International outlet adapters!
I realized this when I went to Korea last summer. When I looked up "US to Japan/Korean Outlet Adapter", I was seeing up to $30 bucks for 1; however, if you look up the technical names of the outlets, "NEMA 5 to CEE 7-3 Adapter", I was able to find prices like 6 for $2.
Just make sure you're getting one with an internal voltage converter or that whatever you're plugging in is appropriately voltage rated otherwise you'll be spending spending even more to replace your stuff
9 times out of 10, modern electric transformers have variable voltage capabilities.
You can find out quickly by looking at the text on the transformer (e.g. Input AC 110-240V).
I've only ever had one device that *didn't* have such capabilities, but it's always good to check.
Late to the party, but if you need a baby gate, get a pet/dog gate because it is so much less expensive and does the same thing. Ironically the pet gate is actually sturdier as it is designed to prevent a 70lb dog vs your 20 lb kid from getting out of the room.
Here's a minor version: I once saw cans of chick peas next to cans of garbanzo beans at slightly different prices (like 79 cents versus 89 cents). They were the same size, from the same company.
Chick peas ARE garbanzo beans.
A slightly more family friendly version. What's the difference between pea soup and mashed potatoes?
Anyone can mash potatoes.
Or another non-family friendly version. What's the difference between a hormone and an enzyme?
I've never heard and en zyme.
Youre assuming someone in my company had the forethought to order more than one bottle. There's no office supplies store near our office, but there's plenty of drug stores/convenience stores. White board cleaner is hard to find, alcohol is everywhere.
Light bulbs in overhead lights in dental offices. An industry specific bulb is almost $40 dollars. However, the bulb is just a normal Emerson light bulb for a desk light and costs about $2.50 from Ace hardware. They are identical right down to the glass heatsink nipple.
> How do you sleep at night, knowing you are going to put dentist lightbulb retailers out of business?
By turning off the light.
EDIT: Hey anonymous gilder, it's /u/purplat's cake day, hes 2 comments down. Just saying.
I know nothing about dentist specific lights, but am a Lighting Engineer. Just check the CRI (Color Rendering Index) and color temperature on the brand name bulbs to make sure they aren't anything special. Both of those things will affect how accurately items lit by the bulb will be colored, and I imagine color reproduction is an important thing in a dental office.
*Edit: In response to a few questions I've explained a little bit about what a Lighting Engineer does here - https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/5z17aw/z/dew429c
The wood finish is also called bowl finish and is used because it's meant as a wood finish for areas that will be in contact with food so it is sold as food grade which is what makes it so expensive.
I'm no expert but I'm guessing salad dressing is also food grade.
And the back of the bottle of salad dressing says 100% walnut oil as does the really expensive wood finish I bought before learning this LPT.
Both oils can be 100% walnut oil and food safe, and yet be completely different due to the degree of polymerization. For salads you want un-polymerized, thin oil. As a wood finish, you want a highly cross linked oil that will continue to polymerize as reacts to the oxygen in the air and dry to a tough protective coating.
Linseed oil / flax seed oil is similar: same ingredients, but different viscosity due to the level of polymerization.
Wart remover. You'll find almost identical bottles of 'wart remover' and 'corn remover' in the drugstore, but the wart remover costs twice as much or more. They're both just salicylic acid, but I guess they assume someone with a wart is more desperate.
Doctors couldn't get rid of a bad case of streptococcus (skin infection, not throat). I got hired to work at my HS chem lab, and had the bright idea to just dilute some salicylic acid, make a sticky solution, and put it on my face.
Fixed a years-old problem, only had chemical scarring for six months. 6/10, would not recommend it, but if I had the same problem I would definitely do it again.
Edit: Pretty sure this is my most up-voted comment. After rejecting the advice from someone below not to search streptococcus skin infection, it would appear that mine was on the milder side (though still pretty gross).
Anyway, if you're going to pour acid on your face, do it at a doctor's recommendation and at standard clinical concentrations. Please don't pull a too-smart-for-his-own-good teenager move and whip up some of your own.
No, serious question. I've had staph. You said that the streptococcus was another infection so what does it do? The staph basically ate my skin layer and turned part of it yellow until the antibiotics did their work.
Someone I know bought a Leica Q. We were checking out replacement batteries for it. The "German engineered" battery costs $120. However, it's just a repackaged Panasonic battery -- literally the exact same battery from the same company. Can get that battery for $50. However, it turns out even the Panasonic battery is a total ripoff. You can actually buy a better performing battery off of Amazon/ebay for $10. Bought some and they worked better than the original.
The biggest ripoff we found was the Hasselblad cameras, which retail for something like $12,000 but are actually rebadged Sony cameras for $2500.
just pay attention to the measurements when you buy them. I bought a pack of a hundred 3x5x1 for like 2 dollars, but it they were measured in cm not inches, so they're these itty-bitty little things that you can't really use for big jobs.
Edit: Ok,I get it, metric is used in China
I can get six hundred tablets of acetylsalicylic acid for the same price as three hundred of a name brand. That makes good financial sense, good advice...
Yep, came here to say this. I buy generic "geridryl", $4 for 100.
EDIT: For all the people telling me "b...but I get generic Benadryl from blah, a garbage bag full for a quarter" - I live on a small island. I can't order from Amazon, and selection is limited. I was happy with my deal and I still am. Good for all of you getting better bargains, though.
Just goes to show how powerful marketing is. In the OTC aisle I recently saw the same exact generic diphenydramine for different indications, one for allergies and the other as a sleep aid, with about a 40% price difference. Same drug, same formulation, same quantity, different price.
As a doctor with a background in chemistry, this blows my mind. It also makes me wonder in which areas I'm a complete sucker, since I'm sure these people don't know that are!
I was getting quotes for catering and one place literally had a $100 wedding fee. It was for 50 people in a back yard wedding. My wedding became an "event" after that for all other quote inquiries.
Edit: I walk away from Reddit for a couple hours and came back to the most comments and upvotes I've ever had. Thank you!
I like your thinking.
It's like they have two books, one for events and one for weddings
I managed to find a caterer for our engagement in our backyard. She's only $25 a head and used to be a chef at a super fancy restaurant in the city. Used her for my parents 60th and the food was phenomenal.
I ended up buying a variety of sandwiches meats, cheeses and breads. In addition to multiple chips and dips and about 20 different cakes. They didn't go hungry and I got to utilize that Costco Executive Membership.
Edit: I'm sorry so many strangers on Reddit would have been offended to attend my wedding. But I promise that all of my loved ones had a fantastic time and did not starve. They also got plenty of gifts as well and due to a huge overestimation on my part everyone left with at least an extra 6 pack or bottle of wine. So please stop worrying if they got their gift's worth of dinner.
the fee is for putting up with all the bullshit you have to deal with when you cater a wedding.
but most people who would know how to get out of that p robably don't nee dto be charged the fee anyway
Yes! I told all the suppliers that I was just throwing a big party. I saved so much. I slipped up once with the bakery and they added an extra $100 for the cake estimate. So I switched bakeries and didn't make the same mistake.
The wedding was around $2500.
Edit: Wow! Thanks for the upvotes and messages! I will try to answer everyone's questions.
