Everyone knows that you’ll never get anywhere in life without the biggest, best, brightest and newest things there is to buy. The most recent piece of hardware so you can have the step up on all of your adversaries. It’s true. I am not disputing that. It feels nice to have the new thing. And they normally function better anyway. But the question is, are we getting what we pay for?

New stuff costs top dollar to make. Demand is high, supply is limited, besides, the people making this stuff has to put food on the table too. The price is going to be high. We know that. We expect that. But the companies know that we know that. And unfortunately they take advantage. Heavily. Big business owners know the value in a brand or a logo on a shiny new thing. And they know we’ll pay top dollar for these things. So they make us pay just a bit more than necessary, just because they can. So what though right? We can’t do anything about it can we? Big deal anyway. Couple extra dollars, who cares. If you find yourself saying that, definitely continue reading. I personally was very shocked at this information when I found it. It really is amazing just how much we’re letting them get away with. Here are a few examples of just what I’m talking about…

The (in)famous Beats by Dre brand. World class headphones used by professional Djs and athletes the world over. Only the best is distributed by Dr. Dre. That’s why his headphones, speakers and earbuds range in price from $199.99 all the way to $699.99. Fun fact, Daily Mail reported that experts say Beats extravagant headphones cost as little as $14 to make…                                              wow.                                                                                              That’s a markup of at least 1,428%. Which means Dr. Dre makes at least $186 per headphone, just because he knows you’ll pay for it.

Up next is Shoes. Basketball shoes to be specific. you’ve probably heard of the crazy expensive kind, you probably even own a pair yourself. Nike brand shoes generally dominate this market so let’s look at them. The prices of a fresh pair of Nikes can range from $120 up to a truly ridiculous $500. Five hundred dollars. For shoes. What? That’s not the point of this article though so let us continue. Despite these high baller prices, these shoes consistently cost around $35 to make. That there is a markup of at least 342% and Nike makes a minimum of $85 per pair of shoes. Why? Because we buy it no matter what.

Now, for my personal least favorite brand name, Apple. The great Apple inc. The groundbreaking company behind the iPhone, iTunes, Macbooks, Apple Watches, iPads and plenty more. Odds are you own at least one Apple product, probably an iPhone, and could easily find a few more products in your house. Not to mention Apple actually owns the formerly mentioned Beats by Dre. Everyone loves Apple. Because Apple is just so great right? Wrong. Horribly wrong. They are the worst proprietors of the issue in this article, my research has found. Let me run you through what I mean.                                                           The newest thing out there, the hot new item, the iPhone 7. Would cost you $649. Meanwhile it only costs Apple $220 to make. A markup of 295%. Meanwhile, iPads cost $275 to make despite a $499 price tag. Another mark up of $181. The iPod actually only costs $43 to make and still costs $150. A markup of 348%. You see the trend. I could go on forever, but you hopefully get the gist.

You see what I’m talking about now? It’s ridiculous. It’s not like any of the companies I mentioned are struggling for money either. They just like it. And they want more. And they know we’re a bunch of suckers. But I digress. We will pay what they tell us to, that’s  just how it is. Unless we stage a large boycott and demand fair pricing. But that takes way too much effort.

Just remember, when you’re sitting there, on your iPhone, listening to your Beats and wearing Nike shoes. You payed at least $969, while the companies that gave you them only paid $269…