49 Painful Examples Of People Getting Absolutely Ripped Off


Article created by: Donata Ruzgaitė

There’s this ongoing kerfuffle behind the scenes between business owners and consumers. Buyers want to make the most of their money, and sellers want to earn the most from their products. It’s all good and dandy when the commodity is worth the price you paid, but when the high price point doesn’t match up with what you’ve been promised, it can be infuriating, to say the least.


Unfortunately, many of us have been there—saving up for a nice meal or getting our nails done for a celebration—and then left completely in shock because your $20 salad came with three pieces of croutons, and your treat-yourself manicure looked like a child’s coloring.


These scenarios happen more often than we’d like to admit, and what better place to let our purchase frustrations go than on social media? The Bored Panda team has scoured the web to find the most unfair deals that make people feel ripped off. Scroll through the curated list to see expectations vs. reality in this economy that might leave you thinking twice before purchasing something.



#1 Paid $12 To Go To This "Pumpkin Patch", Also Known As A Field With Pumpkins Placed In It


Image credits: _grumpycat1


#2 Paid $300 For 3 Nights At This Specific Hotel Because They Advertised A Free Continental Breakfast. This Is Their Continental Breakfast


Image credits: awitcheskid


#3 Got Charged 9k For A Doctor To Tell Me It Was Just Period Cramps, And After Going To Another Doctor, It Was Diagnosed As A Ruptured Ovarian Cyst


Image credits: Carlpoppa1738


#4 I Paid $20 For A Burger On My Cruise. Here Is The Result


Image credits: Rafael_king_potato


#5 This Haircut That I Paid $60 For


Image credits: rainstorm22


#6 I Paid $47 To Upgrade To This "Window Seat"


Image credits: time_fo_that


#7 My Wedding Cake (Yes, We Paid For This)


Image credits: reddit.com


#8 This $18 "Caesar Salad" My Girlfriend's Cousins Got In Vegas


Image credits: LeftysSuck


#9 Just Paid $300 For This Textbook And Peeled Off A Sticker To Reveal It Shouldn't Have Been Sold


Image credits: MathDude95


#10 I Paid $45 To Add Ride Photos To My Daughter's Amusement Park's Season Pass. It's An Extra $20/Photo To Download Without The Watermark


Image credits: cincymatt


#11 $8.99 Kids Buttered Noodles


Image credits: Urdnought


#12 Ordered Fried Pickles As An Appetizer. I Got 1 Pickle Cut Into 4, Cost Me $10


Image credits: joeyvesh13


#13 The View From My 30€ Ticket


Image credits: Michaluck


#14 I Spent $12 On "Anti-Fog" Mirror Film


Image credits: kelleh711


#15 Just Paid $800 For My School "Books". It's A Loose Leaf Paper


Image credits: Xaephod


#16 Caprese Salad I Purchased From A Pizza Place. I Should Have Checked The Reviews First


Image credits: Umman_manda6632


#17 I Paid $5.50 For These Cheesy Chips At A Football Match


Image credits: billywright4


#18 This Is The Hot Tub At The Airbnb, Which Was Why I Rented The Spot. Smelled Terrible And Was Not Cleaned In Forever


Image credits: Forsaken_Storm_6397


#19 This Restaurant Has An Automatic 18% Service Charge For Parties Of One Or Higher


I’ve seen restaurants include gratuity when it’s a large party but never for parties of 1. 


Image credits: TRTL2k


#20 Dinner Provided By My School (On A Trip I Paid $1500 For)


Image credits: purpleeapple


#21 Went Out For Dinner With Friends And Got Sausage And Peppers As An Appetizer. This Is What We Got


Image credits: MikGusta


#22 $17 For Sad Pizza My Friend Ordered


Image credits: Parking_Pineapple440


#23 Paid $9 For This. Speechless


Image credits: mdizzle40


#24 I Paid $10.95 For This


Image credits: dog_eat_dog


#25 The Majesty Of An $8.00 Whole Foods Sandwich. The Good News Is The Chicken Salad Is Completely Tasteless


Image credits: beladona7


#26 Bought A New Build House And Chose A Location Across From Yet To Be Placed Park Since We Had Kids. Paid A Premium For This Coveted Lot. Here’s The Park They Finally Put In


Image credits: catusjuice


#27 Getting Taxed On A Tip Illegally


Image credits: Lirsh2


#28 This Was Served At A Networking Party. They Paid 500$ For The Venue


Image credits: etevian


#29 Just Arrived At My Hotel In My "Sea Facing Room"


Image credits: Sappok


#30 Bought A $44 Handmade Ceramic Mug. It Cracks As I Pour In My First Cup Of Tea


Image credits: reddit.com


#31 My Mom Paid $20k To Enclose Her Porch. I Saw It Today. All Of The Beams And Joints Look Like This


Image credits: UngodlyTurtles


#32 A "Caesar Salad" At Red Robin


Image credits: pb7555


#33 I Ordered A Baby Shower Gift For A Friend From Babies R Us And Paid An Extra $5 For A Gift Wrap With A Gift Message. Gift Message Printed On Invoice With Contents Listed


Image credits: swiggertime


#34 My School Lunch. Paid $3.25 For This


Image credits: jordan150000


#35 Power Went Out 20 Minutes Into Oppenheimer. Didn't Get To See The Last 30 Minutes


Waited about an hour for it to be restored, and the movie restarted, only for it to restart again automatically at the next showtime, leading to being kicked out of the theater.


Image credits: JakeBurnsRed


#36 The View Of The Stage At My Concert


Image credits: thatcancerfurry


#37 The Server Said The Wings Were A "Good" Size


Image credits: TheCamiloCano


#38 Glad I Paid For Pre


Image credits: CouchPotatoFamine


#39 I Paid $8 For This


Image credits: iAllosaurus


#40 I Paid Over 4 Dollars For This. I Just Opened This. There’s More In The Photo On The Front Than In The Bag


Image credits: Appleenthusiasts


#41 2023 Is The Year Of Paying More For Less


Image credits: reddit.com


#42 My Wife Paid $200 For Front-Row Balcony Seats. They Closed The Balcony And Now This Is Our View


Image credits: WWDB


#43 Paid Extra For A "Tower" Room At Our Hotel And Were Told We’d Get A Nice View Of The River


Image credits: justjokay


#44 We Lost Our Cat Thor On Christmas Day. My Girl Has Been Struggling To Cope Since. She Loves Stuffed Animals So For This Christmas I Ordered Her A Cuddle Clone. I Paid $300 For This


Image credits: WaddupThugsBunny


#45 This "Seasonal Fruit" Cup From Wendy's I Paid $1.29 For


Image credits: Superbaker123


#46 Paid $30 To Get Professionally Cropped Out. Photo 1 Is A Family Photo That Was Taken. Photo 2 Is The One That Arrived In The Mail


Image credits: sandwichnerd


#47 This Costs $8 At Starbucks


Image credits: bradlomac1


#48 Getting Charged Extra To Remove An Item


Image credits: swiggertime


#49 Paid $7 For This Hummus And Veggies Platter





Image credits: lightlybaked