiotics-how-each-fared-and-what-they-contain.html) Yoghurt generally is a rip off… Unless they pasteurize it / add a load of yuk to increase shelf life, all yoghurt contains live cultures, but they now charge extra for that! ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/128 "2018-01-26T12:05:46Z")
Adam Smith said that people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise price. Still true a couple of centuries later, the only difference being they’re far more practised at it these days. Bastards indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/129 "2018-01-26T13:42:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Airport food is less of a ripoff than it used to be. When I started flying, airport food was even more relatively expensive than it is now, and was also much worse in quality. Sure you often didn’t need it, since you ate on the plane, but if you were hungry it was something to dread. > I’ve actually had reasonable meals in airports in the past decade. One or two even good. And lots of airport authorities force chains to charge the same inside as outside. I think Pittsburgh may have started this trend. There’s still overcharging elsewhere, but it doesn’t seem anywhere near as bad as it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/130 "2018-01-26T15:30:43Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The incredible shrinking tuna can! You used to get six ounces (undrained), which could make two sandwiches. Now they’re five ounces undrained, which too much for one sandwich by not enough for two. > > Yogurt is even worse. Used to be (before 2003), a single-serving yogurt was 8 oz. Then it shrunk down to 6 oz. Nowadays, it’s 5.3 ounces. A cup of yogurt made a satisfying lunch. Now, not really. The pooping yogurts (with the probiotics) I noticed the other day are 4 ounces! This is bullcrap! The right size for a serving of yogurt is EIGHT OUNCES! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/131 "2018-01-26T15:38:25Z")
Oh yeah, let’s talk headphones. A while back, they took apart a pair of Beats by Dre headphones and found [four metal parts that did nothing at all](https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/beats-by-dre-headphones-teardown-finds-metal-parts-included-just-to-add-weight/) (so, really, metal slugs). They were in there to increase the weight, thus giving the impression that the headphones were more substantial, or better built, or something, and thus worth more. The dude who did the teardown, “estimates the cost of goods for the Beats By Dre Solo headphones, without shipping and labor, is $16.89, or about 8 percent of the retail price.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/132 "2018-01-26T15:43:25Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > But does it still say “half gallon” etc. A lot of products (ice cream is a big one, I think) that typically came in some specific size container and now come in a smaller but similar looking one no longer say “HALF GALLON” or “QUART” in giant letters across the front. It’s one of those cases where I understand why people are upset, but I’m not sure what people want. The other option is to keep the size the same but increase the cost. In your example, if you 64 oz item was $5.00, it would probably go up to around $5.99. That would anger the other half of the customers. That half are WRONG to be angry, and their opinions should be dismissed. The RIGHT size for a family pack of ice cream is a HALF GALLON. Yes, costs increase, which means that prices have to increase, but ADULTS (who are the only people who have any business buying ice cream in the supermarket) are presumed to be able to handle such facts without having a tantrum. The HALF GALLON is also the RIGHT size for a carton of orange juice. And it’s also going away. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/133 "2018-01-26T15:48:32Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Energy Star appliances. My “Energy Star” refrigerator runs for hours nearly every single time I open the door. My sister’s “Energy Star” dishwasher runs for hours every time she washes the dishes. This is supposed to save energy? There’s different levels of Energy Star, though. On the label there’s a “sliding scale” of how energy efficient something is. Your fridge and your sister’s dishwasher might be more energy efficient than the lowest cutoff level to qualify, but it doesn’t mean they are extremely energy efficient. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/134 "2018-01-26T15:54:07Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > The dude who did the teardown, “estimates the cost of goods for the Beats By Dre Solo headphones, without shipping and labor, is $16.89, or about 8 percent of the retail price.” The dude screwed up. His teardown was of a pair of counterfeit Beats. After tearing down a pair of real Beats, he got an estimate of a whopping $20.19. [https://blog.bolt.io/how-it-s-made-series-yup-our-beats-were-counterfeit-but-they-cost-about-the-same-to-make-as-the-364cc6808d18](https://blog.bolt.io/how-it-s-made-series-yup-our-beats-were-counterfeit-but-they-cost-about-the-same-to-make-as-the-364cc6808d18) Not sure how much I’s trust an estimate from someone that didn’t know he had counterfeits, though. I would think shipping, labor and other costs are a major part of the final cost of most products. Especially the “other.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/135 "2018-01-26T16:33:40Z")
> [@Ispolkom](#): > > I’ll be damned. I didn’t think they could have made them any worse. Is the “pepperoni” still rabbit pellet shaped? I loved Totino’s Party Pizzas! They had a unique taste (in a good way!) and I didn’t feel guilty eating the whole thing because it wasn’t super big. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > The pooping yogurts (with the probiotics) I noticed the other day are 4 ounces! > > This is bullcrap! The right size for a serving of yogurt is EIGHT OUNCES! Damn straight. I see my friend eating them and ask him, why bother?? Four ounces is maybe two bites. OK for his little granddaughters, not OK for a grown adult! ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/136 "2018-01-26T16:52:49Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I am of the minions who loves me some hershey bars. Not a fan of kisses or the white chocolate hershey bar. Regular bar for me! I can’t, for the life of, figure out why anybody would not like them. They are perfect. I miss the two part wrapper, it was so satisfying to open. I love hersheys syrup too. I like Hershey’s too and also miss the double wrapper. But I still love unwrapping it and seeing that smoooooth bar. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/137 "2018-01-26T19:14:47Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > What about…the \*twinkie \*? Ever since the Bimbo buyout, anything Hostess is sub-par. Don’t get me started about Susy-Q’s–primary ingredients have changed to cement dust and air-puffed lard. I mourn for what was. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/138 "2018-01-26T19:43:48Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > College math teacher here: I won’t get started on the giant racket that is the textbook industry. But… what you are talking about is a loose-leaf book. A 900-page textbook is _heavy_. The point of a loose-leaf book is that students can put just the portion they need for a particular day in a binder, so that they don’t have to haul the whole thing around. I paid someone actual money to do this to my bound books when I was in grad school. I love the loose leaf option for my students! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/139 "2018-01-26T20:17:48Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > I would think shipping, labor and other costs are a major part of the final cost of most products. Especially the “other.” In the case of Beats, we know what that “other” is. My cousin worked for a brief time at the Furzhaus Hub, where they were in the business of moving pelts. One day, a small package arrived, which when unwrapped appeared to be a P-51 plastic model airplane kit. Inside the box, however, were a couple hundred labels. Because, it would seem, the right name on a coat can make an enormous difference in what it can be sold for. I think there is a lot of stuff that works that way. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270/140 "2018-01-27T02:16:04Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > … > The HALF GALLON is also the RIGHT size for a carton of orange juice. And it’s also going away. > > Dammit. But, a HALF GALLON isn’t metric. It’s gotta be metric to be modern. So, let’s make it 1.75 Liters, that’s metric. What? I guess we could make it 2.0 Liters, but that’s more than a HALF GALLON (by a whopping 3.6 ounces, or nearly a half-cup), so we’d have to raise the costs, by at least about 25% or so… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-in-which-we-call-out-ripoff-products/807270.md?page=8)