Ridiculous Prices
 

Have you ever seen the price of something and just though - "Why would anyone ever pay that much for this?"...


I was at a hotel on Friday and there was a 1L (32oz) bottle of water left in the room. This bottle was "left as a service" for us. If we drank it they would charge our room. It cost 6.95CDN or 4.95USD!!! At my school, a 1.5L bottle retails for between 1.10-1.50CDN.

Picked up some steaks last week to Bar-B-Q. The cheapest one I could find was $10.00+ And it was a T-bone!

Have you had any dental work done lately? Have you bought any meds?

Hotels are AWFUL about those little ditties. I always take my own stuff. (Yes, I'm cheap that way) The funny thing is, clothes are kind of cheap compared to 2-3 years ago unless you are buying into fads.

MAKE-UP and perfume!!! Holy cow!

Medicines are outrageous...I know we need them, but geez.

I've just started going to the movies again after a long time of not going very often, and I can't believe how much prices have gone up. The concession stand is crazy--it's like $4.00 for a large Coke! (I know you all who live in big cities pay more, but hey, I'm from the country and I'm not used to this!) My boyfriend won't let me sneak any candy or drinks in underneath my coat or in my purse, either, so it's $5.00 for popcorn or I have to sit with my mouth watering while the rest of theater enjoys their snacks. :p

I was staying at the LAX Hilton for a volunteer conference. I ordered a croissant for breakfast, with the exchange rate (this was before the Loonie's dramatic climb) the thing cost me $8!!! And it wasn't even the best croissant I've ever had.

I second the comments about medications being so expensive! Even with insurance covering a portion of the cost, the most effective medication for Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe morning sickness), Zofran, would have cost us $500 for EIGHT pills! (Which you were to take one about every six hours. As you can imagine, we decided to go with a much cheaper, less effective drug.

I agree with the medication stuff!! I am on Minocyclin for my skin - I also use Differin gel and a lotion on my face, Klaron - all prescribed by my dermatologist. When I picked the stuff up from the drug store - it was $220! YIKES!!! :eek:

My cat is on Zofran right now and for 1 cc it is 53$ (unfortunately I don't have any pet insurance but I will get 1/2 off). I tried to call in a perscription for a large dog one time and I about choked on the phone-I didn't realize how expensive that stuff is-but it is the best anti-emtic. Hopefully when the patent runs out it will get a lot cheaper.

Aggie, do you have any idea how long the patent is good for? I would love to be able to buy it in generic form! I don't want to go through HG again without something better than Phenergan! lol

I'm going to try to post this email I received:

WHAT DRUGS REALLY COST

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America. The chart below speaks for itself.

Name Brand Drugs /Cost of Drug per 100 TABS /Ingredients /Markup:
Celebrex 100 mg /$130.27 /$0.60 /21,712%
Claritin 10 mg /$215.17 /$0.71 /30,306%
Keflex 250 mg /$157.39 /$1.88 /8,372%
Lipitor 20 mg /$272.37 /$5.80 /4,696%
Norvasc 10 mg /$188.29 /$0.14 /134,493%
Paxil 20 mg /$220.27 /$7.60 /2,898%
Prevacid 30 mg /$44.77 /$1.01 /34,136%
Prilosec 20 mg /$360.97 /$0.52 /69,417%
Prozac 20 mg /$247.47 /$0.11 /224,973%
Tenormin 50 mg /$104.47 /$0.13 /80,362%
Vasotec 10 mg /$102.37 /$0.20 /51,185%
Xanax 1 mg /$136.79 /$0.024 /569,958%
Zestril 20 mg /$89.89 /$3.20 /2,809%
Zithromax 600 mg /$1,482.19 /$18.78 /7,892%
Zocor 40 mg /$350.27 /$8.63 /4,059%
Zoloft 50 mg /$206.87 /$1.75 /11,821%

*****
Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone I knew should know about this. Please read the following and pass it on. It pays to shop round. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreens on every corner..................

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo . . . three thousand percent!

So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.

For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I used the generic equivalent, whichcost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08.

(okay, now this is me again)

I fully understand that each drug manufacturer must put a lot of money into the original testing of a product, so the price reflects that at first. BUT!! Has anyone ever heard of a pharmacudical company say, "We have finally paid off the money we put out for research, so we're going to cut the price in half."

