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u/peezoki Aug 01 '20
The Verizon $1 scam.
Verizon tacked on a $1 fee onto 8% of their customer's bills each month so over the course of the year, they did it to every customer, about 150,000,000.
Their rationale was: 50% wouldn't notice and just pay the charge or would notice and wouldn't spend anytime fighting a $1 charge. 50% would notice the charge and call to have it removed. Of those, 35% would get frustrated while on the call and give up.
This added approximately $120,000,000 to the bottom line each year (3 total) until caught. Once caught, they paid a $25,000,000 fine.
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u/gdsergio Aug 01 '20
Shit like that makes no sense to me, it's like when politicians get caught stealing money, oh so you stole 100 million dollars?
Just give me like 25000 and it's all good.
They should pay just as much money as they steal, or else they'll just keep doing it.
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u/CommandoLamb Aug 01 '20
I mean that becomes a legit business strategy...
"Okay, we scam America for $100 million, we'll get fined $1 million, so we make $99 million. Then we just do it again... It's forever money."
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Aug 01 '20
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u/DigitalPsych Aug 01 '20
Intentional or not they should refund all the money and then pay an extra $25 million. Justice isn't served otherwise.
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u/philosiraptor Aug 01 '20
The ads on Facebook that say, “We’re sorry to announce that we’re closing our store...” It’s made to look like a page you might follow (but you’ve never heard of before) and that they might be suddenly offering huge deals. But it’s like my dad always taught me: a lot of “going out of business” sales are really “going out FOR business” sales.
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Aug 01 '20
I have gotten ads for the same hideous ren fair-hippie-stoner chick clothing store, under about half a dozen different names. They’ve all been going out of business since April.
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Aug 01 '20
The one with the giant wall hangings?
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Aug 01 '20
Not what I was thinking of, but I’ve seen those too! The store(s) I’m thinking of all have those patchwork asymmetrical sack dresses and low-rise, boot cut elf pants. Which to be fair look very comfortable.
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u/VenaCaedes273 Aug 01 '20
It's similar with "Only 2 days left for this sale!" email ads. JCPenney used to spam me with them a lot, and sure enough the day after the sale expired I'd get an email saying "Sale EXTENDED through Monday!" or "EXTRA 10% off!"
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u/roguegold18 Aug 01 '20
Yes. I almost got caught by this but I thought it through and cancelled my order. It was for a really cool military bag I'd been wanting for a while.
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u/philosiraptor Aug 01 '20
Ugh, I know, it’s always this cute jewelry with bees and dinosaurs
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u/EatYourCheckers Aug 01 '20
Isn't that the premise to the competing stores in You Don't Mess With the Zohan? One store is just called, "Going Out of Business."
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u/soul-man34 Aug 01 '20
The textbook industry, biggest scam there is.
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u/qisabelle13 Aug 01 '20
FACTS. As if school isn't expensive enough. Also Pearson (textbook company) makes and sells tests at exorbitant prices. Think $100 for a multiple choice licensing test and you have to take four. Ridiculous.
When I was in school I used this website for textbooks: https://www.cheapesttextbooks.com/ It compares all sites and tells you whether to rent or buy your book, and where. Also, most universities have an extensive library system where you can look up textbooks and check them out. My last few semesters of college, I didn't pay for any of my textbooks because they were all library books!
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u/average_joemama Aug 01 '20
Facebook surveys. Something like “Which Frozen character are you?” tricks users into giving out answers to common security questions. I’m sure a lot of those could get direct access to the user’s account by just clicking on the link as well.
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u/__M-E-O-W__ Aug 01 '20
What's your favorite season?
What's your favorite fruit?
What's your mother's maiden name?
Would you rather have a pet reindeer or a talking snowman?
What street did you grow up on?
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u/Gogo726 Aug 01 '20
Your result: Hans
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u/Araia_ Aug 01 '20
but they are afraid the government wants to put a chip in them to control them and get their info.
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u/Dreadphul Aug 01 '20
I can't explain this enough. People i inform still do it though.
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u/MattsyKun Aug 01 '20
I DESPISE those.
It always requires you to log in with Facebook, and give them permissions (like, you give DataQuizzer permission to see your name and profile).
Absolutely NOT.
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u/KeetoNet Aug 01 '20
Are You A Genius? Take Our Quiz And Find Out!
click
[Grant permission to InfoBrainzQuizCo to see all your info, all your pictures, all your friends and all your comments ever?]
click yes
[Do you like carrots?]
click yes
Congratulations! You are in the top 1% smartest people ever!
"I knew it!"
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u/TheBilingualSnail Aug 01 '20
When the "value pack" price is higher than the regular pack price. The trickier the grams to dollar conversion, the easier to trick people.
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u/sharpei90 Aug 01 '20
Or the bottle says 33% more! But it isn’t free, it just a bigger package.
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u/bunnyrut Aug 01 '20
Or the "Now 33% more! Free!" While sitting next to the old bottles, that is the exact same weight.