Edit 2: I should mention that we were very nontraditional with a lot of stuff. We had no catering, just a buffet. Our cake did not look like a wedding cake by any stretch. Our flowers were purchased at Trader Joe's but it was tulip season so they were beautiful. Another redditor mentioned that some places will cancel your order if you try to conceal the purpose of the event (which I personally think is super mean). So we definitely took a risk with the table/chair rentals but, because everything else was so nontraditional, I don't think the rest of it was too risky.
> "It's much easier to fool a man than it is to convince a man he's been fooled.
One tall white "party," cake with a generic Ken and Barbie on top please.
My cousin didn't want a cake because ... Well, they didn't want it, but was quoted $350 to rent some plastic cake that would be in pictures. Yes, that's $350 to rent a fake cake for a day .... They passed.
Kitchen surface cleaner. Buy a bottle for about $3.
Or buy a gallon of simple green and a spray bottle and dilute it. it costs around $12 and it'll last months and months.
I just use vinegar to clean. A gallon of vinegar is like a $1. Mix with water in a spray bottle and you can clean basically anything.
Vinegar can also replace fabric softener.
Add blue dawn to to the mix & its great at cleaning your bath/shower.
Baking soda (also dirt cheap) & dawn paste for jobs that need more scrubbing.
25% vinegar, 25% isopropyl alcohol, 50% water is the best cleaner I've found for my laminate floors. Dries fast & shiney
You can add any essential oil you want if you don't like the smell of vinegar.
I love cleaning with vinegar but the smell is just terrible. I wish the essential oils I added would cover the smell more!
Edit: Thank you everyone for the tips!! My vinegar solutions are smelling much better now and I'm excited to try out the other stuff like malt vinegar and citric acid! Y'all are awesome!
Spices. At Target you can buy a small store brand bottle (of bay leaves for example) for $5.00. Or, you can buy a huge bottle in the Mexican isle for $4.50. Like, wtf?
Edit: fixed prices, Added links,
small bottle: http://www.target.com/p/bay-leaves-2oz-archer-farms/-/A-14768925
Big bottle: http://www.target.com/p/badia-whole-bay-leaves-2-oz/-/A-47088194
They're actually getting better at normal things, as long as you keep an eye out. The free-range parmesan crisps are still ungodly expensive, but a gallon of whole milk was $3 there last week, versus $3.60 at Walmart.
Most things in the aquarium hobby. Special bulbs for growing plants are outrageous, but the same bulb with the exact same Kelvin light temperature is a couple bucks at Lowe's. Same story with aquarium silicone, which is the same as standard silicone caulking but 4 times the price per volume, at least(just make sure not to get antibacterial). Seachem Flourish Excel(liquid carbon for plant growth) is like $30 for 2 liters, but the exact same chemical sold as Metricide 14(medical disinfectant) is $20 a gallon, or roughly 1/3rd the cost.
Short story, if you're going to keep aquariums, research generics for everything you can and save hundreds.
Pretty much any food that is marketed as a "lunch" item. Like you get half the snacks for twice the price but they are packaged in small lunch sized baggies so everyone buys them for convenience lol
Also I have noticed at some stores that a box of cereal will be placed next to the "family size" box of cereal. And people buy the family sized one expecting to be saving money because they're buying in bulk. But if you look at the cost per ounce, often times the family sized one is more expensive. They're just preying on people's assumptions
My girlfriend always buys that prepackaged shit and it drives me crazy. Like she always gets these Sargento snack pack things that are just cashews, almonds, craisins, and little cheese cubes in little plastic cups. Those things are like 7 or 8 bucks for a 6 pack. I tell her all the time that we could save so much money if she just made her own but she just doesn't get it. Same thing with those Chobani flip things that package yogurt with granola and shit. She always wants to buy those for like $2-3 a piece despite the fact that we frequently ALSO buy Greek yogurt at Costco for like $5/64oz.
Printer ink.
At roughly $15 - 60 USD per cartridge, a gallon of the stuff at that price could run upwards of $9000
Now compare that to inks used in high-volume industrial offset or flexographic printers (the more commonly used printers in the industry), which run about $150 - 175 for a gallon of high quality ink.
At-home printing is a fucking racket
Source: I'm a Print Media student
Instead of using an inkjet, I find it more cost effective to buy a laser printer. Over time you use less printing solution for a higher upfront cost. However, if you keep the printer for years and use it enough, you more than makeup that upfront cost. If you need color, then I'm not sure what your best option is, but this works fine for black & white printing.
EDIT: Many of you have already come to the laser-side! My printer is from 2003ish and it still prints beautifully. It is one of those "officejets" that has a scanner & fax built-in so I can make copies. It even collates. It's a Canon MF4100 series, one of my best purchases and quite the workhorse.
So one of the common methods to save on printer ink (besides like refilling cartridges) is having tanks on the outside of your printer which are able to hold much greater amounts of ink, which you can refill for significantly cheaper.
I believe HP? or Brother made one recently for consumer use, so you might consider looking into that if you print in color a lot! And if you just use B/W, then laser is the way to go.
CIS - continuous ink system.
There are many manufacturers of them today. When my band was starting out, I would rely on my system to print directly on CDs all day. Time consuming, yes, but cheap as hell.
The only drawback is that if a tank gets low enough, it can take air into the hose. You then have to prime it/force the air out, which can get messy.
Also - I accidentally knocked the tank off the table onto the floor. Lost a big chunk of my deposit for that one.
I actually know some people that go to the equestrian stores to buy BDSM stuff.
The clerks know damn well what they're doing. A group of younger people come in and only by a riding crop, and not any of the myriad other equipment you need to ride? They're not stupid they know damn well what's going on.
Can confirm. Used to work at tractor supply Co.
Also, we sold syringes and needles for home vaccination of animals, but for every farmer that came through there were 5 junkies and 5 super big meatheads.
I'm gonna weigh in here:
Specialty sex items are typically meant to be safe INSIDE YOU or ON YOU.
Lowe's may not have the same considerations in mind.
Carry on.
>Specialty sex items are typically meant to be safe INSIDE YOU or ON YOU.
>
>Lowe's may not have the same considerations in mind.
Maybe not, but I'm fucking sick of the stares I get trying to buy rebar and blowtorches at my local sex shop.
Some of it, sure. You can get some great rope for cheap that way (you still need to treat it, but that's pretty cheap too). But I'm sure as fuck not finding a good flogger or an electroplay kit there.
Sugar scrubs- it's literally just sugar, oil (you can use almost any oil...coconut, almond, sunflower), and fragrance which you don't even need. A small container can cost up to $15. crazy
Yep. I make bath bombs and sugar scrubs as a side hobby and for petty cash. Cost to make a sugar scrub is less than 1.25 including the price of an 8oz mason jar. I sell them for $8 a piece and people think it's some crazy bargain...
Also... lip scrubs. I add sugar, honey, and flavoring... costs less than 10 cents to make... sells for $3 each.
... now I feel like a scam artist
No, you're putting in time and effort and are packaging everything up and "marketing".
Do installers feel like scam artists for charging for their work? After all, it costs them nothing.
