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32 biggest ripoffs in America

Bill Shrink, a Web site focused on saving money on everyday bills, has had a couple great posts of late noting what it considers to be the biggest ripoffs in America.

The site started with its top 12 biggest ripoffs, but readers added so many good ones that it added another 20 to the list.

Here are the ones they listed as the 32 biggest ripoffs in America. Visit the site for more explanation on each of these:

  1. Movie theater popcorn

  2. Text messages

  3. College textbooks

  4. Branded painkillers

  5. “Free” credit reports

  6. Wine service at restaurants

  7. Hotel mini-bars

  8. All-you-can-eat buffets

  9. Premium gasoline

  10. Actively managed investments

  11. In-room movies

  12. Health club memberships

  13. Bottled water

  14. Ink cartridges

  15. Razor blades

  16. Bail bond rates

  17. Fountain soda

  18. Electronics warranties

  19. French fries at fast-food chains

  20. Funerals

  21. Oil changes

  22. Cigarettes (depending on state)

  23. Tipping in restaurants

  24. Printer cables

  25. Travel-size shampoos

  26. Restaurant coffee

  27. Brake jobs

  28. Publicly financed stadiums and arenas

  29. Lottery tickets

  30. Alcohol

  31. Weddings

  32. Wireless cancellation fees

I also would add the more outrageously priced tickets to sports games and concerts, movie theater tickets (especially for 3-D), and glasses (which also was noted by a commenter on the Bill Shrink site).

What else did we miss?

Permalink | Comments (86) | Post your comment | Categories: Savings

Comments

By Mark

March 20, 2010 1:20 PM | Link to this

You missed Printer Ink.

By joann list

March 20, 2010 2:55 PM | Link to this

overdraft charges on debit cards, when there are no over drafts. and you still pay.

By joann list

March 20, 2010 2:56 PM | Link to this

overdraft charges on debit cards, when there are no over drafts. and you still pay.

By joann list

March 20, 2010 2:57 PM | Link to this

overdraft charges on debit cards, when there are no over drafts.

By joann list

March 20, 2010 2:58 PM | Link to this

bank charges

By ridiculous

March 20, 2010 8:21 PM | Link to this

How about the $39.00 late fees for credit cards?

By ridiculous

March 20, 2010 8:40 PM | Link to this

How about the new car extended warranties and the Scotch-Guard treatment, too.

By Paul

March 20, 2010 9:02 PM | Link to this

Taxes, Oil Companies, Red Light Cameras

By Paul

March 20, 2010 9:05 PM | Link to this

Taxes, Oil Companies, Red Light Cameras

By ridiculous

March 20, 2010 9:44 PM | Link to this

Time Warner Cable!!!

By James

March 21, 2010 3:25 AM | Link to this

Check #14, Mark.

By J.T.

March 21, 2010 9:14 AM | Link to this

No Brainer !. Our tax dollars being squandered by Barack Husseign Obama and his Demoncrat cronies.

By Bub

March 21, 2010 10:07 AM | Link to this

GW Bushes’ wars on terror/WMD’s that were not there. On the other side of the globe. No Bid contracts for Halliburton/Blackwater

By f c carrier

March 21, 2010 10:20 AM | Link to this

property taxes

By F C Carrier

March 21, 2010 10:37 AM | Link to this

people standing on corners asking for donations

By F C Carrier

March 21, 2010 9:03 PM | Link to this

how about attorney fees

By jay

March 22, 2010 10:12 AM | Link to this

goverment theft of money from social security. health care over price insurance, taxes, oil - gas, jail, cincinnati solid led water pipes, elec and nautual gas tax, car insurance. hosiptals over chargeing insurance, cincinnati roads, war on terror. dosent even touch the top

By jay

March 22, 2010 10:14 AM | Link to this

goverment theft of money from social security. health care over price insurance, taxes, oil - gas, jail, cincinnati solid led water pipes, elec and nautual gas tax, car insurance. hosiptals over chargeing insurance, cincinnati roads, war on terror. dosent even touch the top

By Homer Simpson

March 22, 2010 10:36 AM | Link to this

ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFETS MADE THIS LIST?! No Way!!! Why, I know I eat more than 10 people when I go to a buffet! ‘Scuse me while I give myself some insulin…

By Rick

March 22, 2010 12:35 PM | Link to this

Jewelry.

By J

March 22, 2010 2:10 PM | Link to this

That’s what ink cartridges are Mark.

By null

March 22, 2010 2:29 PM | Link to this

New York City. They’re no London …

By BOOGIE

March 22, 2010 7:19 PM | Link to this

THE GOVERNMENT

By w

March 22, 2010 10:06 PM | Link to this

pelosi

By mike

March 22, 2010 10:37 PM | Link to this

Voting in Replublicans

By lauren

March 22, 2010 10:57 PM | Link to this

TIME WARNER CABLE BIGGEST RIP OFF IN AMERICA!!!

