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‘What’s A Scam Most People Don’t Even Realize Is A Scam?’: 40 People Deliver Their Insights

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Here’s a dirty little secret that a lot of us don’t want others to know: we like to think of ourselves as the smartest person in the room. Well, even if we might not be the smartest, we’re definitely (way) above average! And there’s no way that we’d ever fall for a cheap scam. Tricksters and fraudsters—beware! There’s no way that you’ll weasel cash out of here! (Hey, that rhymed.) However, reality shows us that many do fall prey to scams and that the scammers themselves are constantly adapting and finding new ways to bamboozle their marks.

Reddit users have been pooling all of their experience together and sharing all the common scams, small and large, that other people don’t always realize are scams or are potential scams. The thread got over 3.2k comments and has helped internet users gain a new perspective on a variety of things, from multilevel marketing and men’s and women’s products to diamonds and superfoods and more. There’s nothing like seeing something with a fresh pair of eyes.

Have a read about some of the most common scams, upvote the most informative posts, and let us know if any of these were new to you, dear Pandas. Oh! And if you know of any other swindles that people tend to fall for, be sure to let everyone know, too!

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Paying money to a religion to guarantee your eternal salvation.

13xnono , unsplash Report

Final score:

367points

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#2

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Insurance. You’re obligated to get it legally but when you actually need it, they’ll do everything in their power to not pay out…

thebeatoflife , pexels Report

Final score:

344points

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#3

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights The US healthcare system. Hell, just name any aspect of life in the US and there's probably a scam somewhere in there.

MaximumGamer1 , unsplash Report

Final score:

316points

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Previously, I’d had a chat with one of the moderators at the r/Scams subreddit about internet scams, how they’re different from regular ones, and what we can do to protect ourselves from them. Though nobody’s ever truly foolproof, education, preparation, and even rudimentary research are all lifesavers.

"I think online shopping scams are different because you lose that layer of dealing with a real-life person. When you have a real person in front of you, a typical person will feel shame or guilt at the thought of taking advantage of a person,” one of the mods from r/Scams told me during an earlier interview.

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“With the internet, you aren't dealing with a person, but a username and avatar. It is much easier to act maliciously when you don't have a real victim directly in front of you," they said.

#4

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Diamonds. Diamonds are a fairly common gemstone but the world's supplier of them is a monopoly and they hoard the majority of their stock to jack the prices up. Emeralds, Rubies and Sapphires are actually rarer than diamonds but cost less because of this.

Powerofgodandanime17 , flickr Report

Final score:

300points

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#5

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights "Woman's" anything. 90% are just colored different. Razors are the biggest offenders IMOP.

Grondosos , pexels Report

Final score:

299points

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#6

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Planned obsolescence. Appliances being designed to fail sooner in order to sooner create demand for a replacement. In the same vein, devices being designed to not be repairable, so that you need to invest in a shiny new specimen whenever fashion or the predesigned breakdown require it.

BeeBarfBadger , flickr Report

Final score:

288points

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“Online scams also use a lot of tricks to pressure buyers; low prices, pushes to buy now!, taking advantage of someone's kindness or naivete (re: advance check fraud, money mules, etc), or advertising one product and sending another (or nothing at all, by using a fake tracking number). Getting a person to make a decision via high-pressure tactics and preventing them from reflecting and making a sound decision is key," the mod listed some of the tactics that online fraudsters use to get their victims to part with their hard-earned cash.

"If a deal is too good to be true, it is. If you see a pair of brand new Apple AirPods advertised for $50, you are not getting an authentic product. There are many counterfeit items out there on the market, and you need to verify authenticity before hitting buy," the redditor reiterated that we should always trust our gut and stay skeptical of empty promises.

#7

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Unpaid internships. What the actual f**k is wrong with America.

benjamynt , pexels Report

Final score:

287points

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#8

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Scientology... And by most people, I mean those people in it.

herda831 , unsplash Report

Final score:

287points

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#9

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights The Humane Society of the United States

"HSUS doesn’t run a single pet shelter. HSUS is not affiliated with any pet shelters. And HSUS only gives 1% of donations to pet shelters." Most of the donated money goes into the higher up's pension plans.

Seriously don't donate money to them, instead donate to a local shelter near you, they're the ones doing real work & helping animals.

Any "charity" whose president is living high on the hog on donations is a scam.

FarmerTex , pexels Report

Final score:

271points

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"Not only to avoid contributing to the counterfeit market, but because these knockoff products do not always go through the same safety standards of the real item; they may not be UL certified, they may use chemicals or ingredients that are not FDA approved and are unsafe for use on or in the human body, or could cause major harm to human life or property."