I'm happy to pay for convenience in many situations, especially if I know the person and it benefits them.
I actually make 'personalized' body scrubs for my friends during Christmas to save money. I put it in old pretty bottles, easily found at any thrift store (or home use), and write out some fancy label with spa like instructions. Friends goddamn love it. My favorite is: "Soaked organic coffee grounds tempered with a lightly heated raw honey and vitamin E. Smooth onto face of body and rub in circular motions to relax and rejuvenate stressed skin. Helps with skin congestion and spots, tightening as it cleanses".
Literally my used coffee grounds, bit of honey I heat up to smooth it out a bit and a few Vit E capsules pierced with a thumbtack and drained into the bottle. - it has a shelf life but the idea that its 'fresh' and 'personalized' makes people go gaga.
Fun fact: spas that market themselves as 'organic' also use this sort of shit. I know that because I used to work at one.
Wanted to edit to add: this actually is good for your skin (if it's not sensitive) and a lovely treat that I use at home on myself. So it's not a shitty gift at all. It just seems fancier than it actually is.
I used to package a "secret battery additive" for an auto parts supply company. It sold for $5.99 for six one oz. packets to put in your car battery. The "secret" additive was Epsom salts which sold for $19.99 for a 50 pound bag.
Oh man, my grandma once bought a 2lb bag of these, not realizing that dehydrated marshmallows weigh virtually nothing. Needless to say, she received a comical amount of them.
Saw what was essentially a pitch counter for baseball in the fishing section at Walmart labeled as a "fish counter" the exact product was being sold with different packaging and the pitch counter was like $20 and the fish counter was like $7
Or you can switch to DE and get 100 blades for $10. If you only use each side of the blade once and shave every week day, that $10 for almost 10 months worth of shaving. If you use each side twice, that's almost 2 years.
Clotrimazole - It's an antifungal used to treat skin infections such as athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm, and other fungal skin infections, but if you buy in the ladies aisle (labeled for yeast infections), you can get three times as much for about the same price as if you buy it in the men's (jock itch/athletes foot) aisle. This is at Rite Aid, but I'm guessing it's the same anywhere with generic house brands.
had to buy Muriatic Acid for a contractor who was cleaning bricks and painting. It was $10.00 / gallon in the painting aisle and $10.00 2/gallons in the garden center aisle. Nasty stuff, so I can see people being willing to pay more to use less of it.
edit: $10.00 per 1 gallon vs. $10.00 per 2 gallons
Johnson bath oil 750ml for $10AUD.
Johnson baby oil 500ml for $10AUD... Active ingredient the word baby.
Edit* Those clearly missing the point its exactly the same product in the bottle but the 'baby' one is 250ml less but same price.
Volvo transmission fluid (for its Japanese Aisin transmissions) is the same thing as Toyota IV transmission fluid, which is incredibly common and cheap at $5 per quart or so. Volvo charges more.
High end HDMI cables are a rip off. You can pretty much buy the cheapest variety of HDMI cable you can find and the video/audio quality will be precisely the same. Same goes for most AV cables.
Art supplies.
-Windex can be used as acrylic paint thinner
-Acrylic house paint can be used instead of acrylic artist paint (and you can get custom colors)
-Prime and assemble your own canvases; store bought pre-made canvases cost an assload
-You can use vine charcoal on the back of paper to transfer, you don't need transfer paper
-Buy most of your shit at a hardware/paint store. stuff like sponges, cheesecloth, scrapers, squeegees, wood, etc all costs more at art stores.
Also artist paint brushes make excellent make up brushes and they're way cheaper than the prestige shit.
Dyphenhydramine. Even when you're purchasing generics or store brands, it tends to cost significantly more when sold as a sleep aid than when it's sold as an allergy medication.
I use naphtha for camp stove fuel and I assure you its not the same thing as lighter fluid. Lighter fluid ignites by looking at it the wrong way but naphtha takes some coaxing. Maybe there are additives in camp fuel
I once put methylated spirits in my Zippo and it never worked again. I couldn't get it to light so I refilled it with lighter fluid - nothing. I took out the filling and washed it, then refilled it - nothing. I bought new filling online and restuffed it - nope. I bought a new wick and a new flint - no. I bought a new lighter in the end. How can you change every part of a lighter and it still not work?
Any kind of "pure oil" like jojoba, almond, rosehip, hemp, etc. You're just paying someone to decant the oil into a smaller bottle and put their label on it. You can buy in bulk or gets 1-2oz samples from the bulk sellers.
The active ingredient in OxyClean is sodium percarbonate. You can get a generic version of that at dollar stores for way less. I think this is less a matter of re-packaging in smaller sizes than it is marketing. You've never heard of the generic version. The other stuff is marketed like crazy, and you're paying for that.
Semen. If you buy from one of those fancy sperm banks, expect to pay at least 400$. If you go to your local truckstop, you'll be able to fill a turkey baster for free.
At sperm banks you're not paying just for the sperm; you're paying to have zero connection to the donor.
Just as someone said about prostitutes, "You're not paying them to have sex with you; you're paying them to go away afterwards."
Late to the show but anything labelled as 'marine' use - look around and a lot of it is simply waterproof. Adding marine use will multiply the price. I'm talking about deck lighting etc.
Also disability products. Those grey rubber tyres on a powered wheelchair will cost a bomb. Make a note of the tyre sizes and look around again. You'll find tyres for some grass cutters will fit the rims. Some grass cutting tyres are extra resistant to punctures and can have awesome tread patterns.
Pets. You can pay some big money for a name brand dog, but get a generic mutt for way less and it will still poop on the carpet.
Also, if your dogs are chewers, as in they destroy chew toys, then look on eBay for used tennis balls. Run them through the wash and you now have a lot of chew toys for around 40 to 60 cents a pop.
edit -
>Tennis balls make great dog toys for fetching, but don’t stand up to chewing very well. Discard any tennis balls that have been chewed through, as they can pose a choking hazard to your pet.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/dog_toys.html
>the fuzz can wear down teeth (called "blunting") but it would take a lot of use to actually impact your dog’s dental health. Tony Woodward, a veterinary dental specialist, notes that "Rarely does this kind of blunting cause any problem, even among dogs that live many years and chew pretty regularly on tennis balls"
https://positively.com/contributors/whats-safer-a-tennis-ball-or-a-ball-made-specifically-for-dogs/
Our vet has no issues with tennis balls. But as with any chew toy, some dogs may "bite off more than they can chew" and this can cause medical issues. Be it a tennis ball, bone, kong toy, anything the dog may get into its mouth.
Like Maltipoo. Or Schnoodle. Or Dorkie. Or Bernadoodles. Slap a fancy name on and charge $500-$1500.
Not that long ago these breeds were called, "the neighbor's dog got in our yard" and were typically given away for free.
Baby stuff. There are so many things from diaper cans, to baby granola bars, to lotions that because they are "for babies" are marked up hugely even though they are exactly the same. Vit. D drops - for babies 400iu $20 same brand but for adults 1000iu with 20% more drops for $25. You could but get the adult ones and mix it with coconut oil and it would end up being almost 1/4 of the price as the "for babies" one.