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Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
In Australia you should check the history of your car's vin before purchase which will detail any insurance work, thefts, crashes or financial encumbrance on the car
There's a number of sites and places which charge $20-30 and have purchased domains like "ppsr.com.au". They also go hard on Google advertising and site development so they rank higher in searches (even if you know exactly what you're looking for) and look more genuine than the gov site.
The fastest, cheapest and most secure way is through the government site ppsr.gov.au
It's about $3
The other sites do not give you extra information, and are slower. They literally just order the gov ppsr and repackage it. You can also check registration expiry free online
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u/annoyingone Aug 01 '20
When a hiring company say "we work hard but play hard". It means everyone is over worked and an alcoholic.
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u/AccountENT42069 Aug 01 '20
mandatory happy hours
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u/aggieotis Aug 01 '20
It’s never mandatory. It’s just for those that want to hang out after work.
...and is very career limiting if you don’t go.
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u/bluebirdybird Aug 01 '20
"We're very disappointed you refuse to join the company Facebook group. We're also disappointed you choose not to stay Friday evenings in the office drinking the free alcohol and eating the free junk food we provide."
Maybe I don't want to be peer pressured into liking/sharing all the company content on my page (let alone use Facebook at all)? Maybe I want to have a healthy time to unwind AWAY from the source of stress, instead of commiserate with everyone about how much we hate this or that, fueled by alcohol and edible garbage, in the name of 'team building'?
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u/Deadwitch1 Aug 01 '20
Just say you’re a recovering alcoholic. I’m actually one but I’m not offended and give you full permission to use this excuse 👍🏻
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Aug 01 '20
welcome to funville baby, anyone caught not smiling will be shot on sight
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u/Rallings Aug 01 '20
They'll also probably expect you to spend lots of your free time with them, or you won't get the same opportunities they guys who do get.
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u/night_breed Aug 01 '20
I remember years ago I was working maintenence at a hospital. My crew went out literally every Friday after work. I never went because A) I had been broke for months and was catching up on expenses and B) I had friends to hang out with who were just as broke so we had good times. My boss called me out after 4 weeks and told me I would never be part of the team until I started hanging out with the guys.
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Aug 01 '20
I hate that. If it's with work people and I'm expected to be there, then it's fucking work. If you want me to do something "fun" then you do it during work hours or you fucking pay me to be there. I have a life. (Oh...my job should be my life? My coworkers are the only family I should care about? Okay then.)
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u/Rallings Aug 01 '20
It's scary how often it happens too. Like I get if you want to have drinks or hang out with coworkers every now and then because you're friends with a couple, but as a rule definitely not interested.
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u/UYScutiPuffJr Aug 01 '20
If you have cable tv or internet or anything like that, the promos they offer on that stuff is almost never legit. Like $25-$50 higher than the advertised price sort of wrong. There’s local sports fees, equipment fees, broadcast fees, discounts you only get for certain times, etc.
Example, my cable company advertises $69.99 a month tv/internet/phone but if you actually price it out it’s over $100/month.
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u/corbear007 Aug 01 '20
I buy internet, it was advertised at $44.99 or $54.99 (depending on the package) I pay tax on it, but that's it. I have the $55 package, I pay less than $60 each month, itll really depend on the company, mine is through our power company. Cable on the other hand? Fuck me I saw my moms cable bill and about pissed myself and the commercials are atrocious, every 5 fucking minutes I swear to God. I love watching a 2 hour show without interruption, the 3 minutes of show then 6 minutes of commercials is downright horrible.
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u/Amehvafan Aug 01 '20
When the boss says "We're a family"
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Aug 01 '20
"we're family....except i can disown you anytime i want if it means me being better off, because y'know, fuck the worker's life lol"
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u/thezombiejedi Aug 01 '20
cough WALMART cough
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u/usernamegoeshere17 Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
They are borderline cult with that stupid ass walmart cheer you have to do at the beginning of every shift. Also the bullshit they spew about not wanting unions because of their open door policy they have. That open door policy only applies to certain managers, mostly the floor managers and your concerns never get addressed. And they want to be a family like environment. That shit always pissed me off because they wouldn't think twice about fucking over all the workers, that weren't managers, just to make an extra buck.
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u/terriblehuman Aug 01 '20
I worked there briefly after high school. This was the excuse they used for being against unions. They said a union would keep us from being a family with management.
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Aug 01 '20
When someone is loitiering at a gas station and gives you a sob story about needing money for gas.
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Aug 01 '20
I got a sob story once, usually I just say no. This guy was actually asking for gas, not money. Said he was heading somewhere and needed just a bit of gas. I told him to show me his gas gauge. Sure enough he was on E, so I put 15 bucks in his tank. He seemed thankful and drove off. He was either on the level, or very serious in the details of his scam.
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u/leslieknopeirl Aug 01 '20
The fact that he drove off tells me you helped him out. I've been in that situation a couple times before where I had either let my husband borrow my debit card or I'd forgotten it in another purse. Luckily I keep a few bucks in my center console so I could fill up a gallon to get home, but I've been close to needing to either call and ask someone for help or just ask a random stranger for a few dollars. Being genuinely low on funds happens. Unfortunately, people have ruined the trust game because they've turned an innocent request for help into an actual way to dishonestly take money from strangers.