What’s more, even seemingly safe activities like renting properties online can lead to disappointment and lost money. “It is very common for scammers to lift photos and descriptions of houses for sale, mark down the rent as ridiculously cheap, then insist on getting the deposit sent via Western Union or other untraceable means; when it comes time to pick up your keys, the money is gone and there was no rental for you to move into, to begin with."

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#10

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Contrary to popular belief, there a very few hot Russian singles in my area.

KokonutMonkey , unsplash Report

Final score:

245points

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#11

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights .99 cents at the end of pricing.

uscx2 , flickr Report

Final score:

235points

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#12

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Printer ink.

cartoonassasin , flickr Report

Final score:

233points

Chich 3 years ago

I bought one with tanks that I just pour ink into when they get low. No more tiny $50 cartridges.

64points

ravina nimje 3 years ago

HP sells cartridges that can not be refilled once 100%empty and they check the number of prints and no the amount of ink used.

8points

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Hermione 3 years ago

Best. Thing. Ever.

3points

Sue Hazlewood 3 years ago

What is it?

1point

Janice Chapman 3 years ago

YES! So much cheaper to keep the ink levels where they need to be.

0points

Kathy G 3 years ago

I bet as soon as they've sold enough of those type printers, the cost of the ink will increase tremendously!

0points

Seabeast 3 years ago

That will be my next one, when my current one dies. And it will die.

0points

Bernd Herbert 3 years ago

i think printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids you can buy

8points

Lola 3 years ago

The ink for my printer cost more than the printer. Is there a reason to this madness?

6points

Earl Grey 3 years ago

It is called the “razor and razor blades” model. Give away the razor handle with a free blade, and charge a fortune for the replacement blades.

3points

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K.Kobayashi 3 years ago

This is just consumers being their own worst enemy. People buy the cheapest printers then get angry that they require expensive cartridges. They could have just bought a more expensive printer that has a lower running cost, but people always go for the cheapest purchase cost.

2points

Vasana Phong 3 years ago

One day at work as the service guy for a “ major” company for our copy machine was trying to fix it, I happened to be checking out a patient that told me he used to work for them, it is all a scam. Parts and service are always needed at least 4-6 times a year for a brand new state of the art machine.

2points

Giles McArdell 3 years ago

For ink jets certainly, toner for laser printers seems more reasonable.

1point

Lauren Caswell 3 years ago

Yeah my son wanted to buy a printer with his savings. I said well, let's check what ink it needs, and took him to the toner section. The ink cost almost 3x what the printer cost, and was a bad design (not refillable). I try to financially educate him if the opportunity presents itself (like when I was a wee girl and wanted to buy sky tv (cable) because id seen an ad on tv saying it was on special for $20. My sister explained about the whole ongoing subscription thing. Then I knew more, and hassled my parents for sky less often (slightly lol)

1point

Cybele Spanjaard 3 years ago

Cheap printers you know it will be costly ink cartridges.. I buy online from a generic ink business that works as well. No issues.

0points

Eric Lafleur 3 years ago

Yeah, can't print a text because I'm almost out of cyan...

0points

Angelus Jiménez 3 years ago

LASER PRINTER!!! Way cheaper, and 99% you only print black anyway.

0points

Neill Powell 3 years ago

Actually, using an inkjet printer today is getting cheaper by the hour. Monopolies have ended since the move to digital and the competition is extreme. HP, Epson, etc have realised that the market is dying and that the money is dwindling rapidly.

0points

Celtic Pirate Queen 3 years ago

I totally agree! My printer is somehow designed to reject the "repurposed" cartridges, so I have to buy from the manufacturer at 4x the price. What a crock of s**t.

0points

BUMMERS 3 years ago

Laser printers cost just a fraction per copy compared to ink jets, and the toner doesn't dry out.

0points

D. Pitbull 3 years ago

Toner... same thing. When the price of the whole machine NEW is only a few dollars more than a set of cartridges (colour)... HMMMM...

0points

Margaret Martin 3 years ago

NEVER Trust the printer cartridge levels that appear on your computer screen! So far- EVERY time it pops up & claims the levels are too low (replace cartridge) I have ALWAYS gotten at LEAST 20 prints- but sometimes as many as 40 MORE out of it before it's ACTUALLY empty!

0points

Ann Declercq 3 years ago

The cheaper the printer, the more expensive the cartridges, and guess what, they also always appear to be 'nearly empty'.

0points

Thomas Gray 3 years ago

Printer: "I can't print your black and white document because my magenta cartridge is empty."