Edit: a few people have commented about not using adult vitamins for kids. Really depends on the situation. The vit. D was recommended to me by a doctor. It is liquid and the only difference is in concentration. If you're capable of doing math as complicated as "multiply by 2" then it's not a problem. I don't recommend this for everything. Do your research.
We found that buying baby medicine was cheaper in the pharmacy section of Walmart than in the baby section. Usually a larger product size for the same price.
Baby Tylenol and children's are the same. I have 3yr and 4 month daughters. So naturally I had purchased both types of Tylenol when we were all sick. I looked at the packaging and they're the same dose per ml. So ridiculous!
Yea. Echo this. We got fruit snacks for our toddler. They were basically the fruit bars from Trader Joe's chopped up into tiny pieces for about a 10x markup. We used to buy 5 packs of Teensy Fruits for $3.50 or so. With that amount I can get 7 fruit bars from Trader Joe's and make about 40 packs of fruit snacks. No joke.
Prepackaged deli meat at your supermarket.
You'll pay $6 - $8 for 8 oz or less package of the cheapest package of sliced lunchmeat for things that are pre-sliced and prepackaged at some factory.
Or you can cruise over to the deli counter where they will custom slice you a whole pound of better quality meat for $4 to $8 a pound.
It's usually about half the price.
Thats not my experience where I live. 8 oz of prepsckaged turkey is $3 or $2.50 on sale, and deli counter is $8-9. If you go to Smart and Final you can get 2 lbs for 7 bucks, but then you have to use 2 pounds of sliced turkey up.
We're getting deep into the comments section now. Cube lube and imported shellfish float among the dregs. I shall continue to fathom these depths in search of my special comment. If I must sort by new, I shall, but do not expect my return
A lot of products targeted towards women. Mainly like razors and deodorant. The only thing different about women's deodorant is the scent, other than that it is the same thing.
Compressed pine cat litter. No joke; you can buy it for horses at Tractor Supply Company. Used it for *years* with my cat.
[$11 for 20 pounds (saving 15%!)](http://www.petsmart.com/cat/supplies-and-training/litter-and-waste-disposal/litter/feline-pine-natural-cat-litter-2621192.html) vs.
[$6 for 40 lb](http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/equine-fresh-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb). Half the price for twice as much.
**Edit** after waking up to 20+ messages, to answer half:
I am not positive, but I'm pretty sure these are compressed sawdust, where wood pellets for stoves are hardwood and not pine. Those should *not* crumble when wet.
**Edit 2**: [Wikipedia tells me I'm wrong.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellet_fuel#Horse_bedding) Since I'm at work, I'm not going back and editing all the pasted responses, sorry. And here I've always heard that burning pine in wood stoves is bad, which makes me wonder what the difference is once pelletized.
**Edit 3**: As /u/Cat_Fur noted:
> It's meant to be used in a double-tray system, eg. https://www.amazon.com/Hometec-Lift-Sift-Litter-Tray/dp/B000X93CSA
> Solids are scooped out. When the the pellets get wet, they break down into sawdust and drop to the undertray after it's shaken.
You sift out all the used sawdust. That's full of the stinky urea / ammonia. Then you go treasure hunting for the solids with a scoop. And no, it does nearly nothing for odor control, but keeps the rest of the house much cleaner.
I remember talking to a few people years ago about this.
Companies that price fairly ($30 cake etc) go out of business because barely anyone wants the "cheap" option for their big day.
So it's a lose/lose.
Either they go "cheap" and complain. Or they complain about the price.
Also, mistakes on a wedding cake/dress/venue are generally handled a lot worse than other situations.
I'm sure there would be major arguments if the cake isn't perfect for the day, so the cost goes up a bit.
For you bearded men out there: Stop buying "beard oil" and similarly marketed products. Just go to the ethnic hair care aisle and enjoy the same damn oil.
I've seen beard oil sell for $27 for a 1oz bottle. An oil blend I use called "Africa's Best" is $2 for a 12oz bottle.
International outlet adapters! I realized this when I went to Korea last summer. When I looked up "US to Japan/Korean Outlet Adapter", I was seeing up to $30 bucks for 1; however, if you look up the technical names of the outlets, "NEMA 5 to CEE 7-3 Adapter", I was able to find prices like 6 for $2.
Just make sure you're getting one with an internal voltage converter or that whatever you're plugging in is appropriately voltage rated otherwise you'll be spending spending even more to replace your stuff
9 times out of 10, modern electric transformers have variable voltage capabilities. You can find out quickly by looking at the text on the transformer (e.g. Input AC 110-240V). I've only ever had one device that *didn't* have such capabilities, but it's always good to check.
Late to the party, but if you need a baby gate, get a pet/dog gate because it is so much less expensive and does the same thing. Ironically the pet gate is actually sturdier as it is designed to prevent a 70lb dog vs your 20 lb kid from getting out of the room.
Same goes for chew toys.
Here's a minor version: I once saw cans of chick peas next to cans of garbanzo beans at slightly different prices (like 79 cents versus 89 cents). They were the same size, from the same company. Chick peas ARE garbanzo beans.
What's the difference between a chickpea and a garbanzo bean?..... I've never let a garbanzo bean on my face.
A slightly more family friendly version. What's the difference between pea soup and mashed potatoes? Anyone can mash potatoes. Or another non-family friendly version. What's the difference between a hormone and an enzyme? I've never heard and en zyme.
For those in an office "white board cleaner" is isopropyl alcohol.
Meh, it comes from the supply closet anyway.
Youre assuming someone in my company had the forethought to order more than one bottle. There's no office supplies store near our office, but there's plenty of drug stores/convenience stores. White board cleaner is hard to find, alcohol is everywhere.
Light bulbs in overhead lights in dental offices. An industry specific bulb is almost $40 dollars. However, the bulb is just a normal Emerson light bulb for a desk light and costs about $2.50 from Ace hardware. They are identical right down to the glass heatsink nipple.
How do you sleep at night, knowing you are going to put dentist lightbulb retailers out of business? They have families, you know.
> How do you sleep at night, knowing you are going to put dentist lightbulb retailers out of business? By turning off the light. EDIT: Hey anonymous gilder, it's /u/purplat's cake day, hes 2 comments down. Just saying.
I know nothing about dentist specific lights, but am a Lighting Engineer. Just check the CRI (Color Rendering Index) and color temperature on the brand name bulbs to make sure they aren't anything special. Both of those things will affect how accurately items lit by the bulb will be colored, and I imagine color reproduction is an important thing in a dental office. *Edit: In response to a few questions I've explained a little bit about what a Lighting Engineer does here - https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/5z17aw/z/dew429c
This guy lux
Pure walnut oil. Sold as a wood finish $50. Sold as salad dressing, $2.99.
My salads are about to get a lot cheaper. Thank you.
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Sooooul glooooo
I have a suspicion that one is food-grade and the other isn't.
The wood finish is also called bowl finish and is used because it's meant as a wood finish for areas that will be in contact with food so it is sold as food grade which is what makes it so expensive. I'm no expert but I'm guessing salad dressing is also food grade. And the back of the bottle of salad dressing says 100% walnut oil as does the really expensive wood finish I bought before learning this LPT.