By patti

March 22, 2010 11:01 PM | Link to this

DMV Charges!!!

By Scott

March 22, 2010 11:22 PM | Link to this

The Dayton Daily News

By LISA

March 22, 2010 11:23 PM | Link to this

NOT EVEN CHARGE TAXES ON ALCOHOLIC DRINKS? WHAT WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?

By Jim Brown

March 23, 2010 7:34 AM | Link to this

having to pay to have bills sent to you,

By ummm...

March 23, 2010 8:30 AM | Link to this

The American Education System…obviously we all have trouble spelling and clicking the “Post comment” button only once….

By lol

March 23, 2010 8:38 AM | Link to this

well said “ummm”! I was just dancing that exact same thought in my mind as well.

By guitarsteve

March 23, 2010 9:04 AM | Link to this

Insurance, Prescription drugs, hospital bills and other medical-industry items. Yea health care reform.

By Bill

March 23, 2010 9:10 AM | Link to this

The price of WEED

By Bill

March 23, 2010 9:12 AM | Link to this

The price of WEED

By tallsandi

March 23, 2010 9:24 AM | Link to this

Hey NYC, you might want to actually know something about history before you spout off. The blacks that were enslaved in Africa and sold were captured,enslaved, and sold by other black men.

By broke tax payer

March 23, 2010 9:37 AM | Link to this

ObamaCare

By Bev

March 23, 2010 10:25 AM | Link to this

Leave poor Mark alone. Haven’t you ever made an oversight!

By intellectuallyindependent

March 23, 2010 11:06 AM | Link to this

Ohio strip club laws

By intellectuallyindependent

March 23, 2010 11:26 AM | Link to this

not all the slaves that were brought over from africa were sold by fellow africans. the conquering, enslavement, colonizing, and destruction of native and african peoples were perpetuated by whites. but thats neither here or there

By null

March 23, 2010 11:45 AM | Link to this

Voting in Democrats and the Government

By shakever

March 23, 2010 12:53 PM | Link to this

Time Warner Cable, Democrats, side items on restaraunt menus, vending items, gasoline,property taxes, Duke Energy, Shipping and handling charges……………………

By shakever

March 23, 2010 12:54 PM | Link to this

Time Warner Cable, Democrats, side items on restaraunt menus, vending items, gasoline,property taxes, Duke Energy, Shipping and handling charges

By null

March 23, 2010 2:05 PM | Link to this

lol - your punctuation should be inside your quotation.

By me

March 23, 2010 3:37 PM | Link to this

A coke, coffee or iced tea with your meal plus $1.75 and up. Rediculous. Drink water people, it is better for you and your pocketbook.

By cabby

March 23, 2010 5:18 PM | Link to this

bounced check fees and ATM fees

By cabby

March 23, 2010 5:23 PM | Link to this

yes.. It needed to be stated twice!! lol

By nra4ever

March 23, 2010 5:28 PM | Link to this

Obama healthcare bill

By Paul B

March 24, 2010 2:45 AM | Link to this

Newspaper subscriptions!

By THINK!

March 24, 2010 6:40 AM | Link to this

There are 13,000,000,000,000 things on the list that are ahead of these 32 thanks to Obama.

By don

March 24, 2010 9:04 AM | Link to this

hoW about sport shirts at golf courses. $40 to $50 a shirt? get real.

By What???

March 24, 2010 10:31 AM | Link to this

Tipping in restaurants?? OMG! Servers make $3.50/hr! Pay for your damn service because people have families to feed!!! If you don’t want to tip, eat fast food or fix your own dinner.

By What???

March 24, 2010 10:32 AM | Link to this

Tipping in restaurants?? OMG! Servers make $3.50/hr! Pay for your damn service because people have families to feed!!! If you don’t want to tip, eat fast food or fix your own dinner.

By Hornet87 Main Street Monroe

March 24, 2010 11:37 AM | Link to this

Mark, they did not miss printer ink, they listed ink cartridges and they do have ink in them…

By Miami University, Oh

March 24, 2010 12:14 PM | Link to this

Paying the professors $300K and then you can not understand them.

By Voice of Reason

March 24, 2010 1:22 PM | Link to this

ALCOHOL?!!!! Lady you must be drunk…

By Silverlady

March 24, 2010 1:52 PM | Link to this

No pay increase in Social Security. People finding fault in others.

By American Made

March 24, 2010 4:00 PM | Link to this

When the bank has a “pending” transaction on your ATM/Debit card that THEY allowed to go thru, rather than delcine and the bank charges a $33.00 Overdraft on a PENDING transaction that won’t clear for 2-3 days.

By havinglived

March 24, 2010 8:24 PM | Link to this

The four biggest rackets in the world. Grass-like your lawn Ice-retail bagged Gasoline. Funerals- Don’t know what order but they are huge ripoffs!!!!!