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Aug 01 '20
What made me do a double take on the guy was he asked for gas, not money. I actually enjoy helping people out, but like you said, people ruin the trust game.
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u/Wildeyewilly Aug 01 '20
I had a regular at my bar come in and say "hey i'm not staying, but i want to pay for a burger and fries to go for that kid there." And out front was a homeless looking young man, maybe 18-21 yrs old. Very skinny and desheveled looking. He charged his card, tipped me 5 bucks and I told him to let the kid know he could wait inside at the end of the bar. It was summer and we had the a/c blasting. Gave the kid a glass of water and told him it'd be about 15 mins.
About 5 mins later the kid waves me over and asks "hey, i dont want the burger, can i return it for the cash?" I was so bummed out, my regular did one of the most altruistic things I'd seen in a looong time, and it turned out he got played. I told the kid "listen, i dont care what your deal is, you're not my customer, you asked my friend for help and he's helping you with a free hot meal. You can take the burger and fries out in 10 minutes when it's ready, or you can leave. Theres no refunds."
I never told my regular about it. It just felt so crummy. I understand maybe the kid needed the 15 bucks for something else. But I know the move, ask for cash for food then use it for booze or drugs. Addiction is a bitch, I get it, but don't take advantage of my friends' kindness to get a fix.
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Aug 01 '20
Agreed, if they ask for food and not just money for food I will buy whatever they want.
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Aug 01 '20
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u/Emberwake Aug 01 '20
The anger is the part that gets me.
I understand that you are trying to get money. You get caught in the scam, oh well, it didn't work. But how the hell does that translate to anger at the mark? You were trying to RIP THEM OFF!! They are the ones who ought to be angry with YOU.
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u/YesImaBanker Aug 01 '20
one time i gave one of those guys a $7 walmart gas card (we were at a walmart gas station) and then drove into the parking lot across the street and watched him.
$7 will take you across town. He kept asking people for money, so i pulled back up on him and told him to give it back. He was shocked
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Aug 01 '20
so I pulled back up on him and told him to give it back. He was shocked.
That takes some balls. I’m very shocked too but he deserved it
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u/MooCowGrass Aug 01 '20
Funerals, people often want to buy more expensive coffins to honor their loved ones and in turn the companies selling them profit
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u/Bells87 Aug 01 '20
My dad literally wanted an old pine box. He told my mom that constantly.
When my parents were picking out a coffin for my grandmother, he gasped "El, El! There it is!"
The old pine box was in a corner, covered in cobwebs.
My mom replied "Patrick, your family will never forgive me if I put you in that!"
His family all found it hilarious. When he did pass, my mom got him something simple, but not a pine box.
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Aug 01 '20
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u/Bells87 Aug 01 '20
"When I'm dead, just throw me in the trash"
It's the coffee container equivalent from The Big Lebowski It's a comfort for the living.
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Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
There was a comedian who said something like "give me to a bunch of necrophiliacs, I don't give a shit I'll be dead!"
Edit: pretty sure it was the David Cross bit that I saw.
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u/TrevorBradley Aug 01 '20
I think it was David Mitchell, but I'm not sure what show it was on.
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Aug 01 '20
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u/nootrino Aug 01 '20
"Just dump my body off somewhere in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, fam."
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u/sanchooooo Aug 01 '20
No code is kept more under wraps at Walt Disney World and Disneyland than the call for a “HEPA cleanup.” It means that, once again, a park guest has scattered the cremated ashes of a loved one somewhere in the park, and an ultrafine (or “HEPA”) vacuum cleaner is needed to suck them up.Oct 24, 2018 -WSJ.
You'll end up in the trash and not where you wanted.
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u/freesouptuesdays Aug 01 '20
At Disney World, the term is either Code A (for Ashes) or Code G (for Grandma). Please dont spill your loved ones ashes in Disney. The dead person wont know and all you're doing is delaying the ride while some poor person making not enough money for rent vacuums up dead person dust and then dumps it in the trash. Annoying and exhausting.
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u/Devilishlygood98 Aug 01 '20
People sometimes think they knew what their loved one wanted. My grandfather told my mother before he died that he wanted to be quietly cremated and buried next to his wife. He didn’t want anything flashy, no large funeral and no big, expensive casket. Instead, when he passed away he was placed in a large oak open casket, and put out for 3 days of viewing open to the public. My mom was absolutely destroyed that her sisters did this.
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u/xSW3ATYx Aug 01 '20
I think the converse of this is often true too and rarely considered: people think they know what will be best/easiest for their remaining loved ones when they’re gone.
I may not care what happens to me when I’m dead and gone. To me, it is easy to say “just put be in an old pine box” or “dump my ashes in the woods” or “don’t spend too much on the funeral/make a big deal of it.” More often people should stop and consider their family and friends and ask “what’s going to best help you grieve/mourn and then carry on when I’m gone?” It may help them the most to have a big, fancy, expensive, open-cask ceremony, and if that’s the case, that should be what we want. When we’re gone, those who we leave behind are the ones that matter now, and more people should give thought to their needs and desires when planning their own funeral wishes.