0points

JLG 3 years ago

I got a black&white laser printer for $60. It never dries up no matter how long it sits. I've been on the same cartridge for 4 years and it's still printing when I need it.

0points

Id row 3 years ago

This is why toner printers are the way to go. I've had my Ricoh toner color printer for 14 years now and have only had to change one of the toner colors so far. They will never dry out and are very reliable. I think they design ink jet printers to fail after 90 days or so. I had to replace the printer head 4 times on my last ink jet printer. Luckily it was still under warranty, but the thing kept breaking every month. It was a $300 Lexmark. I eventually gave up on it.

0points

Wendy Lam 3 years ago

My dad uses refills and buys different colors ink liquids in bottles and printer is not cheap but great printing quality

0points

Grady'sRaider 3 years ago

15 ml of ink in a $30 cartridge. That's a tablespoon folks. And if you don’t use your printer in a while, the ink dries out and clogs the print head. Buy a cheap laser printer. They print 3500 sheets to a $30 cartridge; that's 7 500 sheet packets of paper. Get your color photos printed on a professional machine at a store, where they use better inks and higher resoloution printing on acid free papers.

0points

David Redman 3 years ago

This is capitalism at its best!

0points

Lisa Beatty 3 years ago

its why Epson invented Eco Tanks. the best thing ever

0points

Alex Metslov 3 years ago

No, Epson didn't invent EcoTanks. Epson was fed up fighting refillable systems and decided to let people buy ink cheaply, but at a high price of the printer. However, it guarantees good quality and work. (If that matters to you.) Now you're buying "official" ink, instead of "counterfeit" one.

0points

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ƒιѕн 3 years ago

Cheaper to buy a new printer with the smaller cartridges than buy refills.

0points

Iggy 3 years ago

Before you refill them, take them out and give them a gentle shake (while wearing black!). You'll possibly get another week out of them.

0points

Desiree McKinnon 3 years ago

My first printer, the ink cartridges cost MORE than the machine did.

0points

Peter Liddle 3 years ago

I realised this several years ago when working for a small company.. I bought them a scanner and tortured them fir months to stop printing everything

0points

grotesqueer 3 years ago

Apparently you can just refill the cartridges yourself and safe a bunch.

0points

Becky Samuel 3 years ago

Mostly untrue. Many printers won't accept a cartridge once it's been removed from the machine. A lot of them also have a cut-off date after which the cartridge will no longer work.

1point

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Scagsy 3 years ago

True. But it has its drawbacks. You have to flush it and refill immediately otherwise it can dry up. It can be messy. Once you have refilled the cartridge, there's no guarantee that the stupid, temperamental printer will accept it again. In theory, great. In practice, a little challenging.

0points

Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago

Not for all printers. Some you have to replace the entire cartridge.

0points

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The mod explained how doing some background research can help you avoid online rental scams. For starters, try Googling the address and seeing if it’s on a real estate listing for the property for sale. “You may find a real estate listing on MLS, Zillow, or other popular property rental/sale sites. I ran into this recently with a too-good-to-be-true rental, and I was able to report the listing and notify the listing agent that their listing was being used in a scam," they said.

An extra line of defense that you should consider is getting a credit card and using that instead of a debit card. “Credit card protections for most cards are much more forgiving than debit cards. You can generally get your money back faster if you were scammed or mislead by a business, versus initiating an investigation through your bank. It is always smarter to pay by credit card (and pay off your balance monthly!)."

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#13

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Expiration date on million years old himalayan salt.

gat000r , pexels Report

Final score:

222points

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#14

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Having to pay $100+ bucks for Microsoft word.

yawnandshrug , flickr Report

Final score:

213points

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#15

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Trickle down economics.

HiopXenophil , wikipedia Report

Final score:

208points

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#16

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Recycling plastic. The “recycling symbol” with the number on it is not a recycling symbol. It’s a resin identification code. It was intentionally designed to look like the recycling symbol to fool consumers. Only around 10% of plastics are recycled and usually only once. The whole campaign about recycling plastics and consumer responsibility was set up by the bottling companies to avoid legislation banning plastics because of their harm to the environment.

ioncloud9 , flickr Report

Final score:

188points

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#17

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Ordering a full carafe of wine in a restaurant. Where I work, a full carafe can fill 4-5 glasses. Ordering 5 glasses of some of our types of wine is actually $1-2 cheaper than the full carafe. Check the prices and do the math before ordering! Same goes for pitchers of beer!

neeeenbean , pexels Report

Final score:

185points

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#18

When stores ask you to donate at checkout, they're using it as a tax write off.

its-incredibl Report

Final score:

179points

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#19

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights The concept of "superfoods" and "organic" anything. I work at a smoothie bowl place, and people will come in and literally pile 1500 calories full of peanut butter and granola into a bowl and think it's healthy because they put some superfood organic something into a bowl. It's literally pumpkin granola cereal from the store down the street, it's not going to cure cancer.

plantayshun_610 , flickr Report

Final score:

177points

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#20

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Psychics.

