What's the biggest mark up you've ever paid

[LlamaInvasion 76]

By far the biggest markup I have seen anywhere in the world is what AT&T charges for data roaming. I can get 1GB on local SIM for roughly $10 in most countries and I bet AT&T can get it even much cheaper from that foreign telecom, but instead they charge their customers $20,000 per 1GB. That's 2,000 times more expensive or in other words 200,000% markup.

The cell phones in general here are outrageous.

I lived all my life in Oslo, which frequently ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world. I constantly have to keep myself in check in America, because everything seems so very, very cheap in comparison - except the cell phones. Granted, I don't know what current subscription plans back home are like presently, but when I arrived in 2007 I went from paying less than $50/month (in Oslo) to paying over $60 PLUS additional charges here, and then found I had to pay an additional $10 a month for the ability to call internationally! Outrageous! And I can't use my phone overseas without both paying more (because that's an additional feature), and getting ridiculous charges for every second my phone remains on. And that's all without even taking data into account...

[cartaverde 12]

Llamainvasion, time to try Skype on your phone for calling abroad I use that for all my international calls (except for emergencies when friends visit and I need to catch them without them having a local number)

Hm.. now let's see. Stuff I really really like that is hard to find here in US and that ends up therefore being usually overpriced when or if I find...

- Paddy's Whiskey. Some places have that and I've found at least one place online that ships from NY to TX so I'm sorta set there. Before I found a place that would ship to TX it was quite expensive, either going to Ireland to pick some, or having friends bring some when they got over. With so many times a bottle breaking in the luggage, or friends forgetting the bottle in their hand luggage.

- Chinotto, San Pellegrino or other. Yea, $3 for a small bottle (6oz?) is quite a lot more than I'd ever pay for it in Italy, but it's rare to find that so I sometimes just need some for a fix (sorta like coca cola, but much less sweet, and made with chinotto plant, a sour citrus kind of. Works great with food like pizza etc)

- Averna. See Paddy's... the last bottle we got was all the way from San Francisco for like $60 a bottle. With probablt 10-15 euros for the same in Italy

- Spices. I don't even want to think about the markup! Sumac, harissa, ras el hanout...

- Kinder eggs. It's not the same as kinder chocolate, as the main part is the toy. Thanks to the stupid law making those eggs illegal in US, I don't want to know what prices they would have here. Well, I've got a remedy of sorts: get plenty of them while in Europe, and bring the toys over (if any chocolate leftover, take the eggs apart).

- 24 Horas brand shoes! I can't find them anywhere except in Spain or Ireland. So getting my shoe fix involves a trip to either... seriously, those are the most comfortable shoes ever.

Some things like limoncello and berry liquors have a workaround: I've learned to make mine. It's kind of weird to discover that the Scandinavian berry liquors I'd known earlier are so easy to make, and will end up both costing less and having much more flavor when home made (or made e.g. with IKEA jams)

[lovelyalex 99]

I paid about $11 for a bottle of Ribena. A medium sized bottle too! There are some places to get UK stuff around here, lots in fact, but some of them are EXTORTIONATE! I got the excuse that they base their prices on weight (because the shipping charges for buying items in bulk is so much for the heavier stuff), so canned stuff, like Ambrosia custard etc, are expensive... also at the regular place we shop, they said at least third of their orders usually go missing in transit or in customs, so they have to make up the cost somewhere. Not sure if to believe that or not though either.

[LlamaInvasion 76]

Sorry, Skype is not cutting it. I have ill family members and stay in touch with them on a regular basis, plus friends that I like to text with. We do Skype a lot to avoid most of the phone bills, but it would definitely be VERY noticeable if I could not be in touch with them via the phone.

[wait4mycall 0]

Talk about tea time cookies..The Britannia brand cookies are usually inflated by at least 200% in USA. Still its OK to treat ourselves with that amount ( < $3)

Talk about ready to eat food,spices and cheese...Inflated 150-200% in some cases.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Not so voluntarily as a treat, but dairy in general is SO much more expensive in Canada! I can buy a gallon of milk at walgreens or Aldi's in the US for only 1.99 and I'm lucky to find the 3 bags of milk in canada for 4.99! And cheese is a freakin luxury too. BLAH!