Am I wrong to be annoyed by this?

Forums › Off topic › Am I wrong to be annoyed by this?

manta

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#61184 11-May-2010 17:15

The other day in our local SuperValue their 2 litre milk cost $3.39 and their 3 litre milk was $5.59. What's wrong with that? The larger 3 litre milk is actually 10% more expensive than the same brand 2 litre milk. I think this sucks (as my kids say!) as most people expect the larger size to be better value and not everyone can work out on the spot that they are being ripped off by buying the larger size.

Is that just tough luck on them?

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#329017 11-May-2010 17:35

The whole pricing structure of our supermarkets is BS.

NZ has the second highest food prices, yet we produce most of the stuff we sell. Fish has bearley had a raise in $/KG to the actual fisher in years, yet we pay more than ever, don't give me the petrol excuse on this one. The fishers have had to absorb the cost but sell it to the supermarkets for the same price!

Look at your cheese, WHY do we pay that much? Just down the road form me there is a slaughter house, why is it cheaper to buy the same meat from the same factory in ENGLAND or USA?

Just a few more thoughts...

muppet

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#329024 11-May-2010 17:43

You're right to be angry about it!

I really hate the "One costs you $2.99, get two for $4". I don't want two, I want one at $2!
But you feel like you're getting ripped if you just get one, so you get two anyway, knowing you're parting with more money but for greater return.

Then one of whatever it was moulds/rots in the fridge anyway.

Arrghh!!!!

Audiophiles are such twits! They buy such pointless stuff: Gold plated cables, $2000 power cords. Idiots.

OOOHHHH HYPERFIBRE!

Ragnor

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#329025 11-May-2010 17:43

Disagree with the posts so far.

Suppliers/sellers can price and segment the market for their products however they feel like.

Harden up, if you don't like their price/system go somewhere else buy something else.

sbiddle

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#329026 11-May-2010 17:44

SteveON: The whole pricing structure of our supermarkets is BS.

NZ has the second highest food prices, yet we produce most of the stuff we sell. Fish has bearley had a raise in $/KG to the actual fisher in years, yet we pay more than ever, don't give me the petrol excuse on this one. The fishers have had to absorb the cost but sell it to the supermarkets for the same price!

Look at your cheese, WHY do we pay that much? Just down the road form me there is a slaughter house, why is it cheaper to buy the same meat from the same factory in ENGLAND or USA?

Just a few more thoughts...

All I say is don't believe everything you read in the media..

Maybe you could ask Fonterra why they get away with effectively controlling the local market for dairy products and why we have to pay so much for milk products. The fault doesn't like entirely with the supermarkets.

bazzer

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#329027 11-May-2010 17:44

Happens all the time. In this case, it's not so bad because to get 3 litres you'd need to buy a 2 + 1 and maybe the 1 litre costs more than $2.20 (I have no idea what a litre of milk costs).

It's worse when 2 x 500g bags of sugar cost less than the 1kg bag. What's worse is I see people buying the 1kg bag. Are you telling me that can't work out what half the price is? Or they just don't care? I don't know.

I'm a kinda maths guy though, so I can't help but know. It annoys my wife sometimes.

timestyles

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#329037 11-May-2010 17:58

Often, pricing is based on shelf space rather than cost efficiencies. As an example, 10L bottles of milk won't sell that much, but the supermarket will expect a certain profit per shelf metre, so it almost certainly won't be the cheapest per litre. Also, milk is priced on the international price, together with exchange rates etc.

bazzer

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#329040 11-May-2010 18:00

timestyles: Often, pricing is based on shelf space rather than cost efficiencies. As an example, 10L bottles of milk won't sell that much, but the supermarket will expect a certain profit per shelf metre, so it almost certainly won't be the cheapest per litre. Also, milk is priced on the international price, together with exchange rates etc.

So your point is that a 3L takes up more room proportionately than a 2L? i.e. more than 1.5x as much?

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manta

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#329042 11-May-2010 18:08

Ragnor: Disagree with the posts so far.

Suppliers/sellers can price and segment the market for their products however they feel like.

Harden up, if you don't like their price/system go somewhere else buy something else.

Sadly there too many people who, like you, seem happy with a complete lack of transparency in the pricing on the shelves in the supermarkets to the detriment of those who would need a calculator to help them find the best bang for their buck.

It would be nice to think that suppliers and sellers were mindful of their customers. Fair enough to price to the market, but to hoodwink those who don't know any better is blatant exploitation and those who do it should be ashamed of themselves.

bazzer

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#329043 11-May-2010 18:12

manta: Sadly there too many people who, like you, seem happy with a complete lack of transparency in the pricing on the shelves in the supermarkets to the detriment of those who would need a calculator to help them find the best bang for their buck.

