More often than not these days, when you buy something, you don’t actually see it until it shows up in front of you. Online shopping, food delivery and questionable listings all sometimes remind us why buyers have to be aware.
So we’ve put together a list of some of the best posts from the “Expectations Vs Reality” online group showcasing the times folks didn’t get what they expected. So settle in as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments section down below.
#1 Ordered The Blanket From A Sketchy Seeming Website. They Nailed It!
#2 My Daughter’s Birthday Cake From Last Year
#3 The Way We Advertise Our Jack-O-Lantern Pizzas vs. The Way I Like To Make Them For Customers
Comedy rises and falls on surprise, and nothing surprises more than the gap between what we think will happen and what happens. That is why “What I ordered vs. What I got” pictures are a staple of the internet, especially in the fields of online retailing and quick eats. Basically, these images work because they use one of the oldest devices in comedy, the breaking of expectations.
When you hit “buy now” online, you’re buying a promise of a sort. That seductive picture of a flowing gown that will slide like silk, the fast food advertisement with a burger heaped high with inexplicably fresh lettuce, or the sleek device that appears to have been ripped from a sci-fi movie, the entire experience forms a mental picture.
#4 The Birthday Cake My Wife Made For Our Daughter
#5 This Patch I Ordered Off Amazon
#6 I Got This Ice Cream Bar From A 7 Eleven Store In Tokyo And It Was Exactly The Same As In Picture. Plus It Was Delicious!
Comedy, though, runs into disaster when reality knocks on your door and bears no resemblance to the fantasy. That “luxury dress” is made of cheap polyester and fits a kid. The burger is a thin patty hiding in a dismal smear of lettuce. The science-fiction device? A fragile bit of plastic that can’t seem to function.
#7 Husband Tried To Make A Dolphin For My Cocktail. It’s The Cutest Eel I’ve Ever Seen
#8 What My Sister Asked For vs. What The Salon Did vs. What My Mom Did After The Salon Disaster
#9 Beauty Products These Days
The joke works because the setup is relatable. Everybody has, at some point, been a victim of the gap between marketing and actuality. That common disappointment is turned into laughter when another person records it. Rather than just commiserating about disappointment, people embrace it by making their bad luck entertainment. This makes the subversion more digestible, it’s not just about being disappointed, it’s about catching the humor in being disappointed.
#10 Creepy
#11 These Things Never Work Out, Do They?
#12 Reality Way Better Than Expectation!
The structure here is almost identical with that of the traditional joke form. The anticipation is the “setup,” carefully built with pictures of perfection. The “punchline” is the surprise: a deformed cake, a deformed stuffed animal, or food that looks as if it has been dropped on the floor and then placed on the table. Because the punchline is something that one can view and something that is often enhanced through contrast, it strikes immediately and en masse, no language ability necessary. It’s comedy in its most universal sense.
#13 My Friend Bought This Costume Online And I’ve Been Laughing All Day
#14 I’m Seriously Impressed By This Frozen Pizza
#15 My Wife’s McDonald’s Cone In The Drive Through Last Night
A second way these expectation mismatch posts succeed is through their built-in sincerity. Advertising relies on deception, on exactly choreographed images designed to persuade. “What I got” photos take that away, exposing the rough, disappointing, and hilariously imperfect reality. It’s a raw moment in a world of presentation sheen, and truth, when it defies artifice, has always been fertile ground for comedy.
#16 The Top Is Pottery That My Mom Got In Germany, The Bottom Is My Attempt To Make It In My Ceramics Class ://
#17 These Sly, Sly Bastards
#18 Elsa Cake
There is also a thread of resolve here. Laughter instead of pouting over frustration, and in doing so, reclaiming some control in a situation that otherwise is helpless. You might not be able to return that ugly dress or refund your miserable burger, but you can at least garner some likes, chuckles, and solidarity online.
#19 Cute Little Aldi Ice Cream Cones
#20 What My Mother Ordered vs. What She Got
#21 Nailed It!
“What I ordered vs. What I got” works because it universalizes one of the lesser tragedies of life and makes it funny. There’s humor in the shock, the surprise no one expects, and there are few surprises more reliable than expecting beauty and receiving anarchy instead. And by embracing difference, the internet has provided us with a kind of humor that’s not just actual but long-lasting, since disappointment will always find ways to seep into our lives, and the best way to handle it is usually to laugh.
#22 Merry Christmas Everyone!
