Hallmark greeting cards

Cost to make a standard birthday card: About $1 to $2

Price you pay: About $3 to $7

High-grade paper (to distinguish greeting cards from something you could print from a home computer) and labor costs from making Hallmark cards in the USA lead to the outrageous price hikes. As the Atlantic notes, consumers are also least sensitive to products' prices when they're trying to convey a sentimental message (like you do with greeting cards).