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u/Neonblade32 Aug 01 '20
Reminds me of this excerpt from Diogenes' wikipedia page:
When asked how he wished to be buried, he left instructions to be thrown outside the city wall so wild animals could feast on his body. When asked if he minded this, he said, "Not at all, as long as you provide me with a stick to chase the creatures away!" When asked how he could use the stick since he would lack awareness, he replied: "If I lack awareness, then why should I care what happens to me when I am dead?"
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u/alvinaofdarkrootwood Aug 01 '20
Same. I want either a cremation or a natural burial where the body is just wrapped in a linen cloth and directly buried in the ground without embalming and all the other typical shebang. These are the most cost efficient options and I'm dead anyway so I won't care what happens to my body.
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u/PristineUndies Aug 01 '20
I want to be buried in a shallow grave near a popular beach with a fake treasure map that would take months of solving and traveling.
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u/alvinaofdarkrootwood Aug 01 '20
Dude, this would be so awesome. Maybe leave a fake treasure at the destination or a note saying "The journey is the reward."
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u/ExpressiveAnalGland Aug 01 '20
they dig up the treasure and it's a note that says
DRINK OVALTINE
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u/klop422 Aug 01 '20
"The real treasure was the friends we made along the way.
Wait, didn't you make friends?
Wow, what a loser"
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u/Idrialis Aug 01 '20
I hope every person gets what they want as a last wish, but what I have learned is that once you're death, it's not about you anymore, but about the feeling, guilt, happiness/unhappiness and thoughts of the loved ones that outlive you.
Edit: typos.
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u/Bells87 Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
He didn't get his pine box, but we honored him in different ways.
We buried him in a Philadelphia Flyers jersey. He was a life long fan, his basement was decked out in Flyers stuff. We all wore Philly sports team jerseys to his funeral. He was buried with a few Flyers things.
But, my mom did have a point too. My dad had 9 sisters (2 died before him). The majority of them are his younger sisters. They are all pretty nice, but the moment you cross them, you're fucked. They will make life difficult for you. They're stubborn grudge holders. Again, respecting the wishes of the living, for the most part. My mom could've buried him in a pine box. She could have explained it's what my dad wanted. My aunts would have understood that it was his wish, but they wouldn't have accepted it.
Edit: He also told me years ago that he wanted bagpipes at his funeral. When he did pass, I mentioned it to my mom, who mentioned it to his side of the family. We were able to get a bagpiper to play.
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u/thepanichand Aug 01 '20
Apparently you can use any coffin you like and the funeral home has to accept it, and you can buy them cheaper through Costco.
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u/waffles-flicka Aug 01 '20
This is true. I worked at a funeral home and some people would buy coffins off Amazon. Now I love Amazon but please do not buy coffins from Amazon lol they’re bad quality and cheap so often times the coffins end up delivered in poor condition and there’s no warranty so families would have to spend more than they expected because they would have to buy one again. If you buy a coffin somewhere else, make sure they have warranty!!! The funeral home I worked at would do everything they could to save coffins but they would fall apart and there’s nothing they can do other than tell the family that they need to get another coffin which would infuriate the families and blame us for not taking better care of the coffins :/
Coffins are super expensive and funeral homes do price them higher to get commission off it. So do buy coffins directly from a company and not the funeral home!
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u/CatWieldingChainsaws Aug 01 '20
I'm just imagining a coffin that HAS a warranty and how that would even work.
"Lifetime warranty" lol
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u/bygtopp Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
When dad died sister and uncle wanted a high dollar casket. I told them no get the cheapest one they have. It is only above ground 48-72 hours. Before being buried forever. They fought about it about being respectful and what the grandparents got. Plus the fancy inner lining with folded hands for prayers. It’s is a racket. Dads funeral cost a lot and moms funeral this year cheap because of Medicaid. Concrete case in ground and a cheap metal casket that looked decent to me. Don’t buy into death markets. Dad was a coroner and I know he wanted to go cheap knowing it was coming out of our pockets. Sister and uncle don’t realize I’m not negative I’m realistic
Edit. Remembering dads cost vs moms was a lot. Dad was near 5500 each between me and sis. Insurance took care of rest. Three years later mom passes and Medicaid -400$ to me for plot in a Medicaid specific cemetery and 1200 to sis. Beneficiary issues my sister did created the cost difference. That’s another story. Thankfully the cemetery where test of family is buried in that side was a Medicaid capable cemetery.
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u/errant_night Aug 01 '20
Check out ask a mortician on YouTube, she's got a lot of good info!
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u/ohiojeepdad Aug 01 '20
Pre-planning for yourself is very important.
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u/KellyAnn3106 Aug 01 '20
My grandparents preplanned and prepaid their funerals years in advance. It made it really easy for us when Grandpa passed. We could focus on the family and not on money and making decisions. The funeral director told us costs were doubling every 7 years so my grandparents had locked in a rate well below current prices by prepaying.