By Incisor

March 25, 2010 11:14 AM | Link to this

To the cheapskates who begrudge restaurant tips: there’s a very good reason restaurants pay servers low wages and expect your tips to make up the difference, it’s called INCENTIVE. Go sit in a restaurant (like most in Europe) where the server makes the same amount of money no matter how lousy the service is and see how you like it. What a stupid topic. There’s no such thing as a “rip off” unless someone is holding a gun to your head to get your money. Otherwise it’s your choice to pay it or not.

By Mr. Cita

March 25, 2010 11:48 AM | Link to this

What about City workers wasting tax citizen money while 10 workers walking talking around job site while 1 person working I see all the time Ha!!!!

By Whodeydiva

March 25, 2010 12:13 PM | Link to this

Would tipping in restaurants be on the list if the person who put the list together was a server?

By A Conservative Voice

March 25, 2010 12:39 PM | Link to this

In addition to TAXES the FEDERAL SERVICE CHARGE on everybodys’ phone bills. This is a ripoff of the first order. This is a political payoff to create jobs for campaign operatives from the 1990s.

By irate

March 25, 2010 12:59 PM | Link to this

I have a son in college. He and his 8 housemates live in a dilapidated house and are charged $61,000 a YEAR in rent. So, college student housing.

By hello pot it's me the kettle

March 25, 2010 1:01 PM | Link to this

Republicans placing blame on Obama for everything…priceless

By Bowzer

March 25, 2010 9:28 PM | Link to this

RE: Bank overdraft fees-I’m pretty sure that if you can’t keep track of what you have in your account, the fees are no one’s fault but your own. Here’s a tip: don’t spend more than you have in your account. Problem solved.

By drnbry

March 25, 2010 10:00 PM | Link to this

how about the us government? the people who it was ok for the usa to bail out gm while eliminating all of the plants that the uaw didn’t like?

By null

March 26, 2010 6:09 AM | Link to this

The government by far. Look at the IRS you pay so much and get so little.

By null

March 26, 2010 6:10 AM | Link to this

The government by far. Look at the IRS you pay so much and get so little.

By Old schooler

March 26, 2010 6:59 AM | Link to this

Insurance companies, doctors, Pharmaceutical companies, Obama’s bill, anybody having anything to do with the Congress, Senate, etc.. Oil companies. Unions where they are not needed. Stupid newspaper articles.

By Techie

March 26, 2010 10:21 AM | Link to this

You missed HDMI cables, bottled water, parking at athletic events, not to mention ticket prices. High school students having to pay $6 and up to watch their own team.

By Trevor

March 26, 2010 10:24 AM | Link to this

You missed HDMI cables, bottled water, parking at athletic events, not to mention ticket prices. High school students having to pay $6 and up to watch their own team. Insurance companies, banks, and taxes are a whole other department of not getting what you pay for, and being screwed by corporate greed.

By null

March 26, 2010 10:37 AM | Link to this

People who listen to Beck, Limbaugh,and Hannity while they should be working!

By If you were sorry you would not have said in the 1st place!

March 26, 2010 10:38 AM | Link to this

Digital TV

By ale

March 26, 2010 10:44 AM | Link to this

the price of college tuition and text books.

By ale

March 26, 2010 10:45 AM | Link to this

the price of college tuition and text books.

By Ale

March 26, 2010 10:46 AM | Link to this

the price of college tuition and text books

By null

March 26, 2010 11:17 AM | Link to this

Cigarette taxes.

By grandma4

March 26, 2010 12:20 PM | Link to this

How about Lakota taxes unemployment, At Will state, gas prices, Cincinnati Bell charges, insurance, funeral homes, interest charges, no interest on bank accounts, school administration! Shall I go on??

By grandma4

March 26, 2010 12:28 PM | Link to this

Obama not producing a birth certificate, government lying crooks, nancy pelosi,democratic congress (not for long) movie theaters, interest cahrges, Wal Mart, ripping off social security! The rich getting richer!

By Hello

March 26, 2010 1:17 PM | Link to this

Duh…Organized Religion.

By Dave

March 26, 2010 4:44 PM | Link to this

I thought there were more than 32 Senators & Congressmen? Thats the biggest rip-offs in America !

By Money

March 26, 2010 4:53 PM | Link to this

You don’t get hit with overdraft fees if your not spending more then you have in your account!

By sweetblueyedarling

March 29, 2010 12:18 AM | Link to this

I’ll tell ya what a rip off is. Property taxes. Why should I pay property taxes to support the school system for peoples kids that are sitting on their a*s on welfare…which is another rip off for working Americans. I dont have a problem helping people that are down…but to just LAY DOWN and expect it is wrong on many levels. And property taxes are crazy…some are over ten thousand a year in Texas. If I buy the property, it should be mine…and not taxed forever. Its never yours, no matter if you have paid the price. If you get down and cant pay the taxes…they will take your property that you have worked and paid for…that is unconstitutional.

By Buy Cialis

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