Posted by Pinaki Kathiari on February 7, 2010

We don’t like getting ripped off

CNNMoney posted an article, America’s biggest ripoffs.

It costs 1/3 of a cent for carriers to send a message, but they can hit you with a 20-cent charge on pay-per-text plans. That’s a markup of 6,500%.

Movie popcorn, 900%: No surprise here, as theaters make little from ticket sales. “I consider myself working in concessions, not movies,” is a common refrain of owners.

‘”Free” credit reports: Just try it. The percentage markup between “free” and $179 a year doesn’t compute, even if you have advanced calculus.

Advil, 60%: Brand names are nice, “but the cheaper stuff works just as well.” Apparently, the name and “sleek packaging” work.

Restaurant wine, 500%: One restaurant explains away the difference by touting a “beverage team” that makes sure “the quality of the wine and experience exceeds our guests’ expectations.”

Textbooks: From 1986 to 2004, prices increased at “twice the rate of annual inflation.”

More bad deals from CNNMoney, America’s biggest ripoffs