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Most of us like to think the world is a fair place. We rent-to-own appliances to repair the kitchen, pay to set up a router, and pack on ink cartridges for our printers that seem to have an insatiable appetite for these overpriced refills.

And there’s nothing wrong about it until you pause and think for a moment. Are we all just normalizing the ways companies make a profit off us without even realizing it?

When someone posted the question “What is clearly a scam but is so normalized people don’t notice?” on r/AskReddit it surely resonated with many. Amassing 85.7k upvotes and 47.1k comments, we have some of the most interesting and insightful responses that will make you go “wait a moment!”

#1

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Most mega churches... I remember an interview with Kenneth Copeland talking about how he needed a private jet to spread religion

GrandTadpole18 , Karl Fredrickson Report

#2

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Minimum wages staying the same, while the price of virtually everything else rises

Mcreemouse , Sharon McCutcheon Report

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Ozacoter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s crazy. The minimum salary in Spain stayed the same for about a decade. Even working 50h a week with that salary didn’t give you a decent life. Luckily the new left government is raising it. It is still too low for the rent and cost of living but it’s an improvement.

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#3

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Funerals and everything to do with them. The funeral industry has insane pricing. Some of the funeral homes and vendors are even predatory, getting grieving families to pay upwards of tens of thousands of dollars, because “that’s what the deceased would have wanted”.

chiggenNuggs , Rhodi Lopez Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I personally don’t understand the big lavish funerals. Your dead so why do you care how your send of goes. I don’t care if I have a memorial, ceremony etc. I want to be disposed of as cheap as possible coz I don’t want my family to be in debt or pay thousands of dollars to legally dispose of me.

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#4

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Planned obsolescence, where products are deliberatly designed to have a defect or worse performance shortly after the warranty has expired.

TheBassMeister , Markus Spiske Report

#5

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized ''The customer is always right"

Biggest scam of all- the customer is usually an idiot and looking to get free stuff.

Corner_beat , Johann Walter Bantz Report

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Lunar Bicycle
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The original saying made perfect sense: “The customer is always right, in matters of taste.” If a customer wanted wear something ugly or eat something gross, you helped them out with a smile. It’s their money and their business, and you’re just there to facilitate that purchase. But once it got shortened and lost that meaning, it became a huge pain in the ass for employees and businesses, and a license to act like an entitled douche to customers.

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#6

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized The US tax system. “We know how much money you owe, but it’s up to you to figure it out and if it’s not right, we’re going to penalize you for not understanding the convoluted code.”

JeromeBaritone , Leon Dewiwje Report

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is so weird. In my country, all the necessary data is fileld in. In most cases I don't have to file anything at all, my employer does that for me, automatically.

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#7

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized The fact that so many products require you to create an account and register it just to use it. This is starting to become so widespread. Even CAMERAS are doing that [things] now. Pisses me off so much. I don't want to be tied to some stupid cloud BS I just want to use the damn thing.

Phones themselves are terrible for this too. I should not need an apple or google account to have a phone I should be able to use it as a standalone device with just the cell service and that's it. All this sort of BS is only so they can spy on you.

RedSquirrelFtw , Marc Mueller Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree 100%, also I hate that you have to give permission to use your data to access most apps, websites etc. You should be able to use them without them selling your info to other parties.

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#9

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized College textbook prices.

It's crazy how ridiculous expensive they are putting even more of a financial burden on students

-eDgAR- , Daria Nepriakhina Report

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We the option to lease textbooks for a very small price. The only condition was to return them without any visible damage.

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#10

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Unpaid internships. F*ck anyone who gives unpaid internships! People get exploited like sh*t in that and for what? Most times they don't even count. For what purpose?

I get so irritated when someone posts "unpaid but you'll be given a certificate". Shut the f*ck up and do the work by yourself you lazy ass.

MojoJojo1945 , Austin Distel Report

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EQXL
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Worst in these is that people usually get to do normal paid work without any guidance at all.

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#11

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Diamond rings for marriage.

Red-7134 , Simon John-McHaffie Report

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If two people are truly in love, it wouldn't matter if there is a ring at all.

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#12

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Mobile game ads that show gameplay of a Call of Duty or Skyrim style game but in reality are just a spin-off of Candy Crush

WWI_History_Buff , Pexels Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have downloaded so many apps from what is advertised in another game and then find out it is nothing like the ad at all. So now I don’t even bother. It’s essentially click bait.

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#13

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Printer ink.

