Ridiculous Prices

[kappaloo]

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.

[justamom]

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!

[PM_Mama00]

Clothes are definately not cheaper for plus sizes. I understand that since we need more material, we need to pay more, but it just really really sucks when we're ordering tshirts for stuff and I have to pay $2 more, which yeah is nothing but it's just another shitty thing that plus size people have to deal with.

Oh yeah and one of the places that we have food at (there are two on campus) used to charge 1.25 for a bagel w/ cream cheese, and now you have to pay extra for the cream cheese. Every year the prices of stuff on campus get raised. You even have to pay for a plastic spoon if you didn't purchase somethign from that coffee stand. I can only imagine that when we get our food back on campus (they've been renovating our main hangout for the last 2 years) that subs from Subway will be like $10 for a 6 incher, when normally they're like $5.

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally posted by justamom
Have you had any dental work done lately? Have you bought any meds?

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.

[bcdphie]

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.

[Tippiechick]

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.

[mullet81]

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!!!

[aggieAXO]

Originally posted by Tippiechick
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.

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.

[Tippiechick]

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

[honeychile]

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."

[ThetaPrincess24]

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.

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by ThetaPrincess24
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.

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.

[queequek]

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

[PhiPsiRuss]

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.

Originally posted by honeychile
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."

[Peaches-n-Cream]

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.