My school was selling frames for your degrees int eh book store for like 120-150 bucks. I found that to be ridiculous when i can go elsewhere and have it custom framed jsut as nice for half the price.

Yeah, our school diploma frames are just as expensive. But, considering that degree was an insane amount of money, $100 for the official frame is a bargain. :D

Prescription drugs are a rip-off. Luckily, I only pay $5--but there are people who probably can't afford full-fare who, due to their insurance. Insurance is weird because the people who can afford healthcare the most pay the least.

LOL look at Abercrombie and Fitch shirts, Would you pay a ripped and "worn" shirt for at least $20? Just go to Goodwill, you can get a worn shirt for less than $3

Sometimes I wonder ... ;)

ps. this is not an anti AF92 post

That's what the ingredients cost, not what the drugs cost. It excludes sanitary packaging, distribution, labor (no one works for free), R&D, etc.

I was searching for an co-op apartment in Manhattan online. I found one I like for $2,400,000. I think that I will keep looking. Rentals are about $2,000 a month. It is crazy. :eek:

I thought of something else. My friend in atlanta when his trust matured took some of that money and bought an astin martin...........$250,000 bucks it cost him. I understand those are hand built in britain and shipped here but still $250 thousand for a car???? That's as ridiculous as my friend is for buying it :)

Vis a vis medicines. We in the US get royally screwed for federally regulated drugs. Why else would some US States be trying to buy their prescription drugs from Canadian sources?

Gotta love that drug lobby.

Pharmacuetical companies need to recoup their investment in research and development which contributes to the high drug prices. It takes years for a drug to go from the labs to the patients who need it. The one thing that adds a tremendous amount to the price of drugs is advertising.

I nearly fell on the floor a few years ago when I had to pay for medicine I needed because the insurance company didn't cover it.

I think Sean Connery drove an Astin Martin in his James Bond films.Maybe your friend wants to be like him.

I don't but I bet you could find out by researching the maker: GlaxosmithKline, they should have applied for one and it should be public info. Patents are not forever so it will expire I am not sure however how long Zofran has been around (we have used it for about 1 to 1.5 years in animals).

Probably right. Seems he's always got himself a new gf hahaha!

Yeah... that's about what you pay here in SF for a 1 bedroom... if you want cheaper it's NOT going to be a nice neighboorhood. Also being from the city I must complain about the price of parking... I mean in most of the garages around it's about 1-2 dollars per HALF hour... some charge in 20 minutes incriments.. I mean REALLY considering they're not even really doing anything for you.. (like truly protecting your car from break-ins or whatever) I think it's CRAZY.... and my school charges 5 dollars a DAY to park in the structure... (and they dont' offer semester permits or anything) and the on campus apartments charge 100 dollars a month for parking there as well... and if you get a ticket it's 55 dollars !!! :mad:

I have no problem with free enterprize companies recouping development costs, etc.

However, I believe those costs should be shared equally and not come mostly out of US pockets.

Parking in Manhattan is $8.49 plus tax per half hour and about $400 per month. Tickets are over $100 now. Gas is $1.79 a gallon. I do not have a car thank goodness.

I just found a one bedroom for $1,800 per month. I have no idea what the building is like. People spend almost half of their monthly income on rent or maintenance.

Oh sweetie :( that's my mortgage payment for a 4 bedroom colonial in a nice neighborhood and includes our yearly swim club dues.

But I know you're a born-n-bred New Yorker and you'd probably *hate* suburban life! :D

BTW, whereabout is this one bedroom?

Kappaloo: I had one of those 1 liter bottles of Evian in my room too, for my convenience. I wasn't about to pay $4 for it!

And if I wanted to buy a 20 oz pop in the gift shop of the hotel, it was $1.99! I could also walk across the street to a gas station and pay half that.

And I won't even discuss gas prices...:mad:

yeah NYC is just crazy expensive and Cali isn't far behind... gas here in Cali is about 1.89- 1.99 at the moment... Is there even any gas stations on Manhattan ?... I don't remember seeing any when I was there.
Real Estate here in Cali is expensive too...I mean my mom could sell her 3 bedroom, not too large house here in Cali which has no pool or anything super special about it, and move almost anywhere else and buy a LARGE like 4 or 5 bedroom house with pool and a HUGE yard for cash... it's crazy.