#23 Underwater Scene Puzzle My Kids Got
#24 Some Boots From Amazon
#25 I Ordered Bruschetta From My Local Pizza Shop
#26 Started Off Carving Edna Ended Up With E.t
#27 I Feel Robbed Of My Chocolate
#28 Seafood Bowl In Sapporo Japan
#29 Minnie Gained Some Weight
#30 Includes A “Private Balcony.” Is Just A View Of The Wall Of The Next Building
#31 These Cat Socks
#32 My Kid Cried
#33 Well Then
#34 Latex Thigh Highs Ordered But Got What Seems Like The Case For Sleeping Bags
#35 I Bought This Bob Ross Chia Pet . . . These Are Not Happy Trees
#36 My Aunt Tried To Make A Cake Of Dolly Parton For A Friend
#37 My Darth Maul Birthday Cake Ate Too Much Cake
#38 Tasty Cheese
#39 Are You Kidding Me
#40 Glass Mug
#41 Shirt I Ordered vs. What I Got
#42 Ordered A Cake For My Father’s Birthday
#43 Found On Twitter
#44 My Son Turned 1 Yesterday. This Was The Topper To His Space Themed Cake
#45 $60 “Professional” Halloween Makeup. I Asked For The Photo On The Left, With Just A Little Fake Blood. On The Right Is What The Makeup Artist Gave Me
#46 The Crystal Mug My Boyfriend Ordered Me For Our Anniversary vs. What We Actually Received
#47 Alien Balloons
#48 The Mask I Ordered (Left) vs. The Mask I Got (Right)
#49 I Asked For A Sugar Photo Bday Cake. I Got A Horrible Hand Drawing Instead
#50 My Wife’s Felting Project
#51 Birthday Cake I Asked For vs. What I Got
#52 Another Classic “What I Ordered vs. What I Got”!
#53 I’ve Been Staring At This Cutie On Fb Marketplace For Weeks
#54 I Hope My Father Loves It!
#55 Restaurant’s Charcuterie Board As Advertised vs. What I Got
#56 I Swear I Have Normal Size Hand
#57 This Brownie
#58 My 1.5 Year Old Demanded The “Pa-Cas” From Her Curious George Book This Morning And I Just So Happened To Have All The Ingredients On Hand
#59 Giant Teddy Bear
#60 Tried A Mirror Glaze
#61 Mildly Disappointed But Very Amused
#62 Made A Unicorn Cake For My Little Cousin
#63 I Ordered A Sausage Roll At My Uni’s Cafe Today
#64 The Amount Of Carrots Included In My Subscription Meal Kit
#65 My Sister’s Nails For A Wedding
#66 Ice Cream Expectation
#67 Lady Gaga Doll
#68 Room Service At The Hotel I’m Staying At, I Was So Excited Too
#69 My Husband Warned Me His Gift For Me Wasn’t Nearly As Nice As It Looked Online. I Cracked Up When I Opened It And Saw The Crystal Mug(S) So Many Have Been Duped By
#70 My Local Dairy Queen Was Riding The Struggle Bus Last Night
#71 Ordered A Custom Embroidered Sweatshirt Of My Girlfriend’s Cat
#72 This Is Bad Right ??
#73 My Girlfriend Spent $100 To Get Me A White Claw Cake For My Birthday. She Was Less Than Pleased With The Result
#74 Expectation vs. Reality After A 6-Month Backorder From West Elm
#75 Thanks Amazon. I Was Going For ‘Boho Chic’, But You Gave Me ‘Tacky Brothel’
#76 Daughter Brought An Emoji Marshmallow Lollipop Thing Back From Mexico
#77 Had No Idea What To Expect. Received Cool Talisman Necklace
#78 Sourdough Art Fail
#79 Went To Taco Bill To Try Their New Taco And This Is What I Got Compared To What It’s Advertised As
#80 I Mean Idk What I Was Expecting But It Wasn’t This
#81 When You Order Clothes On Amazon
#82 This Mac N Cheese I Ordered For Delivery
#83 I Travelled All This Way Because Of Reddit
#84 Not Bad
#85 The Wedding Cake We Ordered vs. The Cake We Picked Up
#86 I Was Really Excited When Taco Bell Opened In England
#87 Airport Grilled Cheese
#88 Taken From Twitter “(Got Me) Looking Like A Gay Priest”
#89 I Ordered Some Acoustic Sound Panels. And People Complain About Their Big Macs
#90 Arby’s Bacon Beef ‘N Cheddar
#91 Daughter Wanted A Homemade “Little Mermaid” Cake. I Tried Really Hard
#92 Burger King Grill Dog Cheddar And Bacon
#93 Ordered From Zippo.com – Meant To Be A Gift
#94 I’m Done With Whole Foods Brand Pizza
#95 A $7 Sandwich From Starbucks
#96 Cinnamonroll Birthday Cake, What I Sent vs. What I Got
#97 The Shirt I Ordered And The Shirt I Got
#98 Definitely The Funniest Failed Etsy Purchase I’ve Ever Received
#99 Thanks Panera 🙏 I Really Enjoyed My Granola & Paper Thin Strawberries
#100 Gummy Bummer
#101 Close Enough
#102 Arby’s Never Fails…. To Disappoint
#103 The Chicken Fried Rice I Ordered vs. The One I Got. (Only One Piece Of Chicken)
#104 My Lunch For Night Shift
#105 But Think Of All The Snacks You Can Hide In There
#106 I Got AirPods With My New iPhone 8??? Oh Wait
#107 I Mean They Are Good, But My GF Is Worried
#108 Cheez-It Italian Four Cheese Pizza
#109 On Our Honeymoon In Hallstatt Austria