Zanders1981 , Robbin Wong Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Omg yes, it is super expensive. Our old printer was cheap but we didn’t research before hand to find out that the ink for black was $38 and colour was $45.

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#14

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized "If you tell me the truth, I won't get mad." -Mom

DoYuNoDaWae6321 , Nickolas Nikolic Report

#15

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Bottled water, like Dasani. Especially in places like an amusement park that mark ups the price a shocking amount. Also the average markup of bottled water is 4000%, which is outrageous, bc water is literally free most places

gnot_your_friend , Andy Thrasher Report

#16

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Having to pay $100+ for glasses

Lonewolf23319 , Apostolos Vamvouras Report

#17

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized The diamond industry, specifically as it relates to jewelry. Everything that the average person "knows" about it stems from propaganda and advertisements created by DeBeers. They aren't rare, they aren't worth what you pay for them, they don't appreciate in value and are a terrible investment. They aren't special.

Steelle88 , Girl with red hat Report

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StrawberryParfait
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This again. They ARE valuable, because they are given value. That is how value works. The value of diamonds is not going away, whether people like it or not. Also, a DeBeers diamond is superior in color and clarity. I know this because family friends own a DeBeers store, and I have spent much time looking at the gems. Best quality diamonds in the world. They may have created a hell of a marketing campaign a century ago, and hey, more power to them. They created a market, and the customers came. It's how business works. But don't get salty about diamonds because you don't appreciate them. Getting a diamond from mine to finger is a labour-intensive process, which also ups the cost. Let the people who love them enjoy them without getting all sour about it.

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Johnny
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

DeBeers gets natural diamonds from the same place as everyone else (though they have locked up most of the world's supply). Not every high quality diamond comes from a DeBeers mine. They spent years trying to fight off synthetic diamonds, but now they are embracing synthetic diamonds since they realized they were losing that battle.

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Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Correct about the “propaganda” by DeBeers. Up to the twentieth century, engagement rings had a wide variety of colored stones and pearls in them, not diamonds. DeBeers’ aggressive ad campaigns started the trend of engagement rings being exclusively diamonds. To me, so many other stones are simply prettier! I far prefer sapphires (blue is my favorite color), opals (their iridescence is just magical), and golden topaz (my birthstone) to diamonds. Diamonds are far down on my list.

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qwerty
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If and when I buy diamonds, if I ever do, I will probably buy them lab-grown. I don't want that sparkly stone to be the result of someone slaving away for hours, not to mention the cost.

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Bill
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are now marketing brown diamonds,which are bottom of the scale as "Chocolate Diamonds" with a premium

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Rose the Cook
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are plenty of other lovely stones if you dare to be different.

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BorPand8
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep. I have an orange sapphire I bought for $50 back before they got expensive. It's gorgeous and practically glows in the dark.

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Eslamala
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Diamonds are one of marketing's greatest successes. The industry did everything right marketing-wise. The first one being exploiting peoples stupidity and especially their need to buy and show off expensive things.

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Caroline Driver
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd prefer Moissonite, more sparkly than a diamond anyway, and way cheaper

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C.S. E.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless they are a piece with history, then you're paying for the history.

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Kim Lorton
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lol so true! Colored stones are more rare and look nicer! Morganite is a beautiful stone, and often more expensive than a diamond! Love sapphires myself!

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okpkpkp
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They ARE my birthstone (April) and I have never gotten a birthstone ring and I really don't want one because I'm a man.

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Roxy Eastland
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never cared about or been interested in diamonds. Then I find out that no one else was much until DeBeers worked their 'magic'.

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Billy Maguire
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But the brilliant-cut ones are very pretty. My wife likes to wear them and I enjoy surprising her with a new one at random intervals (usually NOT birthdays, Christmas etc. Those times are too predictable.

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Arleen Wiley
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are really as common as rocks, but locked up and controlled.

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Kat Hoth
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are warehouses full of them to keep prices unnaturally high.

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backatya
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Americans should stop buying these items until these stores reduce the prices drastically.

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Nikki Sevven
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're not even pretty! Sapphires and emeralds, OTOH, are beautiful.

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Carole Strawn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a friend who owned a jewelry store. The average mark-up for most jewelry is 400% or more..

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Kelly Hartle
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And DeBeers runs the industry like the mob--when a new pocket of diamonds is found somewhere, they try to take over. It didn't work in Australia, though. When they tried to lean on the people who owned the mine, they heard a zing nearby--they were in the middle of a field and were ringed by men with guns. If they'd kept on trying to intimidate the Australians, the next one wouldn't have missed!