Gui_Franco , pexels Report

Final score:

175points

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#21

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights In app mobile purchases. Especially for kids games.

JUST_THAT_JERK , pexels Report

Final score:

165points

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#22

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Insurance, at least in the US. If you have to fight for something YOU PAY FOR to pay THAT WHICH IT'S LITERALLY SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR and in return GET SCREWED with higher premiums, higher deductibles and higher copay amounts, then it's basically useless. We're paying into a scam cause we're idiots who don't understand, and don't WANT to understand how much better off our we'd be with Universal coverage, due to cost alone. But hey, what do I know?

snflwr1313 Report

Final score:

162points

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#23

"Hustle" culture. Capital doesn't even have to manage you anymore; you manage yourself by convincing yourself that lack of sleep is good and that you should be working around the clock.

Blue_Dog_Democracy Report

Final score:

158points

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#24

“Work 12 hours a day every day and I’m surrrre they’ll move me up. I’m very valuable to my company “

EscapeOdd8897 Report

Final score:

152points

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#25

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Our (US) health care system.

Lauren12269 , pexels Report

Final score:

151points

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#26

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Out of network ATM fees.

Vespaeelio , unsplash Report

Final score:

146points

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#27

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Bottled water.

poopyhole2 , pexels Report

Final score:

145points

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#28

Funeral services. There is nothing wrong or dangerous about dead bodies. The idea that random people come into your home and take your loved one away, rip out their insides, fill them will chemicals and out them on display and you have to pay to put them to rest is ridiculous and quite frankly evil.

FoxFetter Report

Final score:

143points

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#29

When I was a kid my brother would tell me the lottery is 'a tax on stupid people.

Luke10124 Report

Final score:

141points

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#30

I’m most intrigued by the vague life coaches, who use lots of big words and mention specific figures they have supposedly earned, but there is no clarity on what exactly they do.

immoreoriginalmate Report

Final score:

137points

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#31

Those Facebook post that my grandparents always repost that go on about some s**t like Facebook doesn’t want you see this... trump bla bla bla ...... repost this if your brave .... let’s make this go viral etc

Drywalleater03 Report

Final score:

136points

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#32

"Shrinkflation." Where they give you less, and charge you more.

U_Have_Issues Report

Final score:

136points

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#33

Crystal healing, religion, and horoscopes. How are we still buying this bulls**t with the internet out there.

DefenestrateWindows Report

Final score:

130points

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#34

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Boomers getting free healthcare (Medicare) while voting against anyone else getting it.

gamechanger112 , unsplash Report

Final score:

120points

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#35

Tipping.

FalconFox500 Report

Final score:

120points

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#36

I don't know if they are still around but around 2010, people were buying these "ionic footbaths" that supposedly removed toxins in your body through your feet.

mr_sweetandawful Report

Final score:

117points

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#37

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Supplements. Because they are considered a food they are not regulated. A recent study found that 25% don't contain any of the substance it is sold as. About as many others contain actual prescription medicines that are not listed. In the US about 23 000 people a year are hospitalized, have organ failure or need a transplant due to taking unregulated supplements.

NZT-48Rules , unsplash Report

Final score:

106points

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#38

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Most extended warranties on electronics. Usually you're paying extra for the warranty and extra on top of that as a "labor cost" of whoever is fixing the device.

Cheaper than a new device? Sure but can still be pricey.

KingGooma , flickr Report

Final score:

98points

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#39

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Willfully deciding that a week inside the casinos of Vegas sounds like a good vacation.

YouMightBePregnant , flickr Report

Final score:

92points

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#40

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Premium cables. In order for one hdmi cable to have better quality over another, you'd need hundreds of yards between the source and display. Cat5 vs. Cat 6 makes a difference for high bandwidth companies, not for your cable internet ass. Really the only thing it matters in is phone charging durability. Yes, don't get the gas station cables if you help it, but if you do, your phone will still charge at the same rate.

personguy , flickr Report

Final score:

72points

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#41

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Weddings.