I also have a complaint about textbook prices... why must I pay SOOOOO much for them ? I've paid over 100 for a book that wasn't even hard cover....

Everytime Mama Munch sends me the money for rent, she reminds me that for what I pay for my third of an apartment in Manhattan (and that's not even the nicest neighborhoods!), I could have a house in my hometown.

I think some college educations are needlessly expensive. I still can't figure out what you get for paying more. :confused:

The Vancouver Real Estate Market - Cream I feel your pain. It is sooooo expensive to live in Vancouver, whether buying or renting. I believe it is the 3rd or 4th most expensive city in North America (in regards to real estate).

I should move to Annapolis and scope those cute cadets. *growl* ;)

You lived in NYC in the early 90's, right? Since 1993 the price of real estate has gone up on average 120%. In neighborhoods that were less appealing ten years ago the rents and purchase prices have increased by an even greater percentage. Here is what I have found: East 72 St $2,200/month, East Harlem East 117 St. $1,500; Fort Greene Brooklyn $1,700; Lincoln Center area W.64th Street $1,700; West Village $1,750. These are one bedrooms apatments. The $1,800 apt is in the East 90s

Anyway, I've been looking in Manhattan. I grew up and have a place in Queens so I guess that is where I am staying. Interestingly people are now asking me about my neighborhood because Manhattan has become far too expensive. The suburbs (Long Island, Westchester, parts of NJ) are expensive, too. A house on L.I. that cost $250,000 in 1995/96 now costs over $400,000. :(

Okay I have to tell this story...b/c I didn't even realize this still occurred from the Depression. But one of my friends friend's grandmother (does that make since?) lives in New York, NY like right over some department store...apparently a nice location, I need to find out more. Well, anyway...the grandmother was a teenager during the Depression and her mom had bought the apt for 15.00 a month for life. So today the grandmother pays 15.00 to live in this apartment!! It was some rule during the 30's.....it was New Year's Eve, so I only remember half of what she was saying. But isn't that cool, she's going up there to visit for Spring Break.

Okay, I'm done bragging on this grandmother now.....back to crazy prices!!!!

True. It was an Astin Martin DB5. I've never found one with machine guns, armored shields, rocket launchers and a passenger side ejection seat, though.

I have heard stories like this. In the 50s and 60s mansions and townhouses on Fifth Avenue could be purchased for about $50,000. There are people in Manhattan who have lived in their apartments since WWII and pay $200/month. I have never met any of these people though. Sadly, none of them were my grandparents. Rent control was pretty prevalent. I don't know about your grandparent's friend's story. The rent is probably in perpetuity. There was a story a few years ago about a man who signed a rental lease for $100 rent per month in perpetuity. When someone new bought the building, they tried to raise his rent, but they couldn't because of this lease.

Planning a wedding causes massive sticker shock.

Tack the word "wedding" in front of ANYTHING and the price skyrockets.

I definitely know what you are talking about. It's getting expensive to live just about anywhere in NYC, regardless of the neighborhood's reputation. You're right - most of us will wind up spending at least 50% of our montly earnings on rent alone. You would think that companies and city agencies would take real estate prices into account when giving out salaries. It sucks that the real estate prices have gone up, while salaries pretty much remain the same.

NYC Rent
 

I pay $580/month for a large studio in TriBeCa with lots of closet space, in a doorman building. My rent includes utilities.

That's a ridiculous price.:D

ETA keep in mind that I'm not 92 years old, and that I've only been in my apartment for 5 years.

Re: NYC Rent
 

How on earth did you manage to get that apartment? $580/month is ridiculous in a really great way for you, a bad way for your landlord. Seriously Russell, please tell me your secret. :) I need some tips.

Re: NYC Rent
 

Is the doorman a homeless man, the studio a subway stop, and the closet the utility closet?

-Rudey

I've been looking at apartments pretty hardcore lately, and the horror stories are worse than the reality. It's more than I would pay in any other city except San Francisco, but it's not completely out of line with salaries, etc. I intend on staying in Manhattan, unless a really good co-op in Brooklyn Heights or Riverdale comes along. I'm not holding my breath, though.

There are people in my building who have been here for decades, and as a result their rent is stabilized in the neighborhood of $800/month for a 2 bedroom.

Re: Re: NYC Rent
 

i think this might be the funniest thing you've ever said.