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Lisa Chambers
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I dunno. I received some broken jewelry (where the diamonds had come lose) and I was able to sell them individually for a very nice price.

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Shadow
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also Diamonds oxidize at 763° Celsius and turn to vapor, which means you'll lose your diamonds in an average house fire (Temperatures in a typical house fire are ~500-1000° Celsius).

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Mike Ieva
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well... That's what happens when you want to literally but a shiny rock.... What do you expected???

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error 404 name not found
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

onsly. theres a lot of daimond in existence, but companys only sell a bit of what they have

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Little Panda Bear
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean they are pretty to look at. I still like them, just to look at...

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Jods
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s the diamond miners that bear the brunt. People still want diamonds and are willing to pay for them therefore they are still mined. Personally, I don’t like diamonds. Just looks like glass.

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ChickyChicky
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They sure are sparkly. But you can get fake ones that sparkle just as much.

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D. Pitbull
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup... which is why I told my partner very specifically I did not want a diamond - stated it several times. Told him all this reasoning above - stated I preferred sapphires if jewelry was going to be a thing... and... then I got a diamond... because "tradition". Guess who got dumped on for **not** wearing that thing around and giggling like a hallmark movie character...

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denzoren
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I get married...maybe not in this lifetime...I'm proposing with anything other than a diamond. For me you ask? She can buy a tungsten ring on Amazon for like 20$ and I'll be over the moon.

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Leo Domitrix
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow. I just mentioend the DeBeers and the market cartel in another one of these. Yep. Diamonds suck.

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No.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

actually, diamonds are rare, they take up to 3.3 billion years to form (about 3/4 of the earth's age)

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Dilly Millandry
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Taking ages to form doesn't make them rare. Diamond mines are plentiful and the supplies kept deliberately slow to keep costs up. There are far, far rarer gemstones.

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Ben Moss
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But, but rock shiny! Shiny rock better than money! Money not shiny!

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#18

Health Insurance in the US. Costs a small fortune, never covers sh*t, and you still end up bankrupt if you're not rich and get sick or hurt.

go_kartmozart Report

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I I
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

and most still hate of the though of socialised health care , crazy AF

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#19

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Apple's headphone jack removal.

Supposedly was to make the phone thinner, but everyone puts a case on anyways. Samsung galaxy S10 was 7.8 mm thick with a headphone jack. Apple removed the jack with iPhone 7, which was 7.1 mm thick. That's great, but every iphone since has been thicker.

And very convenient to remove that, wait till the annoyance died down, then release airpods.

The whole thing was clearly a scam to artificially make bluetooth a borderline necessity right before releasing Apple bluetooth earbuds.

And everyone ate it up.

SOwED , Daniel Romero Report

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Ozacoter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the removal of the chargers “for the environment”. If it was for the environment then you would reduce the cost of the charge from the phones and also give the option to buy them for a small price. Now they charge the same without it and then charge you like 40 euros for the charger.

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#20

Gerrymandering. In most representative democracies, voters choose their elected officials. In the US, elected officials choose their voters.

Harry-le-Roy Report

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The electoral college is a huge scam as well - allows people who get FEWER votes to win. How does that make any sense?

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#21

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Cat food. Look at the cat food at a random store, and see how the design brags about all the healthy vegetables they've crammed into your obligate carnivore's diet. Then check out the ingredients and see how corn, rice, etc. are often the first ingredients. Pet foods market toward humans by trying to appeal to human sensibilities, not genuine desire to provide your cat with the best diet.

Hadrian_x_Antinous , Fernando Jorge Report

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Ozacoter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you buy kibble look at the ingredients. Like this post said the first ingredients are the ones that have a bigger %. You want the first ingredients to be meat and it to not contain a lot of wheat, beets, corn, flour or ash. Most fancy commercial brands are really poor in composition.

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#22

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Members of Senate, Congress, and Presidential candidates, collecting money from corporations, big donors, and hiding it in campaign accounts, Pac's and Super Pac's, and then doling it out as they like. They no longer act as a government of the people and for the people.

perspectives , Paul Weaver Report

#23

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Giving credit card details for a "free trial" and auto renewal fine print.

Heck, stop it after my trial ends. If I really liked it, I'll pay for it.

ag3ntweird , Mark OFlynn Report

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Mimi777
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes you can use those Visa gift cards/credit cards that you can load money onto.

