ripoff

{{Short description|Unfavorable financial transaction offered or taken}}

{{other uses|Rip off (disambiguation)}}{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}

A ripoff (or rip-off) is a grossly unfavorable financial transaction. It originated as slang that has entered into standard English usage as a business term.{{Cite book |last=Friedman |first=Jack P. |title=Dictionary of Business Terms |date=2007 |publisher=Barron's Educational Series |isbn=9780764135347 |location=Happauge, New York |pages=79}}

Usually it refers to an incident in which a person is overcharged for something, or receives goods or services not of the standard expected for the price. A ripoff is usually distinguished from a scam in that a scam involves wrongdoing such as a fraud; a ripoff may be considered excessive, but not illegal.