It would be nice to think that suppliers and sellers were mindful of their customers. Fair enough to price to the market, but to hoodwink those who don't know any better is blatant exploitation and those who do it should be ashamed of themselves.

Are you serious? Who's being hoodwinked? There's no reason to expect price to be cheaper just because it's bigger. In any case, most supermarkets have price/100g or similar on the labels. They're not trying to trick you into spending more. Maybe the 2L was on special? Now they have to reprice everything larger than that too, to make you happy? If you can't figure out which is best value, that's not the supermarket's fault.

nate

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#329059 11-May-2010 18:46

Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware

timestyles

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#329066 11-May-2010 18:59

bazzer:
timestyles: Often, pricing is based on shelf space rather than cost efficiencies. As an example, 10L bottles of milk won't sell that much, but the supermarket will expect a certain profit per shelf metre, so it almost certainly won't be the cheapest per litre. Also, milk is priced on the international price, together with exchange rates etc.

So your point is that a 3L takes up more room proportionately than a 2L? i.e. more than 1.5x as much?

Yes, it may take up 3 units vs 2.0 units of shelf space, and sell 1/3 the quantity per week, the price might be about 50% higher, so it sells 2/3x1/3x1.5 = 1/3 the dollar value per week per shelf metre compared with a 2L bottle.

manta

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#329076 11-May-2010 19:16

bazzer:
manta: Sadly there too many people who, like you, seem happy with a complete lack of transparency in the pricing on the shelves in the supermarkets to the detriment of those who would need a calculator to help them find the best bang for their buck.

It would be nice to think that suppliers and sellers were mindful of their customers. Fair enough to price to the market, but to hoodwink those who don't know any better is blatant exploitation and those who do it should be ashamed of themselves.

Are you serious? Who's being hoodwinked? There's no reason to expect price to be cheaper just because it's bigger. In any case, most supermarkets have price/100g or similar on the labels. They're not trying to trick you into spending more. Maybe the 2L was on special? Now they have to reprice everything larger than that too, to make you happy? If you can't figure out which is best value, that's not the supermarket's fault.

Don't you think there should be some transparency when, proportionally, prices differ so wildly for different sizes of the same product, for whatever the reason? I think it IS the supermarkets' fault if they are serious about offering their customers value and the ability to make an informed choice. Of course unit pricing in supermarkets makes the whole thing so much more transparent.

For me personally it's not an issue as I'm a Maths graduate and I teach this sort of thing in my lessons but I do feel sorry for those who simply can't do the sums.

manta

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#329077 11-May-2010 19:16

nate: Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware

3Bit customers please take note! :)

Kyanar

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#329080 11-May-2010 19:21

Ragnor: Disagree with the posts so far.

Suppliers/sellers can price and segment the market for their products however they feel like.

Harden up, if you don't like their price/system go somewhere else buy something else.

Really? Do tell me where I can get milk or cheese other than Fonterra's in the country? Oh sure, there's the ONE other brand - but they charge only slightly less than Fonterra. Ooh, I could not buy milk or cheese! No, wait, that won't work.

Explain to me why retail price on a 900G of Tasty cheese is $14, while Fonterra staff price is $5? That's almost a 300% markup! Go on, blame the exchange rate (locally produced product). Or the petrol prices (locally produced product). Or the supermarkets (300% markup? They wish). No, Fonterra are just ripoff artists - who pay out virtually nothing to the farmers on the horrendous prices.

What idiot approved that monopoly again?

sbiddle

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#329082 11-May-2010 19:30

Kyanar:
Ragnor: Disagree with the posts so far.

Suppliers/sellers can price and segment the market for their products however they feel like.

Harden up, if you don't like their price/system go somewhere else buy something else.

Really? Do tell me where I can get milk or cheese other than Fonterra's in the country? Oh sure, there's the ONE other brand - but they charge only slightly less than Fonterra. Ooh, I could not buy milk or cheese! No, wait, that won't work.

Explain to me why retail price on a 900G of Tasty cheese is $14, while Fonterra staff price is $5? That's almost a 300% markup! Go on, blame the exchange rate (locally produced product). Or the petrol prices (locally produced product). Or the supermarkets (300% markup? They wish). No, Fonterra are just ripoff artists - who pay out virtually nothing to the farmers on the horrendous prices.

What idiot approved that monopoly again?

Fonterra control the bulk of the milk supply for cheese and only aupply a fixed amount at "domestic" prices. Cheese makers also have to commit to certain levels of milk - if they exeed this they may find they have to pay significantly more for product.

People also tend to forget that most supermarket special pricing is done by scanbackere the supermarket still buys the product for the same price and receives a rebate from the supplier. Fonterra can easily offer 30% rebates on large blocks of cheese when they have them on special.

In a nutshell Fonterra control the market and nobody seems to have an issue with this. Telecom aren't a monopoly and get honded by the Government - where is the justice?

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