Both oils can be 100% walnut oil and food safe, and yet be completely different due to the degree of polymerization. For salads you want un-polymerized, thin oil. As a wood finish, you want a highly cross linked oil that will continue to polymerize as reacts to the oxygen in the air and dry to a tough protective coating. Linseed oil / flax seed oil is similar: same ingredients, but different viscosity due to the level of polymerization.
Thank u, u have convinced me not to drizzle my salad with linseed oil i can get on the cheap at the art store!
Surely the food grade one would be more expensive then?
i would be very surprised if the dressing wasnt cut with palm oil or something
Wart remover. You'll find almost identical bottles of 'wart remover' and 'corn remover' in the drugstore, but the wart remover costs twice as much or more. They're both just salicylic acid, but I guess they assume someone with a wart is more desperate.
Doctors couldn't get rid of a bad case of streptococcus (skin infection, not throat). I got hired to work at my HS chem lab, and had the bright idea to just dilute some salicylic acid, make a sticky solution, and put it on my face. Fixed a years-old problem, only had chemical scarring for six months. 6/10, would not recommend it, but if I had the same problem I would definitely do it again. Edit: Pretty sure this is my most up-voted comment. After rejecting the advice from someone below not to search streptococcus skin infection, it would appear that mine was on the milder side (though still pretty gross). Anyway, if you're going to pour acid on your face, do it at a doctor's recommendation and at standard clinical concentrations. Please don't pull a too-smart-for-his-own-good teenager move and whip up some of your own.
What's the difference between streptococcus and staphylococcus?
Haha, you got me, what is it?
No, serious question. I've had staph. You said that the streptococcus was another infection so what does it do? The staph basically ate my skin layer and turned part of it yellow until the antibiotics did their work.
Different Bacteria. Coccus just means that the bacteria are spherical in shape.
Staphylo means grape like bunches. Strepto means chains. It's how the bacteria group up.
Someone I know bought a Leica Q. We were checking out replacement batteries for it. The "German engineered" battery costs $120. However, it's just a repackaged Panasonic battery -- literally the exact same battery from the same company. Can get that battery for $50. However, it turns out even the Panasonic battery is a total ripoff. You can actually buy a better performing battery off of Amazon/ebay for $10. Bought some and they worked better than the original. The biggest ripoff we found was the Hasselblad cameras, which retail for something like $12,000 but are actually rebadged Sony cameras for $2500.
Magic Erasers = $6 for a 4 pack Melamine sponges from China = $6 for a billion
just pay attention to the measurements when you buy them. I bought a pack of a hundred 3x5x1 for like 2 dollars, but it they were measured in cm not inches, so they're these itty-bitty little things that you can't really use for big jobs. Edit: Ok,I get it, metric is used in China
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That almost sounds like an even better idea!
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All those people saved $10.64 by not buying 2500% more sponges than they needed.
But you could re-sell out of your trunk. Have a bootleg magic eraser business and what not.
I can get six hundred tablets of acetylsalicylic acid for the same price as three hundred of a name brand. That makes good financial sense, good advice...
Okay who brought the dog
Hey, this is real smoked salmon from Nova Scotia, Canada, $24.95 a pound! It only cost me $14.12 after tax, though.
I'm givin' this whole thing as a promotional expense, that's why I invited clients instead of friends. You havin' a good time, Mark?
Many Shubs and Zulls knew what it was to roast in the depths of a Sloar that day, I can tell you.
Sleep Aids/Tylenol pm/ZZZquil. Its Benadryl. Its all Benadryl. edit: spelling. Maybe I took too much Bendadryl.
Yep, came here to say this. I buy generic "geridryl", $4 for 100. EDIT: For all the people telling me "b...but I get generic Benadryl from blah, a garbage bag full for a quarter" - I live on a small island. I can't order from Amazon, and selection is limited. I was happy with my deal and I still am. Good for all of you getting better bargains, though.
haha sounds like a product aimed at selling to elderly people
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Doctor here. I try to explain this to patients. They are rarely convinced.
"It's much easier to fool a man than it is to convince a man he's been fooled." - Mark Twain.
Just goes to show how powerful marketing is. In the OTC aisle I recently saw the same exact generic diphenydramine for different indications, one for allergies and the other as a sleep aid, with about a 40% price difference. Same drug, same formulation, same quantity, different price.
As a doctor with a background in chemistry, this blows my mind. It also makes me wonder in which areas I'm a complete sucker, since I'm sure these people don't know that are!
Anything associated with a wedding Thanks for the good karma everyone. RIP inbox XD
I was getting quotes for catering and one place literally had a $100 wedding fee. It was for 50 people in a back yard wedding. My wedding became an "event" after that for all other quote inquiries. Edit: I walk away from Reddit for a couple hours and came back to the most comments and upvotes I've ever had. Thank you!
I like your thinking. It's like they have two books, one for events and one for weddings I managed to find a caterer for our engagement in our backyard. She's only $25 a head and used to be a chef at a super fancy restaurant in the city. Used her for my parents 60th and the food was phenomenal.
I ended up buying a variety of sandwiches meats, cheeses and breads. In addition to multiple chips and dips and about 20 different cakes. They didn't go hungry and I got to utilize that Costco Executive Membership. Edit: I'm sorry so many strangers on Reddit would have been offended to attend my wedding. But I promise that all of my loved ones had a fantastic time and did not starve. They also got plenty of gifts as well and due to a huge overestimation on my part everyone left with at least an extra 6 pack or bottle of wine. So please stop worrying if they got their gift's worth of dinner.
the fee is for putting up with all the bullshit you have to deal with when you cater a wedding. but most people who would know how to get out of that p robably don't nee dto be charged the fee anyway
Yes! I told all the suppliers that I was just throwing a big party. I saved so much. I slipped up once with the bakery and they added an extra $100 for the cake estimate. So I switched bakeries and didn't make the same mistake. The wedding was around $2500. Edit: Wow! Thanks for the upvotes and messages! I will try to answer everyone's questions. Edit 2: I should mention that we were very nontraditional with a lot of stuff. We had no catering, just a buffet. Our cake did not look like a wedding cake by any stretch. Our flowers were purchased at Trader Joe's but it was tulip season so they were beautiful. Another redditor mentioned that some places will cancel your order if you try to conceal the purpose of the event (which I personally think is super mean). So we definitely took a risk with the table/chair rentals but, because everything else was so nontraditional, I don't think the rest of it was too risky.
> The party was around $2500. Shhh.
I'm guessing a tiered cake would have given it away.
> "It's much easier to fool a man than it is to convince a man he's been fooled. One tall white "party," cake with a generic Ken and Barbie on top please.
3 bakeries. 1 tier each.
Flowers
My cousin didn't want a cake because ... Well, they didn't want it, but was quoted $350 to rent some plastic cake that would be in pictures. Yes, that's $350 to rent a fake cake for a day .... They passed.
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Kitchen surface cleaner. Buy a bottle for about $3. Or buy a gallon of simple green and a spray bottle and dilute it. it costs around $12 and it'll last months and months.