RHCube , pexels Report

Final score:

32points

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#42

Expensive HDMI cables. HDMI is digital. It either works or doesn't, basically.

aaaaaaaarrrrrgh Report

Final score:

31points

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#43

Private student loans in america

chicken_forever Report

Final score:

29points

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#44

Lightbulbs, if made properly they last forever, but with specific imperfections they only last a few weeks. One of the first lightbulbs ever made still works in the Edison museum

bathtissue101 Report

Final score:

29points

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#45

HOA’s they tell you it’s for the property values.

NANDINIA5 Report

Final score:

27points

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#46

The Better Business Bureau. Unless you join and pay your fees you don’t get a rating so if somebody checks out a business with them that isn’t a member it doesn’t look good. That is basically a protection racket

angryfromnv Report

Final score:

27points

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#47

Young Living Essential Oils. It’s a pyramid scheme and is very dangerous. The oils are marketed as edible but can seriously damage your liver. The owner even killed his baby trying to give birth in a jet tub. Don’t buy them.

wafflelover17 Report

Final score:

27points

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#48

If someone's 'job' is based more around recruiting people for the 'company' than selling an actual product and they aren't literally a hiring manager for HR, there's a good chance they're part of a pyramid scheme

ur_boy_skinny_penis Report

Final score:

25points

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#49

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Lottery tickets.

Embarrassed_Cow_5255 , flickr Report

Final score:

24points

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#50

Time shares. Biggest real estate scam of the 90s. 2nd biggest was probably all those apt complexes turning into condominiums.

WillingnessOk8721 Report

Final score:

23points

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#51

99% of skincare

shadyexistence Report

Final score:

23points

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#52

Tax Preparation. The industry lobbies the government to ensure that taxes are wildly complicated so they can continue to collect an annual fee from annoyed taxpayers.

DeadFyre Report

Final score:

22points

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#53

Men’s premium brand razors, shampoo, wipes. Getting charged 2-3 times for similar products in 'manlier' packaging.

Chant1llyLace Report

Final score:

22points

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#54

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Religion.

Beefshiz , unsplash Report

Final score:

21points

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#55

Voting for politicians who promise to give you money

arcticsalts Report

Final score:

21points

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#56

Any type of insurance. Though I think most of us realize it. Those "we're here for you" commercials they all put out are deliberate.

Case on point... If you actually USE your insurance more than a few times in the space of 7 years you get blacklisted. That blacklisting follows you to any other insurance company.

Also if the claims were on your home owners insurance... It also follows the house. Good luck explaining that to perspective buyers.

Total mob hit.

Angel_Incognito Report

Final score:

19points

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#57

Medical school. So much money spent on MCAT, primary applications, secondary applications, interviews, insane tuition, study materials for boards because curriculum is next to useless for that, money spent on board exams, money spent on applying to residencies, NO guarantee that youll match to a residency... oh and then making crap money while working your ass off during residency. Biggest scam ever. They lure you in during the interviews and then keep taking your money and mental health.

FactorXIII Report

Final score:

18points

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#58

By the amount of Facebook and Instagram posts promoting them - MLMs.

quietlycommenting Report

Final score:

17points

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#59

Mortgage insurance. You're paying to insure the bank, not yourself.

StAUG1211 Report

Final score:

17points

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#60

The lottery. It’s not technically a scam but it is technically an investment. If you’re willing to pay £2 for a ticket, you can put £2 into something like an index fund

Josh_Mayes1 Report

Final score:

17points

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Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#61

Perfume.

The average bottle of even the most pricey thing you see advertised by a movie star costs pennies to make. Most of the money goes towards packaging and marketing. Another way of looking at it is, most of the money you spend on a perfume goes towards the efforts to sell it to you in the first place and not the product itself.

There’s something pretty dystopian about that to me.

graffitol Report

Final score:

17points

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#62

Youtube MCNs (Multi Channel Networks).

Don't get me wrong, the big ones that run the large channels are probably worth it as they act more as a production company. They provide funding, legal consul, making deals with advertisers, etc.

However, if you're run a smaller YouTube channel that starts to get some success and are contacted by an MCN it's always a scam. They'll tell you they will provide you with ways to grow your channel, but it's usually just a webpage in the vein of "10 things that will help your channel grow," that you could get after 5 seconds of googling.

They'll also make it sound like you get more of a cut from ad-revenue EX: "YouTube takes 30% of your revenue, while we only take 15%." Makes it sound like you get to take home 85% now right? Wrong, they take their cut after YouTube takes theirs, you get to take home 55% and they take 15% for doing literally nothing. The language in their contracts is so deceptive its disgusting.

