Some of the most infamously expensive products in the world are movie theater snacks. Making a bag of popcorn at home costs next to nothing, so why are you spending big bucks on the exact same food at a theater? The reason has to do with something called a “markup.”
A product’s markup (sometimes known as its “price spread”) can be calculated by finding out the difference between what it cost to make it, and what it’s sale price is at the store. Major companies like Apple and Walmart often outsource their manufacturing to locations such as China, Mexico and Japan in order to bring down manufacturing costs – while sticking huge price tags on the final product.
With the markup in mind, you might be surprised to know just how much companies are really making on their products. If an item is in especially high demand, or if it holds a high symbolic value, consumer prices can skyrocket even further past their actual worth. Here’s what some of our most beloved products are actually worth versus what we end up paying for them.