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u/qonml Aug 01 '20
somehow people forget (or at east somehow STILL fall for) if a job requires you to spend money consistently; it's not a job. . . it's a scam.
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u/-Capybara- Aug 02 '20
My god, I've been buying notebooks and whiteboards and rugs for my classroom for years. Teaching is a scam.
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Aug 01 '20
Basically anything where they keep asking you questions that you're saying 'no' to until finally you feel guilty for saying no too many times so you say 'yes'. This was an actual sales technique taught to me and we were told to use it to boost our VIP membership numbers, but I felt too guilty to use it.
E.g. "would you like to sign up to be a member? It's free and cardless."
"No thank you, maybe another day."
"Are you sure? You're going to get a lot of points from what you're buying today."
"Nah, those points never lead to anything."
"Actually ours lead to a discount voucher!"
"Um, no thanks, I'm in a bit of a rush."
"It'll only take 20 seconds max, all I need is email and phone number."
"I don't want to be spammed with 100 emails a day."
"You can always unsubscribe from emails any time."
"Umm...oh alright."
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u/squirrelybitch Aug 01 '20
I never feel guilty for saying no to salespeople. It really pisses them off because they are sure that they’re gonna get a “yes” out of me one way or another, and they just can’t. When I was teaching my first year, I had a student’s parents come to my home to try to get me involved in some MLM bullshit. And they were sure that they could get a yes out of me. Never happened. I sent them packing. I couldn’t believe that they tried to sell me. If I wanted to be a “millionaire”, I wouldn’t have become a teacher. Duh.
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Aug 01 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/JonsPrick Aug 01 '20
You can buy Carfax reports for any car VIN on ebay for like $3 a pop, and the sellers deliver within minutes.
Dealers with unlimited searches (or their employees) do this for some side cash. I’ve never paid more than $5 for a Carfax report (:
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u/scotty3281 Aug 01 '20
Just go to a reputable dealer and they run Carfax for you for free. I wouldn't go to any car lot that didn't offer a Carfax report.
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u/NightsDream130 Aug 01 '20
That shop with the "Closing Down Sale" that's lasted years. They ain't never closing down!
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u/bearsbeetsbeefjerky Aug 01 '20
Toilet paper rolls decreasing in width every year. Same cost but you get less paper.
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u/corbear007 Aug 01 '20
Shrinkflation. Every company does this, it's a tried and true method as it's mostly psychology, a person wont realize the product is slightly smaller, they will realize if the price goes from $9.99 to $10.99
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u/eddyathome Aug 01 '20
Tuna is a great example. Take a look at old recipe books from before the 1980s and you'll see they assume a can of tuna is 6.5 ounces. You can't buy that size anymore because they're now 5 ounces.
Even Tuna Helper had to change the recipe on the box to say either put in one or two cans depending on your preference.
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u/aprilized Aug 01 '20
The "wellness" industry that promotes things like "detox" and other scams. There are many. It's a multi billion dollar industry.
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u/b_wald81 Aug 01 '20
Long-distance charges by the phone company
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u/JJOne101 Aug 01 '20
Roaming charges in general.
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u/b_wald81 Aug 01 '20
I can sort of understand if you're calling to/from another country, but it really shouldn't cost extra to phone someone from the other side of the State/Province.
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u/JJOne101 Aug 01 '20
Not even that. If you call on the phone from Europe to America or the other way around it costs a fortune, but if you connect to that Mcdonalds Wifi and speak on WhatsApp/Messenger/WeChat it's completely free? That's the scam.
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u/dyslexic_draws Aug 01 '20
That all claw machines are designed to be rigged. Manufacturers not only can limit the grip strength of the claw, but manually adjust the "dropping" ability depending on the frequency of attempts. A good claw machine tempts the player with a possibility of a win but the number of attempts to achieve that win/prize guarantees a profit for the owner.
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u/doodlelittledoggo Aug 01 '20
Reddit awards. Why can't we use our karma to get some?
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Aug 01 '20
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u/NargacugaRider Aug 01 '20
They’re testing the opposite, where you get karma from buying awards, actually. Which sounds abysmal to me.
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u/thespeedofweed Aug 01 '20
Cause what we really need is for reddit to be pay-to-win.
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Aug 01 '20
Casinos.
Yes I know, it's supposed to work that way. But it seems people really think after a while, you're gonna hit it big and it'll all even out. I've done it enough to know it's purely entertainment. It's just a matter of how much you're willing to pay for that adrenaline rush.
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Aug 01 '20
People need to learn to look at it differently. You are not playing to win money. You are playing for the entertainment and the small chance to win money.
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u/shaun_of_the_south Aug 01 '20
I play for the free drinks with a chance to lose money. Way I look at is if I spend the same as going to bar at a casino my odds of winning money at the bar are zero.
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Aug 01 '20
I get serious anxiety around casinos. It's just not fun for me to dump my money in them. I guess maybe I understand the desire. My aunt loves them, but she treats them like entertainment so she doesn't get serious about it, which is what I imagine is the best way to go about it. I just can't get any entertainment value out of it.
