Nowadays, trips to the grocery store become more expensive every time. For example, inflation for food in the US was 3.3% in October 2023. However, the cost of a commodity is much more complicated than the business setting a number they deem suitable. In a free market, it’s usually determined by demand and supply. The price will be higher if many buyers are seeking a product and lower if there are only a few.

Additionally, product cost is one of the most important factors that affects the price. It includes expenses such as materials, equipment, labor, packaging, marketing, distribution, selling, and even rent. Competition in the market also adds to it. If there aren't any other suppliers in a specific area, the firm can fix a price of its choosing. Additionally, the government usually doesn’t interfere in their determination, except for things like wheat and drugs, which are essential for humans and require set pricing.

Despite all of these factors constituting a price, it may increase due to something entirely unpredictable. Let’s take unfavorable weather conditions, for example. The summer of 2023 was Earth’s hottest since global records began in 1880, according to scientists at NASA. Due to extreme heat, wildfires, and violent storms, some crops end up being destroyed. As a result, veggies, leafy greens, nuts, berries, and other produce may cost more.

Affairs between nations can also drive up the costs of some of the most necessary products. The Russia-Ukraine war raised the price of grains by 110% between 2021 and 2022. Ukraine has more than 50% of the world’s cereal market and is also the main supplier of sunflower oil. The export restrictions from the country and the heightened demand for crops due to the pandemic reached near-record prices.

Mass outbreaks of diseases are also known to contribute to the rising costs. In late 2022, highly contagious bird flu forced poultry farmers to reduce their chicken population in the US, which affected the prices of eggs and other livestock products. The outbreak resulted in about 27 to 28 million dozen eggs per week missing on the shelf. The lack of access to necessary food drives up prices and can result in people not being able to meet basic household food needs.

However, it doesn’t mean that business owners don’t take advantage of these circumstances and raise prices just because they can. Even though we spend a lot of money, the purchases we make don’t always meet our expectations.

One way businesses profit without us even knowing it is called "shrinkflation." It's done to reduce the size of a product while maintaining the same price. From a business perspective, it’s a useful way to boost or maintain profits without drawing too much negative attention. Retailers often employ it to level out higher production (e.g., materials, labor) costs. If you spot a packaging redesign, chances are there has been a weight change. Mars Inc. took this path in 2017, shrinking Maltesers and M&Ms in the UK by 15%.

The internet has also become a convenient space to rip people off. An investigation by Which? has found that Etsy, a global marketplace for unique and creative goods, included product listings with fake handmade products that could be purchased for a fraction of the price from retailers like Amazon and Asda. They also analyzed the first page of items on Etsy and found that 23 out of 192 handmade items were actually mass-produced and were seven times the price. One seller has made nearly 9,000 sales in “custom made” clothing that could be found on Amazon and eBay. In its annual report, Etsy said that it removed 1.9 million listings for violating its policies in 2022.

Furthermore, you can also accidentally purchase counterfeits, lookalikes, unsafe for use, banned, or mislabeled items on Amazon. CNBC found it has shipped expired foods—including baby formula—to customers, pointing to the lack of capacity to monitor expiration dates. The growth of counterfeit goods and Amazon's unwillingness to help fight them made brands like Birkenstock and Nike pull out of selling on this site. Smaller vendors with fake products now have access to millions of customers online, putting many people at risk of buying counterfeit and unsafe items. In fact, individuals have been burned by using a cheaper fake “Ove’ Glove” alternative.

Many of us aren’t really safe from the mind games and tricks of businesses. We don’t read the fine print when we should, and companies act illegally when they shouldn’t. To encourage awareness about brands ripping people off, we ask you, our dear Pandas, what’s the most bizarre thing you wasted your hard-earned money on and regretted it instantly?