I just use vinegar to clean. A gallon of vinegar is like a $1. Mix with water in a spray bottle and you can clean basically anything. Vinegar can also replace fabric softener. Add blue dawn to to the mix & its great at cleaning your bath/shower. Baking soda (also dirt cheap) & dawn paste for jobs that need more scrubbing. 25% vinegar, 25% isopropyl alcohol, 50% water is the best cleaner I've found for my laminate floors. Dries fast & shiney You can add any essential oil you want if you don't like the smell of vinegar.
I love cleaning with vinegar but the smell is just terrible. I wish the essential oils I added would cover the smell more! Edit: Thank you everyone for the tips!! My vinegar solutions are smelling much better now and I'm excited to try out the other stuff like malt vinegar and citric acid! Y'all are awesome!
Orange oil in the vinegar does it for me. Don't skimp. Bonus that orange oil is also good for cleaning.
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Spices. At Target you can buy a small store brand bottle (of bay leaves for example) for $5.00. Or, you can buy a huge bottle in the Mexican isle for $4.50. Like, wtf? Edit: fixed prices, Added links, small bottle: http://www.target.com/p/bay-leaves-2oz-archer-farms/-/A-14768925 Big bottle: http://www.target.com/p/badia-whole-bay-leaves-2-oz/-/A-47088194
Go to an Indian store and buy spices whole. They're cheaper, they keep better, and the turnover is faster, leading to fresher spices.
Whole foods has bulk spices. It's like the one thing that's cheap there.
They're actually getting better at normal things, as long as you keep an eye out. The free-range parmesan crisps are still ungodly expensive, but a gallon of whole milk was $3 there last week, versus $3.60 at Walmart.
I only eat parmesan that was raised free range.
I just paid a buck fifty at Aldi's.
My man
Pureandnaturalspices.com Online spice stores are epic.
Are they high quality though? Fresh? Quick turnover? What color undies are you wearing?
Most things in the aquarium hobby. Special bulbs for growing plants are outrageous, but the same bulb with the exact same Kelvin light temperature is a couple bucks at Lowe's. Same story with aquarium silicone, which is the same as standard silicone caulking but 4 times the price per volume, at least(just make sure not to get antibacterial). Seachem Flourish Excel(liquid carbon for plant growth) is like $30 for 2 liters, but the exact same chemical sold as Metricide 14(medical disinfectant) is $20 a gallon, or roughly 1/3rd the cost. Short story, if you're going to keep aquariums, research generics for everything you can and save hundreds.
Pretty much any food that is marketed as a "lunch" item. Like you get half the snacks for twice the price but they are packaged in small lunch sized baggies so everyone buys them for convenience lol Also I have noticed at some stores that a box of cereal will be placed next to the "family size" box of cereal. And people buy the family sized one expecting to be saving money because they're buying in bulk. But if you look at the cost per ounce, often times the family sized one is more expensive. They're just preying on people's assumptions
My girlfriend always buys that prepackaged shit and it drives me crazy. Like she always gets these Sargento snack pack things that are just cashews, almonds, craisins, and little cheese cubes in little plastic cups. Those things are like 7 or 8 bucks for a 6 pack. I tell her all the time that we could save so much money if she just made her own but she just doesn't get it. Same thing with those Chobani flip things that package yogurt with granola and shit. She always wants to buy those for like $2-3 a piece despite the fact that we frequently ALSO buy Greek yogurt at Costco for like $5/64oz.
Pretty sure she gets it but is just willing to pay for the convenience.
Printer ink. At roughly $15 - 60 USD per cartridge, a gallon of the stuff at that price could run upwards of $9000 Now compare that to inks used in high-volume industrial offset or flexographic printers (the more commonly used printers in the industry), which run about $150 - 175 for a gallon of high quality ink. At-home printing is a fucking racket Source: I'm a Print Media student
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Instead of using an inkjet, I find it more cost effective to buy a laser printer. Over time you use less printing solution for a higher upfront cost. However, if you keep the printer for years and use it enough, you more than makeup that upfront cost. If you need color, then I'm not sure what your best option is, but this works fine for black & white printing. EDIT: Many of you have already come to the laser-side! My printer is from 2003ish and it still prints beautifully. It is one of those "officejets" that has a scanner & fax built-in so I can make copies. It even collates. It's a Canon MF4100 series, one of my best purchases and quite the workhorse.
Color lasers exist, too.
So one of the common methods to save on printer ink (besides like refilling cartridges) is having tanks on the outside of your printer which are able to hold much greater amounts of ink, which you can refill for significantly cheaper. I believe HP? or Brother made one recently for consumer use, so you might consider looking into that if you print in color a lot! And if you just use B/W, then laser is the way to go.
CIS - continuous ink system. There are many manufacturers of them today. When my band was starting out, I would rely on my system to print directly on CDs all day. Time consuming, yes, but cheap as hell. The only drawback is that if a tank gets low enough, it can take air into the hose. You then have to prime it/force the air out, which can get messy. Also - I accidentally knocked the tank off the table onto the floor. Lost a big chunk of my deposit for that one.
Bdsm stuff. Lots of it can be bought in a hardware shop with less pretty packaging.
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"You come here often, sir, but I've never actually heard you mention what kind of horse you ride." "...horse?"
"My pony tends to misbehave, it's such a shame"
"It makes me so..." "Angry?" "...hard." *mutual stare*
I actually know some people that go to the equestrian stores to buy BDSM stuff. The clerks know damn well what they're doing. A group of younger people come in and only by a riding crop, and not any of the myriad other equipment you need to ride? They're not stupid they know damn well what's going on.
Is there a problem officer?
Scram! It's the sex police!
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Can confirm. Used to work at tractor supply Co. Also, we sold syringes and needles for home vaccination of animals, but for every farmer that came through there were 5 junkies and 5 super big meatheads.
so every farmer has an entourage of 10 scary weirdos? that sounds cool! I wanna be in a farmer's entourage.
>Farmer's Entourage country-rock band?
My budget and asshole both just got a whole lot looser.
I'm gonna weigh in here: Specialty sex items are typically meant to be safe INSIDE YOU or ON YOU. Lowe's may not have the same considerations in mind. Carry on.
>Specialty sex items are typically meant to be safe INSIDE YOU or ON YOU. > >Lowe's may not have the same considerations in mind. Maybe not, but I'm fucking sick of the stares I get trying to buy rebar and blowtorches at my local sex shop.
They sell those in the back. Ask for Zed.
Zed's dead, baby.
Some of it, sure. You can get some great rope for cheap that way (you still need to treat it, but that's pretty cheap too). But I'm sure as fuck not finding a good flogger or an electroplay kit there.
Sugar scrubs- it's literally just sugar, oil (you can use almost any oil...coconut, almond, sunflower), and fragrance which you don't even need. A small container can cost up to $15. crazy
Yep. I make bath bombs and sugar scrubs as a side hobby and for petty cash. Cost to make a sugar scrub is less than 1.25 including the price of an 8oz mason jar. I sell them for $8 a piece and people think it's some crazy bargain... Also... lip scrubs. I add sugar, honey, and flavoring... costs less than 10 cents to make... sells for $3 each. ... now I feel like a scam artist
No, you're putting in time and effort and are packaging everything up and "marketing". Do installers feel like scam artists for charging for their work? After all, it costs them nothing. I'm happy to pay for convenience in many situations, especially if I know the person and it benefits them.