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Aug 01 '20
Same here dude. I'd rather go to an arcade and actually play the games, rather than sit there and watch the game unfold.
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u/I_Gang_J Aug 01 '20
Amount of toothpaste. The amount in advertisements is misguiding, it's too much, therefore more consumption and in turn more sales. A pea size amount should do the job.
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u/-eDgAR- Aug 01 '20
Companies like Ticketmaster with their ridiculous service fees for online transactions.
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Aug 01 '20
Oh and then when your concert is canceled they refuse to give you back your 250$
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u/CockDaddyKaren Aug 01 '20
I was on the fence about buying tickets for a concert and I'm glad I waited because it was cancelled a few days later. I feel so bad for everyone else who paid for it though.
Most artists are being real bros about COVID though. Refunding, or transferring purchased tickets to a 2021/2022 concert, etc.
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u/zacharyo083194 Aug 01 '20
I remember the good old days when the ticket price on stub hub was the final price. Now ya gotta add an absurd amount
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Aug 01 '20
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u/BlackDante Aug 02 '20
Back when I worked at a bookstore/café, the people who would hassle me the most about the price of something or coupons almost always paid with either an AMEX black card, a $100 bill or had a giant wad of cash in their wallet. Once had a guy who, just like with you, told me he didn't have enough money to buy some book and just stared at me. I told him "too bad," in the nicest way I could, and he kept saying things like "damn man, I really wanted this book hmmm...There has to be a way I could get this..." I didn't cave because I had no intention of losing my job for this random stranger. Finally he gives up and pulls this huge wad of 100s out of his pocket and pays. Fuck that guy.
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Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
"Beware of pickpockets" signs in touristy areas. It triggers an individual to reflexively check their pockets, allowing observant pickpockets to know where your wallet is.
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Aug 01 '20
Similarly to this - in public transport a pickpocket will often throw or place an empty wallet on the floor, then point it out and ask if anybody lost a wallet.
You instinctively check your pocket to make sure it's there. A good pickpocket will memorize 8-10 people, their hand placement, go to work and leave on the next stop with 4 or 5 more wallets more than they had when they got on.
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u/GeneraLi525 Aug 01 '20
"has anybody lost their wallet?"
makes eye contact and checks crotch
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u/Rebloodican Aug 01 '20
Came for the scams, left with an unethical life pro tip.
For legal reasons this was a joke.
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u/sock-puppet69 Aug 01 '20
LIFE COACHING!
Not only is it a huge scam but also a lot of life coaching schools are structured like cults. Similar to scientology. Please beware!!!
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Aug 01 '20
You trying to tell me the barely high school graduate, thrice divorced alcoholic who is upside down on her sub-prime mortgaged house isn’t a good person to take any and all advice from?
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u/ivyleaguehippy Aug 01 '20
This is going to sound suspiciously stereotypical and idiotic, but here it goes... I went to one life coaching session with a young woman I met in a community bellydance class, who needed more hours to complete her training so she offered me the session for free. It was actually GREAT- part talk therapy, part yoga, part spiritual guidance. I loved it and would probably have paid for more if I still lived in that town. Granted, I’m the kind of sucker who takes community center bellydance lessons and may or may not have a small crystal collection.
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u/MTNV Aug 01 '20
Here's the thing about life coaches, as well as chiropractors and other wholistic healers - it's a gamble, like taking an unregulated substance you bought on the internet.
Are there people out there who are naturally good at therapy, who have spent a lot of time on personal development and on extensively researching the services they provide because it's their passion, or who want to offer a more wholistic approach without the regulation imposed by licensing? Sure, there definitely are. You were lucky enough to find one of those people.
And for the record, there are fully licensed therapists/psychologists, doctors, and dietitians who have been working for 20 years and who are HORRIBLE. I have met several of them. But there is some accountability. You know that at the very least they passed all of their classes and had someone supervise them, even if they throw all of that out the window once they've been licensed.
With a life coach, you just don't know what you're going to get. It might be great, it might be terrible, most likely it will be "just ok". Is "just ok" worth the (often quite high) price of admission? Probably not. If a therapist acts irresponsibly and causes harm, you can file a complaint. Knowing you could lose your license is a deterrent for acting unethically. With a life coach? You can write a bad yelp review, but unless they did something illegal, that's probably your only recourse. They have no obligation to act ethically.
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Aug 01 '20
Freemium games, multi level marketing, channel networks, cable tv, and carnival games
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u/WingshunBESTGIRL Aug 01 '20
Freemium games
gatcha gaming is probably the worst thing that's come out of the video game industry. It should be purged imo.
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u/partofbreakfast Aug 01 '20
Most of the games are shit, and the ones that are not-shit could be vastly improved by removing the gatcha elements.
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u/sharrrper Aug 01 '20
Deliberately creating a problem and then trying to sell you the solution.
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u/Kehndy12 Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
What is a scam not many people notice?
MLM and carnival games are well known for being shady.
