Not So Obvious Consumer Rip offs
A few weeks ago while visiting the doctors office, the nurse needed to draw blood for a couple of tests. When she pulled out the pad that she needed to place under his arm, I laughed and pointed out that it was a puppy pad. Exactly like the ones we have in our hall closet for the accidents our dogs might have.
The nurse laughed back and pointed out that she bet she paid a lot less for her’s then we did for ours…
Got me thinking…and shopping actually.
Soon I did a survey of items at Petsmart to see just how much people are paying for items that are marked for "pets."
What I uncovered was:
Puppy pads - $25.99 alternative - Bed pads from Wal-mart - $7.99
Canned cheese treat - $7.99 alternative - Canned Cheez Whiz - $4.99
Puppy pads for dogs in heat $5.99 alternative - Panty liners - $0.99
Puppy wipes - $6.99 alternative - Baby wipes $2.99
That’s just a small sampling of just how consumers are being ripped off because they love their pets.
Another overpriced items I uncovered was allergy pills! I had ran out of Clariton and wasn’t near my pharmacy to pick up another box so I ran into the Dollar Store that was conveniently close. I picked up a pack of their off brand for $2.99. When I opened the package, what I found was it WAS indeed Clariton. The packaging was for the same product and by the SAME manufacturer even. Clariton at the pharmacy ran $12.99 for the same exact stuff.
I’m sure there are plenty of other areas that witness a spike in pricing and I’m sure many of you can tell me where those spikes are.
What are some of the overpriced items you’ve found and what was the alternative?
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POSTED IN: MomGadget
10 opinions for Not So Obvious Consumer Rip offs
Kpriss
Mar 3, 2008 at 2:11 pm
(there’s nothing crossing my mind right now to contribute, but I absolutely had to share my laughs when finding out that when you opened up the dollar store pack, you found Clariton inside! It’s just too much! and that was by accident! I can’t even imagine how many products like this can be found out there!)
Gayla
Mar 3, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I should take a picture of the packaging at some point. Right there on the foil packing - Novartis — it was unbelievable.
Bonita
Mar 3, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I am not shocked. It just amazes me that more people haven’t noticed.
A word of caution. I do not buy products that I ingest from the Dollar Stores. Check out this link:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/toothpaste.asp
Gayla
Mar 3, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Bonita - that is a valuable point you make too. I read labels on everything and this particular instance involved product from Novartis here in the U.S. perhaps it was overstock items, but it worked.
miracle fruit
Mar 3, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Well spotted - I’m always really careful not to buy overpriced items. It’s not just pet supplies!
Lilu
Mar 3, 2008 at 11:09 pm
As a “horse dork” as my husband likes to call me, I always cringe when I see wood shavings and tiny packages of alfa alfa for small animals being sold in pet stores. I can go out and buy a full bale of good-quality alfa alfa for the same price as what’s being charged for a tiny bag of the exact same product.
Bonita
Mar 4, 2008 at 4:10 am
Gayla - I’m glad that the Claritin you found was US manufactured. And yes, many items sold at the dollar stores are overstock.
One of biggest overpriced items I’ve come across are athletic shoes. There was a story last year on 20/20 that showed that the off brand athletic shoe which cost around $25.00 lasted longer in tests than the name brand shoe which cost $120.00. If only I could convince by kids…..
CraziestGadgets.com
Mar 4, 2008 at 6:20 am
Most pet items are overpriced. “Pet” tennis balls are like 2x as much as regular ones. Pet toys too- stuffed animals cost much more than they would in the kids section. KMart seems to have good prices on pet items.
Chloe
Mar 4, 2008 at 4:16 pm
My craft glue! It’s $13 from the professional beading store, and drops down to $6 if you watch the sales at the “big box” craft stores.
Newborns, Infants and Toddlers OH MY!
Mar 4, 2008 at 6:08 pm
On the opposite side of the fence, I have been told that antibiotics for animals that are used for many human infections are much less expensive.
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