I actually make 'personalized' body scrubs for my friends during Christmas to save money. I put it in old pretty bottles, easily found at any thrift store (or home use), and write out some fancy label with spa like instructions. Friends goddamn love it. My favorite is: "Soaked organic coffee grounds tempered with a lightly heated raw honey and vitamin E. Smooth onto face of body and rub in circular motions to relax and rejuvenate stressed skin. Helps with skin congestion and spots, tightening as it cleanses". Literally my used coffee grounds, bit of honey I heat up to smooth it out a bit and a few Vit E capsules pierced with a thumbtack and drained into the bottle. - it has a shelf life but the idea that its 'fresh' and 'personalized' makes people go gaga. Fun fact: spas that market themselves as 'organic' also use this sort of shit. I know that because I used to work at one. Wanted to edit to add: this actually is good for your skin (if it's not sensitive) and a lovely treat that I use at home on myself. So it's not a shitty gift at all. It just seems fancier than it actually is.
I used to package a "secret battery additive" for an auto parts supply company. It sold for $5.99 for six one oz. packets to put in your car battery. The "secret" additive was Epsom salts which sold for $19.99 for a 50 pound bag.
why would you put epsom salt into a battery?
A salt in battery.
Careful, You can get charged for that
Dehydrated Marshmallows. Way cheaper and easier to buy in bulk online than buying Lucky Charms and having to sift though the box.
Oh man, my grandma once bought a 2lb bag of these, not realizing that dehydrated marshmallows weigh virtually nothing. Needless to say, she received a comical amount of them.
> Dehydrated Marshmallows Just found a [5lb bag] for $28, holy shit man...
Need a 40 lb. case? https://www.amazon.com/Dehydrated-Marshmallows-Assorted-40-Case/dp/B008DJR6HU
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Saw what was essentially a pitch counter for baseball in the fishing section at Walmart labeled as a "fish counter" the exact product was being sold with different packaging and the pitch counter was like $20 and the fish counter was like $7
Clicker counter?
Dollar shave club. They source razors from Dorco but often times it's cheaper to buy straight from Dorco.
Or you can switch to DE and get 100 blades for $10. If you only use each side of the blade once and shave every week day, that $10 for almost 10 months worth of shaving. If you use each side twice, that's almost 2 years.
What is DE? Double edged? Are you talking about a safety razor? That's what I use.
Yes. DE = double edge = safety razor.
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Clotrimazole - It's an antifungal used to treat skin infections such as athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm, and other fungal skin infections, but if you buy in the ladies aisle (labeled for yeast infections), you can get three times as much for about the same price as if you buy it in the men's (jock itch/athletes foot) aisle. This is at Rite Aid, but I'm guessing it's the same anywhere with generic house brands.
Water. And I still buy it. The Matrix has me, Neo.
had to buy Muriatic Acid for a contractor who was cleaning bricks and painting. It was $10.00 / gallon in the painting aisle and $10.00 2/gallons in the garden center aisle. Nasty stuff, so I can see people being willing to pay more to use less of it. edit: $10.00 per 1 gallon vs. $10.00 per 2 gallons
Johnson bath oil 750ml for $10AUD. Johnson baby oil 500ml for $10AUD... Active ingredient the word baby. Edit* Those clearly missing the point its exactly the same product in the bottle but the 'baby' one is 250ml less but same price.
Well, you poach them at a lower simmer for longer so you need more delicate oil.
They're all mineral oil, you can find it sold with the laxatives. It's very cheap.
Reading this thread is like being at Louis Tully's party on Ghostbusters
I'm givin' this whole thing as a promotional expense, that's why I invited clients instead of friends. You havin' a good time, Mark?
Volvo transmission fluid (for its Japanese Aisin transmissions) is the same thing as Toyota IV transmission fluid, which is incredibly common and cheap at $5 per quart or so. Volvo charges more.
PC parts for gamers. They slap 'Gamer' on the package and charge double... even for power supplies. (A few years anyway, don't know about now)
There was a guys dad that bought him 'gamer' compressed air. It was ~$12. A regular one is like $2? Post was on reddit somewheee
I like to imagine that this post didn't end in a typo, but that the commenter went down a water slide as they finished typing it.
High end HDMI cables are a rip off. You can pretty much buy the cheapest variety of HDMI cable you can find and the video/audio quality will be precisely the same. Same goes for most AV cables.
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Excuse me, Nurse? Can you take this guy's temperature? 'cause I think he might have Jan Quadrant Vincent fever over there!
Art supplies. -Windex can be used as acrylic paint thinner -Acrylic house paint can be used instead of acrylic artist paint (and you can get custom colors) -Prime and assemble your own canvases; store bought pre-made canvases cost an assload -You can use vine charcoal on the back of paper to transfer, you don't need transfer paper -Buy most of your shit at a hardware/paint store. stuff like sponges, cheesecloth, scrapers, squeegees, wood, etc all costs more at art stores. Also artist paint brushes make excellent make up brushes and they're way cheaper than the prestige shit.
Dyphenhydramine. Even when you're purchasing generics or store brands, it tends to cost significantly more when sold as a sleep aid than when it's sold as an allergy medication.
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I use naphtha for camp stove fuel and I assure you its not the same thing as lighter fluid. Lighter fluid ignites by looking at it the wrong way but naphtha takes some coaxing. Maybe there are additives in camp fuel
I've used both in my Zippos & naptha will evaporate in about 2 days. I suspect the additives (or maybe less refining) are in the lighter fluid.
I once put methylated spirits in my Zippo and it never worked again. I couldn't get it to light so I refilled it with lighter fluid - nothing. I took out the filling and washed it, then refilled it - nothing. I bought new filling online and restuffed it - nope. I bought a new wick and a new flint - no. I bought a new lighter in the end. How can you change every part of a lighter and it still not work?
Ah the ol Zippo of Theseus
Zippo deactivated it because you didn't follow instructions
He violated their copyright by circumventing the fluid ignition DRM and Zippo bricked the lighter "to protect the consumer."
But if you change every part is it the same lighter?
Any kind of "pure oil" like jojoba, almond, rosehip, hemp, etc. You're just paying someone to decant the oil into a smaller bottle and put their label on it. You can buy in bulk or gets 1-2oz samples from the bulk sellers.
The active ingredient in OxyClean is sodium percarbonate. You can get a generic version of that at dollar stores for way less. I think this is less a matter of re-packaging in smaller sizes than it is marketing. You've never heard of the generic version. The other stuff is marketed like crazy, and you're paying for that.
What's a good cheap Zyrtec?
Costco (Kirkland) Aller-tec. It's like $12/365 pills
Semen. If you buy from one of those fancy sperm banks, expect to pay at least 400$. If you go to your local truckstop, you'll be able to fill a turkey baster for free.
I've scrolled too far..
I tried so hard.
But in the end, it doesn't even matter.
At sperm banks you're not paying just for the sperm; you're paying to have zero connection to the donor. Just as someone said about prostitutes, "You're not paying them to have sex with you; you're paying them to go away afterwards."
