Grossly overpriced products or services

[Domus]

Stopped at a motorway services, picked up a bottle of water, a packet of crisps and a Mars Bar, sorry says I, I only have a £20 note.
It's Ok, she said, you can put the crisps back. Boom Boom

 

[Mike Ayling]

Iphones

 

[Dave7]

I stayed in a big/posh hotel in the centre of Paris once (can't recall the name but it had the glass lift on the outside). This was early 90s.
It was on business and just for one night.
I got to my room, got a small bottle of beer from the minibar and was just about to open it when I saw the price.
1990.... small beer..... equivalent of nearly 6 quid .
Even on business expenses I didn't drink it.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Spectacles.

 

[steveindenmark]

Dentists. They have got you by the.......teeth.

 

[Profpointy]

Spectacles.

There's the old story about the young optician just starting out in the trade being advised by an old hand. "Once you've prescribed the glasses, you explain to the customer they are a hundred pounds. If he doesn't flinch you then say, 'of course, that's just the frames. The lenses are also a hundred pounds' If he still doesn't seem shocked you add 'each' "

Joking aside I've found specsavers perfectly reasonably priced, and they happily replace screws for nothing though I'd have no issue with being charged a fiver for a minor repair. They did totally win me over when I realised the "join" in my first bifocals just wasn't at the right point and I was having to peer awkwardly for the "distance" part. Decided to pay for new lenses which they duly made, then said "on the house".

 

[Drago]

Nescafe instant coffee. Best part of a tenner a jar in Tesco. The Tesco own brand, the "posh" stuff not the prison food, is only £4 and indistinguishable from the brand name stuff.

Ditto brand name washing machine tabs and fabric softener. The Tesco stuff costs barely a third and performs equally well.

I appreciate there is plenty of cheaper stuff out there that is utter tat (for example, I've never found a cream cracker that is a good substitute for Jacobs) but after a while you figure out that in 8 out of 10 cases the cheap stuff can be equally as good. How much do we overspend each year on brand name shopping thinking that it somehow tastes or performs better?

 

[fossyant]

Dog food.

Tesco sell a 12kg bag of Bruce's favourite num nums for £34.

Or 5kgs bags ot the same at £10.50 each.

Guess which I buy three of?

Cat food is the same. 40 Felix "As Good" are about £15-£16 in the supermarkets, sometimes £13. On-line, if I pay £12 it's getting a bit dear - lowest price I've ever got was £9 and I bought the maximum of 4 boxes. Usual price is around £11 a box.

 

[fossyant]

TBH, it's not just the UK is a rip off, everywhere is !

 

[Bonefish Blues]

There's the old story about the young optician just starting out in the trade being advised by an old hand. "Once you've prescribed the glasses, you explain to the customer they are a hundred pounds. If he doesn't flinch you then say, 'of course, that's just the frames. The lenses are also a hundred pounds' If he still doesn't seem shocked you add 'each' "

Joking aside I've found specsavers perfectly reasonably priced, and as a customer they happily replace screws for nothing though I'd have no issue with being charged a fiver for a minor reply. They did totally win me over when I realised the "join" in my first bifocals just wasn't at the right point and I was having to peer awkwardly for the "distance" part. Decided to pay for new lenses which they duly made, then said "on the house".

Of the chains, I think Specsavers are the best, I agree - some old colleagues are there in quite senior positions, but my ire is not so much against the High Street Opticians, but spectacles (and increasingly lenses) themselves. A search for 'Luxottica monopoly' or similar will explain why much more eloquently than I can, but suffice to say that EU anti monopolies legislation seems to have passed them by.

 

[fossyant]

Chippy tea. We found the two chippy's in Barry were even more expensive than the one in Tenby. £30 for two people (fish chips peas). It's £20 from our 'award winning' chippy back home.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Chippy tea. We found the two chippy's in Barry were even more expensive than the one in Tenby. £30 for two people (fish chips peas). It's £20 from our 'award winning' chippy back home.

Tidy.

 

[fossyant]

I appreciate there is plenty of cheaper stuff out there that is utter tat (for example, I've never found a cream cracker that is a good substitute for Jacobs) but after a while you figure out that in 8 out of 10 cases the cheap stuff can be equally as good. How much do we overspend each year on brand name shopping thinking that it somehow tastes or performs better?

Fairy 'original' washing up liquid is just about the best followed by the boggo standard Lidl/Aldi brands - i.e. you don't need much for a good wash. Any that are 'scented' or claim to be 'super' are way less effective than the basic liquids.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

Iphones

You could say the same about any of the “premium“ mobile phones.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

GPS computers for bikes, especially the Garmin ones that are £300+, but also applies to Wahoo and some other brands.