Even more official MCNs like Frederator would do this. I don't hear about MCNs much anymore, so hopefully their they're dying out, but finding out I was being scammed years ago sucked.

zachtheperson Report

Final score:

16points

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Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

#63

Fully digital consoles since alot of games can be much, much cheaper on a disc and with full digital consoles its like, "were going to sell you a console which is cheaper to make and will save you whopping 80£ or so then we'll sell games directly to you for 9 times out of 10 similar amount it cost on day one while you could have brought it cheaper on disc and got something tangible which would make up for the money you could have saved buying the disc version"

Final score:

16points

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#64

If you want to buy someone a gift card through Visa or some other company, you're paying $5.00+ as a fee before spending more money to put on the card. 'Here's your $50 gift card that cost me $57!

bitterherpes Report

Final score:

16points

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#65

Bitcoin

NimitzFreeway Report

Final score:

15points

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#66

Rehab in america at least. You pay way too much money for them to perform psuedoscience on you with some therapy sprinkled in. The places I went also claimed to be secular but pushed spirituality and religion heavily.

I understand some people can benefit from it, but for me it just took away 4 months of my life and my life savings while brainwashing me into spirituality I didn't really believe in.

LordSaltythe3rd Report

Final score:

14points

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"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

#67

Gambling.

Zeetapie Report

Final score:

14points

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#68

Every single antivirus-app for Android is a SCAM! People feel safe for E10,-/year but have you ever heard someone say their phone whas saved due to their awesome antivirus suite? I haven't..

eavandijk Report

Final score:

14points

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#69

60 dollars for a port of Skyward Sword on the Nintendo Switch.

LeafTheNinja Report

Final score:

13points

#70

Dasani water at like carnivals

It has salt in it which makes you even more thirsty then u were before so u spend more money on water

ZedLastSuperDog Report

Final score:

12points

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#71

"It's like getting paid to shop!"

Majestic_Definition3 Report

Final score:

11points

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“All Three Shot Out Pink”: Triplets' Baby Shower Turns Sour, Pregnant Wife Wants A Divorce

“All Three Shot Out Pink”: Triplets' Baby Shower Turns Sour, Pregnant Wife Wants A Divorce

“All Three Shot Out Pink”: Triplets' Baby Shower Turns Sour, Pregnant Wife Wants A Divorce

College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

#72

Political Parties.

Realistic_Truck Report

Final score:

11points

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#73

Any price that ends in a 7. It is literally a technique used by scam artists to make the price seem psychologically enticing.

ThisIsOmeySalvi Report

Final score:

11points

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#74

Big brand freezer tape and painters tape are the same exact tape for different prices. Source: I work at a factory that packages them.

FlowerFitForAFuneral Report

Final score:

11points

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#75

'What's A Scam Most People Don't Even Realize Is A Scam?': 40 People Deliver Their Insights Pretty much all of this first world bulls**t. The idea of money, wealth, work, the entire structure of our society, I mean, take your bloody pick.

bottomofastairwell , pexels Report

Final score:

10points

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#76

Literally the entire world's economic system. Wage labour is fundamentally exploitative.

Caldwing Report

Final score:

10points

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#77

Anything organic and priced higher, and most gender based products.

noblebalisong312 Report

Final score:

10points

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#78

The Sharper Image. Except for a few items (e.g. massage chairs) all their products are made cheaply and they can afford to offer interest free payment plans on their items because the first payment, the one to secure the order, covers the cost of the item. Ex. They used to sell $499(?) air purifiers for, I think, $70 down and 6 equal payments of $70 a month. The cost of the item to the company was roughly equal to, but less than the down payment. They used to package in a mini $70 air purifier as an incentive to buy. Actual cost to the company? About $10.

scarymoose Report

Final score:

10points

#79

TurboTax

bkornblith Report

Final score:

9points

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#80

Hair shampoos and conditioners.

They tend to be addictive. For shampoo, it's simple - the more often you shampoo, the more often you'll need to. because scalp is supposed to have some oil, and if you keep removing it, then it'll appear faster to keep up with the need.

On the other hand, with conditioners, it's a different story. They are meant to make your hair look better after one use, but not necessarily healthier in the long run. So you end up liking this one brand because your hair looked so well after one use, but you don't realise that it's exactly what caused your hair to look like s**t after 2 years.

Odin_Allfathir Report

Final score:

9points

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#81

The buy 3 for $12 at a lot of grocery stores. In reality you can just buy 1 for $4

jimbobjenkins38 Report

Final score:

8points

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#82

Gacha Games

Katze1Punkt0 Report

Final score:

7points

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#83

Tanning salon You can get in a healthy way outside

houdiniix3 Report

Final score:

7points

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#84

in Mexico where I am from, many people sell cheap discs that supposedly has movies or cartoons and my family has bought so many of them knowing they are just recorded poor quality videos and they just lay there soon to be tossed away but not all of them are bad some are kinda worth buying "kinda"

infer_green Report

Final score:

6points

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#85

The federal reserve.