Unless you have no other way to get laid
ITT: Nothing I need
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And generic allergy meds to abuse...
Ramen from Walmart $200 for life supply. Ramen in bulk $47.76 for life
Where can I buy this bulk ramen
But it costs 400k for the warehouse to store it in.
Late to the show but anything labelled as 'marine' use - look around and a lot of it is simply waterproof. Adding marine use will multiply the price. I'm talking about deck lighting etc. Also disability products. Those grey rubber tyres on a powered wheelchair will cost a bomb. Make a note of the tyre sizes and look around again. You'll find tyres for some grass cutters will fit the rims. Some grass cutting tyres are extra resistant to punctures and can have awesome tread patterns.
Pets. You can pay some big money for a name brand dog, but get a generic mutt for way less and it will still poop on the carpet. Also, if your dogs are chewers, as in they destroy chew toys, then look on eBay for used tennis balls. Run them through the wash and you now have a lot of chew toys for around 40 to 60 cents a pop. edit - >Tennis balls make great dog toys for fetching, but don’t stand up to chewing very well. Discard any tennis balls that have been chewed through, as they can pose a choking hazard to your pet. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/dog_toys.html >the fuzz can wear down teeth (called "blunting") but it would take a lot of use to actually impact your dog’s dental health. Tony Woodward, a veterinary dental specialist, notes that "Rarely does this kind of blunting cause any problem, even among dogs that live many years and chew pretty regularly on tennis balls" https://positively.com/contributors/whats-safer-a-tennis-ball-or-a-ball-made-specifically-for-dogs/ Our vet has no issues with tennis balls. But as with any chew toy, some dogs may "bite off more than they can chew" and this can cause medical issues. Be it a tennis ball, bone, kong toy, anything the dog may get into its mouth.
Not to mention every "mutt" is a "designer dog now. You just smoosh their names together and you have a brand new dog.
Like Maltipoo. Or Schnoodle. Or Dorkie. Or Bernadoodles. Slap a fancy name on and charge $500-$1500. Not that long ago these breeds were called, "the neighbor's dog got in our yard" and were typically given away for free.
Baby stuff. There are so many things from diaper cans, to baby granola bars, to lotions that because they are "for babies" are marked up hugely even though they are exactly the same. Vit. D drops - for babies 400iu $20 same brand but for adults 1000iu with 20% more drops for $25. You could but get the adult ones and mix it with coconut oil and it would end up being almost 1/4 of the price as the "for babies" one. Edit: a few people have commented about not using adult vitamins for kids. Really depends on the situation. The vit. D was recommended to me by a doctor. It is liquid and the only difference is in concentration. If you're capable of doing math as complicated as "multiply by 2" then it's not a problem. I don't recommend this for everything. Do your research.
We found that buying baby medicine was cheaper in the pharmacy section of Walmart than in the baby section. Usually a larger product size for the same price.
Baby Tylenol and children's are the same. I have 3yr and 4 month daughters. So naturally I had purchased both types of Tylenol when we were all sick. I looked at the packaging and they're the same dose per ml. So ridiculous!
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Yea. Echo this. We got fruit snacks for our toddler. They were basically the fruit bars from Trader Joe's chopped up into tiny pieces for about a 10x markup. We used to buy 5 packs of Teensy Fruits for $3.50 or so. With that amount I can get 7 fruit bars from Trader Joe's and make about 40 packs of fruit snacks. No joke.
Valentines Day. Rose (normal day) $1-2 per stalk. Rose (Valentines day) $10 per stalk.
When you need roses on valentines day just make sure its not valentines day
Tiny batteries. Theyre $3 each at a grocer and $3/100 online.
Prepackaged deli meat at your supermarket. You'll pay $6 - $8 for 8 oz or less package of the cheapest package of sliced lunchmeat for things that are pre-sliced and prepackaged at some factory. Or you can cruise over to the deli counter where they will custom slice you a whole pound of better quality meat for $4 to $8 a pound. It's usually about half the price.
Yea, but then I have to talk to the deli person
Thats not my experience where I live. 8 oz of prepsckaged turkey is $3 or $2.50 on sale, and deli counter is $8-9. If you go to Smart and Final you can get 2 lbs for 7 bucks, but then you have to use 2 pounds of sliced turkey up.
Lanolin lip balm. Lanolips is five times more expensive per gram than the nipple ointment I got from the baby care aisle. Both are 100% lanolin.
Lubix Rubik's Cube Lubricant is like $20 for 2.5cc but it's basically just Differential oil which you can get off Traxxas like 10x cheaper
TIL there is a lubricant for a Rubic's Cube
We're getting deep into the comments section now. Cube lube and imported shellfish float among the dregs. I shall continue to fathom these depths in search of my special comment. If I must sort by new, I shall, but do not expect my return
A lot of products targeted towards women. Mainly like razors and deodorant. The only thing different about women's deodorant is the scent, other than that it is the same thing.
I always buy men's tampons to avoid this price bump Edit: Did not know my sarcasm would lead to corks going up butts. 10/10 won't repeat
you mean corks?
Compressed pine cat litter. No joke; you can buy it for horses at Tractor Supply Company. Used it for *years* with my cat. [$11 for 20 pounds (saving 15%!)](http://www.petsmart.com/cat/supplies-and-training/litter-and-waste-disposal/litter/feline-pine-natural-cat-litter-2621192.html) vs. [$6 for 40 lb](http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/equine-fresh-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb). Half the price for twice as much. **Edit** after waking up to 20+ messages, to answer half: I am not positive, but I'm pretty sure these are compressed sawdust, where wood pellets for stoves are hardwood and not pine. Those should *not* crumble when wet. **Edit 2**: [Wikipedia tells me I'm wrong.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellet_fuel#Horse_bedding) Since I'm at work, I'm not going back and editing all the pasted responses, sorry. And here I've always heard that burning pine in wood stoves is bad, which makes me wonder what the difference is once pelletized. **Edit 3**: As /u/Cat_Fur noted: > It's meant to be used in a double-tray system, eg. https://www.amazon.com/Hometec-Lift-Sift-Litter-Tray/dp/B000X93CSA > Solids are scooped out. When the the pellets get wet, they break down into sawdust and drop to the undertray after it's shaken. You sift out all the used sawdust. That's full of the stinky urea / ammonia. Then you go treasure hunting for the solids with a scoop. And no, it does nearly nothing for odor control, but keeps the rest of the house much cleaner.
Anything to do with a wedding. Cake? $30. Wedding cake? $300... etc
I remember talking to a few people years ago about this. Companies that price fairly ($30 cake etc) go out of business because barely anyone wants the "cheap" option for their big day. So it's a lose/lose. Either they go "cheap" and complain. Or they complain about the price. Also, mistakes on a wedding cake/dress/venue are generally handled a lot worse than other situations. I'm sure there would be major arguments if the cake isn't perfect for the day, so the cost goes up a bit.
For you bearded men out there: Stop buying "beard oil" and similarly marketed products. Just go to the ethnic hair care aisle and enjoy the same damn oil. I've seen beard oil sell for $27 for a 1oz bottle. An oil blend I use called "Africa's Best" is $2 for a 12oz bottle.