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Priced Out: 30 Things That Used To Be Budget-Friendly Until They Became Trendy
Let's admit right away that customs and fashion are definitely a two-way street. Throughout the centuries of human history, the rich and famous often came up with something that "mere mortals" then happily adopted. Even if following these trends turned out to be detrimental to the state of their wallet.
But there are many reverse examples - when the powers that be were inspired by the aesthetics and hobbies of ordinary people. And I must say, far from always has this inspiration led to something good. Often the opposite happens. And so, in this viral thread on the AskReddit community, netizens recall cases when moneyed people adopted the hobbies of the poor, thus nearly ruining it for them.
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#3
Food banks. My local food bank put out a news article basically saying that rich people need to stop using the food bank as a “life hack” to lower their grocery bills.
Perhaps the classic example in this situation is sports. More precisely, professional sports. From a truly popular hobby accessible to almost everyone, in a little over a century, sport has turned into a multi-billion dollar business, becoming, in fact, a kind of offshoot of show business. Do you want a good example? Please - according to the results of 2022, as IMDb states, global gross box office takings reached $25.9 billion.
At the same time, during the same period, the NFL alone reported a total revenue of approximately $18.6 billion. And that's just one league in one single sport! Of course, you'll be happy to throw the ball with friends or kids in the park for the weekend, but then in the evening you will still sit in front of the TV and turn on the next NFL game. But, you see, it will still be essentially different sports.
#5
Ebay. It used to be so useful to get all kinds of cheap or unique things. Then more and more big commercial sellers joined the club and eventually ebay itself forgot about what and who made their platform a success in the first place.
#6
It’s interesting reading all of the responses here. Really the underlying issue is, you guessed it - the Internet. Lots of the things here used to be cheap because the market for them was inefficient… e.g. they were things only known by people in certain communities (certain cuts of meat, thrift stores, certain travel destinations, etc.) Basically the internet enabled the masses to “discover” all of these things and drive demand, and thus the price, up for all of them.
"The commercialization of sports began in the second half of the 20th century in Europe and North America, mainly with the development of television, but the main work was, of course, the internet," says Michael Spivakovsky, a sports journalist and YouTube blogger from Ukraine, to whom Bored Panda reached out for a comment. "It sounds unbelievable, but when advertising appeared on the jerseys of some soccer teams in Europe in the '70s, it was seriously dubbed a 'disgrace' to the sport. Today, advertising space is even sold on the inside of jerseys."
“On the other hand, the gap between ordinary people and professional athletes has now become absolutely incredible. If half a century ago you supported a local team as 'the next door guys', today there is a clear gradation: there are amateur sports, semi-professional, like student sports, and on the top of it there are professional leagues, and it's a completely different level of fitness and financial power."
"Some people like it - after all, what, in fact, is the difference between the Super Bowl and, say, the next Marvel blockbuster? Is it the plot denouement - in sports, unlike cinema, it can be unpredictable. Many are upset that the sport has lost its roots, has lost spiritual connection with the common people it all came from. But a trend is a trend - and no one can reverse it," Michael summarizes.
#8
Many ethnic foods in the US. The really tasty stuff might be dirt-cheap and off the beaten path until the yuppies and hipsters get wind of it, then it’s found in every strip mall at an inferior quality for $30 a plate.
In fact, we are seeing a spiral movement. First, some trend or hobby appears among ordinary people. Then it becomes popular, gaining more and more followers. Then big money comes, the trend gets gradually commercialized - and social media only accelerates this process at times more. Business then replaces singles, and soon this social phenomenon becomes another commercial industry. Only to eventually give way to something new in human minds and hearts...
#10
Burning Man, Collectable Card Games, Retro Video Games, GOING TO CONCERTS...like seriously, just pick a hobby. Once the re-sellers get into it, prices go through the roof, and nobody can afford to do anything.
#11
Buying a “fixer upper” home and spending weekends working on it. I was really looking forward to that.
After all, such is our life, and it has rarely happened that ordinary people, having stood in the way of the colossal business machine, have succeeded in this confrontation. So each of us actually has two paths. The first is to accept it all and try to enjoy even the commercialized version of our hobby. The second - to oppose somehow, and who knows - if we're lucky, then publish a book about the story of our success, earn a lot of money and become famous... [darn], it seems that there is only one path after all. Okay, if you know other ways, please let us know in the comments below!
#15
Carhartt. Blue collar workers needed the durability, then celebrities wore “fashionably” and drove up the price
#17
Eating salmon. Fish used to be poor man's food. Now you pay absurd amounts for the tiniest piece.
#18
Proper local pubs, affected by expanding cities ( Manchester in my case). Ruined by greedy breweries trying to attract upmarket clientele, or selling out for demolition and the building of apartments that locals cannot afford…
#20
Camping. Many private campgrounds require you to tell them the age of your RV. If it's older they'll refuse your reservation.
#22
Florida beaches. It used to be a cheap thing to do with the family. Mom and pop hotels and local diners. Now it is $300/hotels with $5 coffee. Parking is expensive and there is little beach access. Kinda [is bad] to see it happen.
#23
Unrestricted land Everything gets an HOA now, and they try to force you into their jurisdiction. My family fought an HOA targeting my grandmother's house. She had lived there for 10 years before the HOA was even an idea, or the new area with big houses was cleared for construction before that. We ended up having Rock in her houses, skirting, and rock in under her deck due to not having the money to fight an HOA she never signed on to. If an HOA comes out where I live (which might happen in the next 15 years), I will fight them tooth and nail for spite alone.
#24
Champion brand clothes. I had a lot when I was a kid because it was the cheapest possible and now all that s**t is considered “vintage”
#25
Life. "poor" people I knew were always happy with the simple pleasures. Now even this simple pleasures are almost impossible to afford unless they're necessary and your break your back to pay for them so you almost resent them. Rich people are literally ruining life.
#27
Football (soccer). It used to be a working class sport played by and watched by working class people. Then money came into it and the working class was priced out of watching.
#29
McDonald’s. It was originally a place for a quick eat because it was cheap, but now it’s just mid food for high prices.
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