Justajed Report

Final score:

6points

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#86

Grocery store layouts and cleaning supplies.

Final score:

2points

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Jonas Grinevičius

Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

What do you think ?

Aksa 3 years ago

homeopathic medicine

13points

Violet Smith 3 years ago

You mean "medicine."

0points

Load More Replies...

Victoria 3 years ago

Women's clothes with NO POCKETS!!!

5points

Chris365 3 years ago

House buying/ selling & estate agents are a scam….in the uk they have no qualifications, pluck numbers out of the sky and skew the market, to scam themselves better commission. Not passing on offers if they think it is too low and they can get more commission…not whether the seller wants to take the price

4points

OhForSmegSake 3 years ago

Pandora jewellery. It might be pretty but it's cheaply made shite that causes so many allergies and breaks very quickly

3points

Damon Tripodi 3 years ago

Can we stop it with the anti-capitalism crap?

2points

First Name Last Name 3 years ago

"The Cloud" is the biggest scam going atm.

2points

opinionated biatch 3 years ago

Useless degrees like gender studies and communication degrees

2points

Dinar Surtikarani 3 years ago

Communication degree here. I abandoned my thesis (graduate school) when the realization struck me.

0points

Load More Replies...

Bella, Your Kitty-Loving Queen 3 years ago

I don’t think this was mentioned, but something else that is a scam is optimum cablevision for your TV. They just keep raising the prices and it’s so annoying. Seriously, just use YouTube TV, it’s so much cheaper.

2points

Tim Pillinger 3 years ago

Parecetemol costing more than 20p a packet

1point

Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago

Don't forget Dave Ramsey. He fails to really help those who are in low income situations. Worse he always suggests that people just skip out on lenders rather than pursuing bankruptcy when they can unload and perhaps even have hope for a future.

1point

James016 3 years ago

Over the counter medicines is another scam. A lot of them are the exact same thing but packaged, marketed and priced differently but they all have the same product licence number.

1point

Faith M 2 years ago

Liberals crapping on America constantly but never nutting up to leave. “FREE HEALTHCARE “. Nothing is free, princess

0points

Nickname 3 years ago

Diet yoghurt. Dairy is just fat flavored water (lactose). By reducing the fat they remove the vitamins that are solvable in fat, so the point of eating yoghurt. Also it makes it taste disgusting so they add sugar or sweeteners. It's a fast road to diabetes

0points

Hannah Walters 3 years ago

If your reading this I hope you have a great day and know. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NIV

0points

Victoria 3 years ago

Streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, ect) releasing one episode per week for shows.

0points

Girl Anachronism 2 years ago

And paying for these subscriptions to have to also pay for a new release movi, or wait until they make it 'free' (as in part of the service you're paying for).

0points

Load More Replies...

ivan bolitekurac 3 years ago

I always wonder if people missunderstand the word "scam".Also why is bs art sold for millions never mentioned?

0points

Kevin Hickey 3 years ago

Gold. People believe that gold has some intrinsic value just because it's rare. It only has value because people BELIEVE that it has value, just like paper money.

0points

Wylies Cakes 3 years ago

I disagree with number 35. Tipping is not a scam tipped minimum wage is. It is to low for a lot of people to actually survive.

-1point

Elin Noller 3 years ago

Shampoo.

-1point

Libstak 3 years ago

Oils, lubricants for motor vehicles, boats, bikes and lawn mowers etc. I worked for an oil company, all 200 odd marketed products came out of the same 4 silos. People won't put multi purpose oil In their Mercedes so a new label and snazzy packaging with a 200% mark up needs to be sold to attract their elitist mindset. Same with boats, won't put engine oil in boats unless the word boat is on the label. Total rip off and it's the consumers own fault for not doing their homework and being picky about branding.

-2points

M O'Connell 3 years ago (edited)

The base oils are all the same, absolutely. The differences come from the additive packages combined with those base oils. "Lawn mower oil" is engineered for small engines in that it is not multi-viscosity, and it has more zinc than the oil you would put in a modern automobile because that reduces wear on the flat-tappet cams. Marine engine oil has greater moisture tolerance and higher shear strength than automotive oil because boat engines run at very high RPM for extended periods of time. Auto manufacturers have very exacting standards for their motor oils depending on what they do with them. Vehicles with VVT cam phasers require very specific properties to work correctly, ask any Volkswagen owner who's put Walmart oil in it. It's important to remember that the "premium grade oils" of our grandparents wouldn't pass for bar & chain oil today.