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#24

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Manufacturers refusing documentation to private repair enterprises and requiring you to get your products fixed by the dealer. Basically, the reason for the "Right-to-repair" movement

distrucktocon , Alexander Andrews Report

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Malakai
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YES. And making products "seamless" so that you CAN'T open them up to repair them (I'm looking at you, Apple), at least not without a ton of effort and higher than average risk.of damaging the product doing it yourself. This refusing documentation and all is just yet another scheme for them to wring money out of consumers and away from small businesses

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#25

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized The school picture industry. $80 for an awkward picture of my baby? Nah, thanks

impossiblejams , Luke Lung Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

$80 is insane. I would never pay that. Thankfully the average cost I pay is $35 for a basic pack which includes a class photo and about 10 individual photos of various sizes.

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#26

Application fees for colleges, apartments, etc.

ohdominole Report

#27

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized HOSPITALS OMG

Lol ask them for an itemized bill (like everything they gave you and how much it costs) and they'll cut the bill down by like 50%.

Snootlebootlet , Marcelo Leal Report

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#28

Weddings. My wife and I got married in a post office and could not have asked for a better ceremony. It cost us the price of notary services and that’s it.

MrPSPLock Report

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Rose the Cook
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The exhorbitant sums spent on weddings, specially second marriages or where couples have lived together for years and often already have children, has become rediculous.

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#29

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Working 40 hours a week

liniNuckel , Surface Report

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Vorknkx
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or the entire concept of having to work, in order to justify being alive... many years ago I came across a quote by some economist (can't remember the name, sadly) who argued that most job positions are totally superfluous, but are maintained because of the whole "everyone has to have a job" thing.

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#30

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Wish.com

xiphos805 , Ilyuza Mingazova Report

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Rick
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can’t believe people still use this website. Although Amazon is slowly going the same way with its marketplace and scammers flooding it with fake 5 star reviews.

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#31

Fashion, but also just clothing in general. No pockets on female clothes? More purses get sold. Thinner layers for women? Have to buy more layers. It gets marketed as being fashionable, but the clothing industry could roll out a marketing campaign for baggy rugged clothing tomorrow and get it trending if they wanted to.

Also, the clothing industry is a cesspool of child labor, human trafficking, and it has some of the highest carbon emissions and water waste of any industry on the planet, way worse than flying. One cotton t-shirt takes thousands of gallons of water to produce. Almost any synthetic fabric is a type of plastic, and you release microplastics upon washing.

On top of all that, we have repressive cultural norms and laws regarding the necessity of wearing clothing that come from Puritans and Victorians who thought table legs had to be covered and ankles were sexy. The idea that you should be embarrassed to be naked in front of other people is a cultural phenomenon, not instinct, and you can look at pretty much any tropical tribe to verify this fact that humans are actually generally normal around other naked humans.

tringle1 Report

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Ozacoter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always wear men’s trousers because it is impossible to find non skinny jeans for women and least with real pockets. I don’t mind but they are always too long for me.

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#32

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Social media. From their happy beginnings they are now mostly a funnel used to ram as many advertisements into your mind as inhumanly possible. “Sponsored Posts” every third or fourth item - I see you, IG/FB/Red/etc. And that’s not even mentioning the extensive filtering network that “curates” the information you get to see when you are looking for something. “Curated information” is just a nice expression for you being conditioned to form certain opinions / buy more stuff. Social media groom minds

Solitary-Dolphin , Kate Torline Report

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Kristal
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I noticed this with Pinterest. One day ads started popping up but looked like pins. Now, just looking at the browse feature, it shows me pins I already have pinned! Not just a few, quite a bit. Same with Facebook. I HATE how the feed only shows you a few peoples' posts.

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#33

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Reducing a price by 1 cent to trick our brains into thinking a product costs less than it actually is.

dogarfdog12 , Benedikt Geyer Report

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Adam C
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some stores rise the price 100% 1 week before "sale". Then they can have 50% off.

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#34

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Starbucks. I pay $9.99 for 51 oz of Folgers Ground Coffee, roughly 380 8 oz cups. That comes out to about $0.02 per cup of coffee. At Starbucks, a Tall Dark Roast costs $1.85. I could have 92.5 cups of Folgers at home before I pay for 1 Starbucks. My tub of Folgers is worth $703.00 if I were to sell it at the same price as Starbucks. AND I’m using reusable cups every day.

