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 My Daughter’s Birthday Cake From Last Year

Image credits: Awnya

#2 Ordered The Blanket From A Sketchy Seeming Website. They Nailed It!

Image credits: ezfriedchiken

#3 This Patch I Ordered Off Amazon

Image credits: Chsrmsy

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 Way We Advertise Our Jack-O-Lantern Pizzas vs. The Way I Like To Make Them For Customers

Image credits: ArcusArtifex

#5 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!

Image credits: laleli_lolu

#6 The Birthday Cake My Wife Made For Our Daughter

Image credits: MiningForNoseGold

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 Some Boots From Amazon

Image credits: Tzl1337

#8 Elsa Cake

Image credits: sweethandz

#9 Beauty Products These Days

Image credits: whoaaintitfun

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 Glass Mug

Image credits: Easy_Rate_6938

#11 Creepy

Image credits: reddit.com

#12 Tasty Cheese

Image credits: KindlyStreet2183

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 What My Sister Asked For vs. What The Salon Did vs. What My Mom Did After The Salon Disaster

Image credits: reddit.com

#14 My Kid Cried

Image credits: SlugCatt

#15 Merry Christmas Everyone!

Image credits: aggadoo

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 What My Mother Ordered vs. What She Got

Image credits: EternalTemple

#17 Ordered A Cake For My Father’s Birthday

Image credits: weryou91

#18 I Ordered Bruschetta From My Local Pizza Shop

Image credits: Flyingforme

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 I’m Seriously Impressed By This Frozen Pizza

Image credits: reddit.com

#20 My Friend Bought This Costume Online And I’ve Been Laughing All Day

Image credits: llewellyns

#21 Includes A “Private Balcony.” Is Just A View Of The Wall Of The Next Building

Image credits: Jagokoz

“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 These Things Never Work Out, Do They?

Image credits: beroemd

#23 Alien Balloons

Image credits: Insertanamehere9

#24 $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

Image credits: enukez

#25 Reality Way Better Than Expectation!

Image credits: jenkla

#26 Shirt I Ordered vs. What I Got

Image credits: strikecat18

#27 Cute Little Aldi Ice Cream Cones

Image credits: HaiirPeace

#28 I Asked For A Sugar Photo Bday Cake. I Got A Horrible Hand Drawing Instead

Image credits: tams228

#29 The Crystal Mug My Boyfriend Ordered Me For Our Anniversary vs. What We Actually Received

Image credits: sleepysphynx

#30 Are You Kidding Me

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#31 Minnie Gained Some Weight

Image credits: MrSquid224

#32 The Top Is Pottery That My Mom Got In Germany, The Bottom Is My Attempt To Make It In My Ceramics Class ://

Image credits: erinflah1

#33 These Sly, Sly Bastards

Image credits: tacticalBOVINE

#34 Underwater Scene Puzzle My Kids Got

Image credits: wolfdoom

#35 The Mask I Ordered (Left) vs. The Mask I Got (Right)

Image credits: reddit.com

#36 Another Classic “What I Ordered vs. What I Got”!

Image credits: chemicalmum

#37 Latex Thigh Highs Ordered But Got What Seems Like The Case For Sleeping Bags

Image credits: SweetHeatFeet

#38 My Aunt Tried To Make A Cake Of Dolly Parton For A Friend

Image credits: reddit.com

#39 This Brownie

Image credits: skinavish

#40 Found On Twitter

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#41 Nailed It!

Image credits: blind-prostitute

#42 My Sister’s Nails For A Wedding

Image credits: escargoxpress

#43 These Cat Socks

Image credits: RapidCrocodile

#44 I Swear I Have Normal Size Hand

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#45 Lady Gaga Doll

Image credits: Iamthegreenheather

#46 My Girlfriend Spent $100 To Get Me A White Claw Cake For My Birthday. She Was Less Than Pleased With The Result

Image credits: dasheeown

#47 Husband Tried To Make A Dolphin For My Cocktail. It’s The Cutest Eel I’ve Ever Seen

Image credits: CharmingtheCobra

#48 I Feel Robbed Of My Chocolate

Image credits: Awesomeclaw208

#49 I Bought This Bob Ross Chia Pet . . . These Are Not Happy Trees

Image credits: jhojo90

#50 My Wife’s Felting Project

Image credits: MDIT80

#51 Tried A Mirror Glaze

Image credits: AloneMordakai

#52 My Son Turned 1 Yesterday. This Was The Topper To His Space Themed Cake

Image credits: Drewlyn

#53 Restaurant’s Charcuterie Board As Advertised vs. What I Got

Image credits: CageyCanadian

#54 I Ordered A Sausage Roll At My Uni’s Cafe Today

Image credits: yourstewart22

#55 The Amount Of Carrots Included In My Subscription Meal Kit

Image credits: DeepDiluc

#56 Seafood Bowl In Sapporo Japan

Image credits: caverunner17

#57 Gummy Bummer

Image credits: RaccoonGrabbyHands

#58 This Is Bad Right ??