6points

Load More Replies...

Eslamala 3 years ago

Most of these are just people being dumb. Or worse, willfully ignorant.

-3points

Aksa 3 years ago

homeopathic medicine

13points

Violet Smith 3 years ago

You mean "medicine."

0points

Load More Replies...

Victoria 3 years ago

Women's clothes with NO POCKETS!!!

5points

Chris365 3 years ago

House buying/ selling & estate agents are a scam….in the uk they have no qualifications, pluck numbers out of the sky and skew the market, to scam themselves better commission. Not passing on offers if they think it is too low and they can get more commission…not whether the seller wants to take the price

4points

OhForSmegSake 3 years ago

Pandora jewellery. It might be pretty but it's cheaply made shite that causes so many allergies and breaks very quickly

3points

Damon Tripodi 3 years ago

Can we stop it with the anti-capitalism crap?

2points

First Name Last Name 3 years ago

"The Cloud" is the biggest scam going atm.

2points

opinionated biatch 3 years ago

Useless degrees like gender studies and communication degrees

2points

Dinar Surtikarani 3 years ago

Communication degree here. I abandoned my thesis (graduate school) when the realization struck me.

0points

Load More Replies...

Bella, Your Kitty-Loving Queen 3 years ago

I don’t think this was mentioned, but something else that is a scam is optimum cablevision for your TV. They just keep raising the prices and it’s so annoying. Seriously, just use YouTube TV, it’s so much cheaper.

2points

Tim Pillinger 3 years ago

Parecetemol costing more than 20p a packet

1point

Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago

Don't forget Dave Ramsey. He fails to really help those who are in low income situations. Worse he always suggests that people just skip out on lenders rather than pursuing bankruptcy when they can unload and perhaps even have hope for a future.

1point

James016 3 years ago

Over the counter medicines is another scam. A lot of them are the exact same thing but packaged, marketed and priced differently but they all have the same product licence number.

1point

Faith M 2 years ago

Liberals crapping on America constantly but never nutting up to leave. “FREE HEALTHCARE “. Nothing is free, princess

0points

Nickname 3 years ago

Diet yoghurt. Dairy is just fat flavored water (lactose). By reducing the fat they remove the vitamins that are solvable in fat, so the point of eating yoghurt. Also it makes it taste disgusting so they add sugar or sweeteners. It's a fast road to diabetes

0points

Hannah Walters 3 years ago

If your reading this I hope you have a great day and know. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NIV

0points

Victoria 3 years ago

Streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, ect) releasing one episode per week for shows.

0points

Girl Anachronism 2 years ago

And paying for these subscriptions to have to also pay for a new release movi, or wait until they make it 'free' (as in part of the service you're paying for).

0points

Load More Replies...

ivan bolitekurac 3 years ago

I always wonder if people missunderstand the word "scam".Also why is bs art sold for millions never mentioned?

0points

Kevin Hickey 3 years ago

Gold. People believe that gold has some intrinsic value just because it's rare. It only has value because people BELIEVE that it has value, just like paper money.

0points

Wylies Cakes 3 years ago

I disagree with number 35. Tipping is not a scam tipped minimum wage is. It is to low for a lot of people to actually survive.

-1point

Elin Noller 3 years ago

Shampoo.

-1point

Libstak 3 years ago

Oils, lubricants for motor vehicles, boats, bikes and lawn mowers etc. I worked for an oil company, all 200 odd marketed products came out of the same 4 silos. People won't put multi purpose oil In their Mercedes so a new label and snazzy packaging with a 200% mark up needs to be sold to attract their elitist mindset. Same with boats, won't put engine oil in boats unless the word boat is on the label. Total rip off and it's the consumers own fault for not doing their homework and being picky about branding.

-2points

M O'Connell 3 years ago (edited)

The base oils are all the same, absolutely. The differences come from the additive packages combined with those base oils. "Lawn mower oil" is engineered for small engines in that it is not multi-viscosity, and it has more zinc than the oil you would put in a modern automobile because that reduces wear on the flat-tappet cams. Marine engine oil has greater moisture tolerance and higher shear strength than automotive oil because boat engines run at very high RPM for extended periods of time. Auto manufacturers have very exacting standards for their motor oils depending on what they do with them. Vehicles with VVT cam phasers require very specific properties to work correctly, ask any Volkswagen owner who's put Walmart oil in it. It's important to remember that the "premium grade oils" of our grandparents wouldn't pass for bar & chain oil today.

6points

Load More Replies...

Eslamala 3 years ago

Most of these are just people being dumb. Or worse, willfully ignorant.

-3points

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