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“People Just Don’t Understand”: 22 Things People Think Are Scams But They Are Not
Article created by: Gabija Palšytė
When it comes to avoiding scams, most of us would rather be safe than sorry. You might not be able to prove that an investment opportunity is dangerous or predatory. But if it’s raising some red flags in your head, it’s best to steer clear, just in case.
However, sometimes people are a little too quick to label something a scam. Just because you don’t understand how it works, your great-uncle warned you that he lost money on it or you feel like you’re getting ripped off doesn’t mean that you’re actually being scammed. Redditors have recently been discussing legitimate industries, tools and services that definitely were not designed to pull a fast one on you, despite what you might have heard. So we hope you’ll learn something new from this list, and be sure to upvote the replies that you believe many people could benefit from reading!
This post may include affiliate links.
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#2
Service industry in general. I recently hired a plumber that took care of a problem in like half an hour. Yes the price was high for "only" half an hour work, but I paid for someone with the experience to diagnose the problem quickly, knowledge on how to abate the problem, and tools that I don't have.
Same goes for good mechanics, electricians, landscapers, etc.
#4
Chip bags being full of "air". It's actually nitrogen that's intentionally added to the bags to keep them from getting smashed to dust among other benefits.
#5
Unclaimed property letters. Don't go through a specific company but instead file through your states department of revenue for review and claims!
#6
Yes, your dog groomer does have to shave your matted dog. No it does not mean we are lazy.
If i tried to brush out 2 months worth of matting in one session, it would take hours and possibly days(depending on severity) of straight brushing. It would be excruciatingly painful and your dog's skin would be so raw they'd start to bleed from brush burn.
We aren't lazy, we just wont hurt your dog. Even if "Fluffy's birthday is tomorrow and he has to look good for pictures!"
#7
People conflate “scam” and “bad deal” constantly.
Just because it’s a poor investment or bad deal doesn’t mean it’s a scam.
#8
Most government services actually work really well.
A bunch of random stuff that you want or need to do, just look up if there's a government service that helps with it. A bunch of times there are, they are free (or very cheap), and the service you get is quite good.
#9
Vet care. They’re not trying to scam you out of money, the exams/rechecks, tests, preventatives are necessary.
#10
9/10 times your mechanic isn’t scamming you, sometimes you have to take apart near half the car just to get to 1 bolt so you can change the oil and prices reflect the additional time and labor otherwise you’re taking apart and rebuilding cars for free.
#11
Retail price vs manufacturer cost
People get shocked to hear that revenue margin is like 10x, and think the manufacturer is a scammer. People simply don’t know what it costs to operate a business.
#12
Restaurant prices in high COL areas. People look at a menu and think “I could make that $16 burger for $3 at home.”
You’re not paying for the burger. You’re paying for the staff, the rent, the utilities, the cleaning, the build-out, the maintenance, the linen service, the insurance, etc etc.
In a city like SF or NYC, if menu prices went up with the COL so that back of house actually got paid true living wages, that burger should be more like $30.
And for owners, it’s typically a really bad deal. Restaurant owners generally make little to no money for a job that requires virtually constantly being on-call for when the toilet backs up or the fridge goes down or a line cook doesn’t show up. A 2-3% margin would be considered a decent profit. I’ve known many restaurant owners who work for years and end up with nothing to show for it.
#13
Overtime increases my taxes!
#14
Tax brackets. People think that if they make more, they'll be taxed more on everything they make, so they'll actively try to make (or report making) less money to avoid "paying more".
But those taxes only apply to new money that you make above each threshold. I'll give an example because it can be a bit hard to explain.
Let's say the tax bracket is 20% for above $60,000 and 30% for above $100,000, and that you make $105,000. You will only pay 30% taxes on that last $5,000. You will pay 20% taxes on the $40,000 between the 60k and 100k. You will not pay any taxes on the first 60k.
People often think that all 105k will be taxed at 30%. That's simply not the case.
#15
Some (not all) of the online sites for glasses. I've spent a fraction of what I used for a single pair of glasses and got three new pair. The quality was fine, and the fit was good. As long as you use the tools offered and know your measurements you can save a ton of $$.
#16
Most types of insurance. Yes, whole / universal life insurance in all its permutations are scams. But many types of insurance are not.
A lot of people have trouble understanding that insurance is mostly to protect you from catastrophic loss. It is not intended that you should be making frequent claims on your car or homeowner's insurance, though many try and conclude it's a "scam" when their premiums go up or their coverage is cancelled.
Things like term life and long term disability insurance are coverages which you *hope* you will never need, and it might seem like a waste of money if you don't. The proper perspective is that your premiums (after the insurer's profit margin) go to help people who have lost a loved one, or suffered a life-changing disability. Both types of coverage can give you some serious peace of mind, which has value in and of itself.
I paid long term disability income insurance premiums for 31 years and never needed it, thank heavens. It bought a lot of peace of mind. I also paid various term life insurance premiums over my working years, several thousand dollars I estimate. Several years ago received a modest six-figure life insurance payout when my wife died of cancer, which replaced about six years' worth of her income. It was just enough of a cushion to let me make adjustments to my expenses, and to ease into retirement. Definitely not a scam.
While we're at it, though, all used car warranties are 110% scam.
#17
As a mechanic, Fluid changes that aren't your normal oil change. I.E. transmission fluid and filter, differential, coolant, and brake fluid. It all needs to be changed on a regular basis, and for the same reason as oil. Now, admittedly the service writers tend to do a bad job of explaining why.
#18
Pet Insurance. While there are certainly bad companies, there are good ones. We've saved $30,000+ over the past 7 years after accounting for the annual premiums (which we've seen go up and up and up recently).
#19
Renters insurance.
Had to involve my renter's insurance a few years ago when my upstairs neighbors flooded their apartment. Called my insurance company and they handled everything. The only things I had to do were send in some pictures of the damage and a list of what was lost and they just handed me a check for a few grand to replace it all.
Totally worth the roughly $110/year that it costs.
#20
Pharmaceutical companies are not trying to keep you sick to be able to sell you more meds.
The reason for that is because *there are many pharmaceutical companies* (and even more smaller biotech companies) that are in fierce competition with each other. If company A can sell something that’s 20% better than company B’s product they aren’t going to hold it back to protect company B’s profits.
Mike Goslin 2 months ago
This is only true for generic d***s. When a d**g is still under patent, Company A will sell it for as much as the market will bear, because there is no company "B" to compete with them.
#21
Most large charities. TLDR: Once a non-profit gets to a certain size it looks scam even when it's doing good work.
The idea of a staff making too much or a bad spend ratio ignores a lot of reality.
Once any organization gets to a certain size, overhead becomes necessary. You eventually need an IT dept, an HR, lawyers on retainer, management, etc... all of which throw that ratio into the crapper.
For staff if you have a dozen volunteers that work for free or one paid worker with specialized knowledge of whatever the focus of the charity is, the paid worker will almost ALWAYS be more effective over the long run.
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