If you’re a merchant seeking profits, there’s only one way to find them: sell stuff for more than you pay for it.
But what’s a fair markup? Fifty percent? One Hundred? Two? It depends on both product and business, but one thing’s for sure – some consumer goods are being sold for a whole lot more than they cost.
Whether you’re sipping a martini in a swanky bar or bottled water from the grocery store, odds are you’re swallowing an astronomical markup.
Here, in no particular order, is a larger list of products with high markups, along with ways to avoid paying a premium.
1. Movie Theater Popcorn/Candy
What’s harder to digest: (1) Movie theater popcorn has an average markup of 1,275 percent, or (2) With a soda, that popcorn has a caloric equivalent of three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders?
Nutrition aside, concessions like $5 tubs of popcorn and $6 boxes of gummy worms are big revenue streams for movie theaters.
Since most theaters prohibit moviegoers from bringing in outside food and drinks, the way to save is to bypass concessions altogether.
If you can’t, find your cinematic savings elsewhere, like getting a five-pack of movie tickets for $30 at CinemaDeals.com.
2. Prescription Drugs
Astronomical prescription drug prices – with markups ranging from 200 to 3,000 percent – are enough to give patients a headache.
In fact, price hikes caught the eye of Arizona’s Attorney General Tom Horne, who is suing pharmaceuticals distributor McKesson Corp. for markups on Allegra, Celebrex, Coumadin, Flonase, Lipitor, and Valium.
To save on prescriptions, ask your doctor for free samples and about generic substitutes. Comparison-shopping is also a great idea.
Walmart, Target, and warehouse stores like Costco are good places to start. And take advantage of mail-order suppliers like Express Scripts if your prescription-drug plan offers it.
Check out 10 Tips to Safely Save on Prescriptions.
3. Diamonds
Shoppers in the market for a diamond should be prepared to pay anywhere from 50 percent to 200 percent more than the wholesale cost, according to TheStreet.com.
Information at this Google Answers page suggests markups range from 50 to 400 percent.
A diamond’s sparkle may cause shoppers to turn a blind eye to the price tag, but you can land a better deal by understanding what you’re buying and doing a lot of shopping.
Read our Guide to Buying Diamonds in 5 Simple Steps.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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