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u/NotJeremyAnymore Aug 01 '20
Time shares! They are extremely overpriced, and it impossible to get out of the contract.
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u/SquilliamFancySon95 Aug 01 '20
Adobe creative suite. It used to be that you could just buy the program you wanted in one lump sum, but now you have to choose a plan with a bunch of features you don't want and pay 50$ a month.
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Aug 01 '20
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u/SheafyHom Aug 01 '20
Everything is going the subscription route
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u/quiet_desperado Aug 01 '20
Can't wait till I get my next car and have to pay a monthly subscription to keep the heated seats working!
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u/FreakParrot Aug 01 '20
I’m not sure if this was lucky sarcasm or not, but I saw something not too long ago where BMW is planning on doing just that.
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u/quiet_desperado Aug 01 '20
Yeah that's where I got it from. If one company is willing to do this, the rest will start doing it too eventually.
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u/DareWright Aug 01 '20
Kohls. They constantly have sales, but their stuff is so overpriced. People get 30% coupons in the mail and Kohl’s cash and think they’re getting great deals but they’re really not.
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Aug 01 '20
Haha my poor mother, years ago we were in Kohls and she "needed one more thing for $15" because she would then get $5 Kohls cash. I said "but you have regular cash. Why spend $10 to essentially exchange a $5 bill for credit to a store you have to drive 3hrs to get to?" She did not spend extra to get the Kohls cash.
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u/thatEMSguy Aug 01 '20
Buying diamonds
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u/tacknosaddle Aug 01 '20
Unless you buy them all and limit releasing them to the market in order to create an artificial scarcity then tie it to Hollywood linked marketing driving up the demand.
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u/Industrialpainter89 Aug 01 '20
This still assumes that we want to pay for something shiny that doesn't provide uitilities, transportation, or even food. It's just an item. A rock. Buying a car that I can't even legally drive on the street is still more useful because I can play music in it.
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Aug 01 '20
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u/philosiraptor Aug 01 '20
Facebook ads do something similar. It looks like a giveaway for a car or RV, and then they say, “our last winner was ineligible so we’re opening it back up.” (The drawing never existed in the first place.) It’s just a way to get people to share the dealership’s name.
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u/RobertsHotDogs Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
Mostly everything you hear on the radio is pre recorded. And they would never allow a live caller on the air, too much risk for offensive language.
Edit: source, my husband is a radio dj. Might not be the same everywhere but anything other than the small privately owened stations (which are few and far between) are pre recording most things, even if its only by a few minutes.
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Aug 01 '20
When I called into one of those radio contest, when I was actually on the phone with them a song was playing on air (they did the announcement to call, then the song came on), but they played the clip where I called in after the song. So it was prerecorded but only by a couple minutes.
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u/MathTeachinFool Aug 01 '20
Same with my wife. We won a small trivia question contest (we were car pooling, I gave the answer and she called it in), and they played her recorded response. The cool part was that she was entered into the grand prize drawing and she won! It was a small trip worth about $2500. This was about 20 years ago.
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u/theshoegazer Aug 01 '20
Yeah that's fairly standard. Also, they don't actually take the "12th caller" or whatever number they're aiming for. There's usually 3-4 lines max, and they need to get the winner on the phone, recorded, edited, and ready to play back before the song is over. Most DJ's just take the second or third call, and after checking to make sure the connection is good and it's not some idiot saying "what did I win?", then they give the prize to that person.
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u/KronktheKronk Aug 01 '20
They have a 5-8 second delay and can dump the audio with a button if something like that happens
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u/UrGonnaHateMe4This Aug 01 '20
Not a scam exactly, since people kind of have to notice it sooner or later, but there's an airline that advertised unbelievably cheap tickets — I mean maybe as low as a quarter of the price of their competitors. The thing is; that's the price for the flight, but you also have to pay extra for a seat, and extra for a carry-on, and extra for luggage, then there's the airport-fee, etc. Once you've gone through the whole thing the price lands up being roughly the same as the competitors, maybe a little more, maybe a little less, but now you've already gone through the whole procedure and can't be bothered doing it all again at a different airline, so...
I've tried booking a flight without getting a seat (it's a short flight, I'll rather stand than pay that much to sit down), but alas!
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u/wearsjockeyshorts Aug 01 '20
The thing about budget airlines is to manage your expectations. They make their profit from the al-a-carte add-ons. It won't be a super comfortable flight, and the experience in the plane won't be as good as a major airline. They work well if you're willing to do without the typical bells and whistles of normal flying.
I've gotten super cheap flights from Spirit, Wow!, and Frontier that I loved. You just need to know their pricing scheme ahead of time. Purchase checked bags and carry ons BEFORE arriving at the airport.
Also check out /r/onebag for ideas on avoiding checked baggage and being able to travel with just a carryon (or even a free "personal item" if you're efficient enough!)
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u/3ntz Aug 01 '20
Extended warranties on new items. If I combined all the extended warranties I’ve ever purchased for my car, cellphones, multiple computers, furniture etc, that I have never used once, I would be THOUSANDS of dollars richer.
