How does a business make a profit? The quick and short answer is: by selling a service or product for more than it cost to make or acquire. It is the positive financial gain a business makes once all the expenses have been subtracted. Making a profit is crucial to keeping your business doors open. Building a profit also means you can invest it back into the company and grow even further. So, what products and services can yield your business the biggest profit margins? Luckily, we have this sweet graphic from the team at Swagbucks that shows 30 Products and Services with the Highest Markup.
At the top of the list with a whopping 6,000% markup is text messages (without an unlimited plan). Phone companies typically charge upwards of 20 cents per text but it only costs the phone company fractions of a cent to transmit that text. Next item on the list with a 4,000% markup is bottled water. Generally, a $2 water bottle will only cost about 5 cents to produce. Not a bad business to be in for a natural resource. Something else to think about is the markup you pay when purchasing prescription drugs. There is a 200-3,000% up charge for over-the-counter medications as opposed to generic drugs. Another large purchase that many people make when they move out on their own is a new bed, but beware you are looking at a 900% markup! That new mattress cost about $300 to make but will cost you about $3,000 to buy. Many more interesting and mildly annoying markups on this list – I’m looking at you movie theater popcorn!
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