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#59 Giant Teddy Bear

Image credits: hypoid77

#60 Expectation vs. Reality After A 6-Month Backorder From West Elm

Image credits: pputkowski

#61 Room Service At The Hotel I’m Staying At, I Was So Excited Too

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#62 My Darth Maul Birthday Cake Ate Too Much Cake

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#63 My Wife’s McDonald’s Cone In The Drive Through Last Night

Image credits: Eric_SS

#64 Well Then

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#65 Went To Taco Bill To Try Their New Taco And This Is What I Got Compared To What It’s Advertised As

Image credits: TsarFate

#66 I Travelled All This Way Because Of Reddit

Image credits: artifexlife

#67 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

Image credits: bofstein

#68 I Ordered Some Acoustic Sound Panels. And People Complain About Their Big Macs

Image credits: Woop_dee_do

#69 Mildly Disappointed But Very Amused

Image credits: parmaqqay

#70 Made A Unicorn Cake For My Little Cousin

Image credits: More_Bodybuilder3226

#71 Airport Grilled Cheese

Image credits: peterjussila

#72 Ice Cream Expectation

Image credits: DDD8712

#73 Ordered A Custom Embroidered Sweatshirt Of My Girlfriend’s Cat

Image credits: ChilllFam

#74 I Mean Idk What I Was Expecting But It Wasn’t This

Image credits: _thesandbox_

#75 Cinnamonroll Birthday Cake, What I Sent vs. What I Got

Image credits: migasfire

#76 I Hope My Father Loves It!

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#77 Had No Idea What To Expect. Received Cool Talisman Necklace

Image credits: hereforthewaffle

#78 Started Off Carving Edna Ended Up With E.t

Image credits: _Mr_Bungle_

#79 The Shirt I Ordered And The Shirt I Got

Image credits: TheJedibugs

#80 Birthday Cake I Asked For vs. What I Got

Image credits: mona_thepersona

#81 Thanks Amazon. I Was Going For ‘Boho Chic’, But You Gave Me ‘Tacky Brothel’

Image credits: limegreenbunny

#82 Daughter Wanted A Homemade “Little Mermaid” Cake. I Tried Really Hard

Image credits: noodlepartipoodle

#83 Sourdough Art Fail

Image credits: ebmarjorie

#84 Burger King Grill Dog Cheddar And Bacon

Image credits: victorius21

#85 This Mac N Cheese I Ordered For Delivery

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#86 I Was Really Excited When Taco Bell Opened In England

Image credits: SnowdropCloudfreeze

#87 My Local Dairy Queen Was Riding The Struggle Bus Last Night

Image credits: Bunnynana

#88 Arby’s Never Fails…. To Disappoint

Image credits: Asleep-Till3360

#89 A $7 Sandwich From Starbucks

Image credits: Business-Stuff8711

#90 I’ve Been Staring At This Cutie On Fb Marketplace For Weeks

Image credits: KrazyAboutLogic

#91 Not Bad

Image credits: Thehaloboy

#92 The Wedding Cake We Ordered vs. The Cake We Picked Up

Image credits: Marrone2010

#93 Arby’s Bacon Beef ‘N Cheddar

Image credits: makemesalty

#94 Daughter Brought An Emoji Marshmallow Lollipop Thing Back From Mexico

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#95 When You Order Clothes On Amazon

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#96 But Think Of All The Snacks You Can Hide In There

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#97 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

Image credits: chalter

#98 Thanks Panera 🙏 I Really Enjoyed My Granola & Paper Thin Strawberries

Image credits: DunkinDog_Nuts

#99 The Chicken Fried Rice I Ordered vs. The One I Got. (Only One Piece Of Chicken)

Image credits: ImmediateTale

#100 My Lunch For Night Shift

Image credits: AdRelevant2041

#101 Ordered From Zippo.com – Meant To Be A Gift

Image credits: Help_One_AnOtter

#102 Cheez-It Italian Four Cheese Pizza

Image credits: gaping_granny

#103 Definitely The Funniest Failed Etsy Purchase I’ve Ever Received

Image credits: MyPlantsEatPeople

#104 I Mean They Are Good, But My GF Is Worried

Image credits: Last_Stag

#105 I’m Done With Whole Foods Brand Pizza

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#106 Close Enough

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#107 Taken From Twitter “(Got Me) Looking Like A Gay Priest”

Image credits: ruggedburn

#108 On Our Honeymoon In Hallstatt Austria

Image credits: reddit.com

#109 I Got AirPods With My New iPhone 8??? Oh Wait

Image credits: LittleMilton