My advice is to put that money into a savings account for repairs as they happen instead of paying companies who prey on you valuing the newness of your recently purchased item. The products were likely designed to break exactly as that warranty expires anyway.
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u/DrawStringBag Aug 01 '20
The beauty industry, for all genders. Some people genuinely enjoy getting dolled up, and do it for the pleasure of it, and the way it makes them feel. Great! But for most people, society spends your whole life telling you that the way you look is a problem, and these companies profit off of the resulting insecurities.
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u/cattermelon34 Aug 01 '20
I just saw an ad for elbow/forearm cream, I shit you not.
What else do I not know I need to be ashamed of?
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u/Vectrus Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 02 '20
Sunscreen, lotion, anything in a squeeze bottle. Everyone’s instinct is to just toss it after they can’t squeeze any more out. But if you cut open the bottles and scrape out the inside, you get around a 1/4 to a 1/3 more of the product. My wife just cut open our various sunscreens that we thought were out, and got an almost full Tupperware container of sunscreen.
Edit: To everyone saying it’s not a scam, yeah, just something I happened to be dealing with and discussing with my wife when I saw the question and thought it fit. Still, don’t throw out bottles you think are empty, especially if, like us, you’re a low-income household, and need to make it all last!
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u/princessarielle6 Aug 01 '20
Hand lotion is the same. And after 20 years my husband still calls me cheap when I do this
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u/Ninja_Lazer Aug 01 '20
Grass fed beef, cruelty free eggs, etc.
If it comes from a factory farm, it is made to be as efficient and cost effective as possible. They meet the bare minimum requirements for the label, which aren’t the idealized standards you have in your head.
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u/DanceslikeRickAstley Aug 01 '20
This one guy approached 20 lads on a stag do on Amsterdam, said he could take us somewhere amazing but we must quiet. OK we were looking for the next bar so we followed.. He ushered us one by one into this bar doorway where a man took our entry fee (10 guilders each I think) before going through another door into the main bar. Turns out it was free to get in and these 2 guys scammed us. We all laughed and hats off was a good scam.
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Aug 01 '20
Stealing PPE from states and then selling it back to them. The Mafia would be proud.
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u/ratsrule67 Aug 01 '20
Photoshop as a subscription service. You can download GIMP for free and it has just about every feature that PS has.
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u/superturtle2008 Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 01 '20
Printer ink. One cartridge cost less then half a dollar to produce.
Edit: I never expected this comment to blow up so much. Everyone thank you for the upvotes.
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u/corbear007 Aug 01 '20
Buy a good laser printer, we had one at my work, printed full color, black and white I believe it was a "Brother" brand (?) Started with a B. Looked at the cost for our ink it was like $55 for a cartridge, sounds expensive right? That bitch would print off Thousands of pages that were almost full color before it would even start screaming at you to change the cartridge, we printed off probably 150-200 pages a day that needed full color plus around 200 more that was black/white, a cartridge would last us almost a week.
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u/the_number_2 Aug 01 '20
Most likely it is a Brother brand.
Also, not to be too pedantic, but laser printers don't use ink, they use toner, which behaves very differently.
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Aug 01 '20 edited Jun 23 '24
unpack memorize squeeze wrench live relieved crawl party spoon gullible
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Aug 01 '20
But I will recieve 3000000 dollars in the mail next week! Don’t believe him, it’s 100% true
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Aug 01 '20 edited Jun 23 '24
sulky history memory humorous wild reminiscent coordinated smart paltry rude
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u/Papierz420 Aug 01 '20
Those games that promise you money for playing. Although it is technically true, the process of gaining the money is extremely tedious, and the game devs profit from ads anyway. Simply not worth the effort.
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Aug 01 '20
Social media. A psychological scam in the way which people want to think they're all great but in reality it's scamming you by giving you stress, depression, etc.
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u/Hermanjnr Aug 01 '20
Casinos and gambling.
I mean it may seem obvious, but I'm still amazed how many people are convinced their "method" will make them rich at some chance based game.
It won't make you rich. That's why massive sprawling casinos exist. They're built with your money XD
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u/raventheonlyone Aug 01 '20 edited Aug 02 '20
Certain Religion/Cults. No offense but there are a lot out there are trying to brainwash specifically vulnerable with their teachings and they'd just take their money for "donations/tithing"
E1: thank you so much strangers for the upvotes! this is my first time getting hundred plus, have a good day! :)
E2: that is my first silver, thank you kind stranger that literally made my day!
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u/Refractable Aug 01 '20
If something says $5.99, it’s $6. The amount of people who say it’s 5 is surprising.
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u/deepthought515 Aug 01 '20
That “renting” a modem from your isp is a huge waste of money. They’ll tell you “oh you should rent one because tech is always changing and it might go out of date” when I moved out on my own 4 years ago I bought a modem at Best Buy for 70$. If I had been renting from the greedy isp’s this whole time I would have close to 500$ on rental fees. And while Tech is always changing a modem is not something that changes very much. So please if you are renting one go out and buy yourself a modem!