17 expensive products that cost way more than they should

Bob Bird/AP

Mylan Pharmaceuticals recently raised the price of a two-pack of EpiPens.

The crazy price hike, due to largely to the fact there's little generic competition, is outrageous but also not unique to the EpiPen.

Consumers often pay way more for products than what it costs to make them. The reasons for high mark-up prices depend on the product. It could be that the item is in high demand or is difficult to make. 

Here are 17 popular products with incredibly high mark-up prices.

Note: For this story, we looked at individual US brands, but price mark-ups are often similar for competing brands.

Regal Cinemas and AMC Theaters' popcorn

Wholesale price for a small popcorn: About $0.35

Price you pay: $6.50

Movie theater chains, like AMC and Regal, charge a lot for popcorn (and other snacks), but according to a 2009 Stanford study, the mark-ups allow them to sell movie tickets at a much lower price.

HDMI cables at Best Buy

Wholesale price for a six-foot cable: $2.67

Price you pay: $20

Electronics stores often don’t make much profit off TVs and video game consoles. So to balance out the big items, most retailers mark up smaller items that many people use, like HDMI cables (which allow you to stream content from your laptop to a TV).

Apple iPhones

Cost to make an iPhone 6s Plus: $236

Price you pay: $749

As CNBC notes, the decreasing cost of many iPhone components and smartphone market dominance helps Apple's profitability from iPhones.