Bryan15012 , Amr Taha Report

#35

Homeowner's insurance:

"Sorry, we're not selling new policies in Your Area right now because Thing just happened" where Thing = earthquake, wildfire, flood, and other things you might ... want to insure against?

"We don't cover That Sort of Problem." where That Sort of Problem = anything that actually happens to your house, due to weasel-wording loopholes

"You submitted a claim? We're going to triple your rates FOREVER after this."

balsamicextremist Report

#36

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Those registries that people pay money to “name a star”

VictorBlimpmuscle , Warren Wong Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The thing is no registry owns the stars so just because you name it, doesn’t mean it is actually named that or that you are the only person to name that specific star. You may call it Fred whilst someone has called that same star Wilma. You are literally paying for a piece of paper, nothing more.

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#37

Payday loans.

Onetrickhobby Report

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I I
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

never ever use them had a mate borrow £100 then lose his job , he was over £5000 owed last i knew , he's trying to fight it at the moment

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#38

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Lotteries

llcucf80 , Emiliano Vittoriosi Report

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No.
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

never enter into the lottery. Even if you win the money, you'll probably lose all of you relationships.

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#39

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Doing your own taxes, and paying to use a privately-owned software (or a service) when the government could totally do it for you, send you the details, and ask if it’s correct.

strawberrywords , Danial Igdery Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would rather use an accountant, especially when our tax is a bit more complicated with all the deductions.

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#40

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Annual college tuition increases. Why aren’t they held to a competitive pricing model as opposed to having to take out a mortgage to go to school? Everyone wants to talk about government paying for college education, but there is no conversation on why is it that expensive anyway? Especially when some unis have endowments in the billions that just the interest on those funds could literally pay the tuition for everyone that goes through the door.

lcapaz , Charles DeLoye Report

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Bill
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Colleges got ridulously expensive because the US government got involved. 1971 was when student loans became mainstream and about the time costs started spiking

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#41

Social media looks like free, harmless fun, but is more like selling your soul (and data), makes you addicted and sad. Most people notice, probably, but don't care enough.

_Pillars_ Report

#42

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Paying for cable tv. The whole idea of paying was to create a revenue stream separate from that of marketing. There are a few out there (HBO, I think) but generally we pay to access the content and still have to spend 20% of the time sitting through commericals.

Then streaming comes in and were free of advertisements again, for a bit. Now YouTube has tons of ads and other streaming services are talking about adding ads as well

suelzlej , Daan Stevens Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would never get Foxtel coz it is approx $60 a month when I can get Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime video, Stan etc plus all the catch up tv and YouTube for at least $20 less a month. They are an absolute rip off.

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#43

Most modern manufactured goods. Designed to not last, so you keep buying more.

toxiczen Report

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I I
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

yep , my wife thinks we get a bargain if a washing machine lasts 4 years , i get mad having to buy yet another washing machine for £400

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#44

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the Internet that sells some sort of „millionaire education“ .

Every single one of them. They are all liars, most of them are not even rich to begin with! They fake it enough that some idiots buy it. You are customers to them. Nothing more.

pinocchiosWoodBalls , rupixen.com Report

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pusheen buttercup
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of self-help unfortunately is based on the falsehood that you can "accomplish it with this one trick." The One Trick will not get your weight healthy, get you that relationship with that person, put money in your pocket or make you happier. Real life requires nuance and complexity. And things that are hard and take time and effort. I wish there were One Trick but we need to deal with the situation we have, not the situation we wish it was.

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#45

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Toothpaste commercial were actors filled their toothbrush with toothpaste too much which is unnecessary

GrandpaBells , Anastasiia Ostapovych Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should only use about a pea size amount. In saying that though, I am just as bad as the actors and put on almost as much as what is pictured lol.

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#47

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Internet Data Cap

vynlak Report

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I I
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

always get unlimited , if you go over your cap you pay a fortune

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#48

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized The fact that you have to pay to bury loved ones

twodorrahsucc , Hannah Wernecke Report

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chi-wei shen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think the mere fact that you have to pay for burials is a scam, but the often high prices are equivalent to a scam.

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#49

50 Things That Are Actually Scams Yet We Don't Notice Them Because They're So Normalized Rent-to-own furniture and appliances.

TheSanityInspector , Inside Weather Report

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Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I understand why it’s a thing coz some people can’t afford to pay for those big items upfront so rent to buy is one of their only options.

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#50

Lootboxes in videogames.

HXTXI Report

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Vorknkx
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh yes, to the point where some countries actually declared them illegal. A wise decision.

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