Econmancer

I noticed today that the Jack Link’s Beef Steak Nuggets in the vending machine at work are actually cheaper per ounce than the full sized bag from the grocery store. I paid $1.66/ounce for the large bag and the 1 ounce bag in the vending machine is only $1.50 ($1.50/ounce). This is remarkable because most of the items in this vending machine are significantly more expensive than they would be from a grocery store.

I watched Home Alone this past week and noticed something that I think is interesting. Pizza prices have gone down over the past 20 years.

In the movie the family has ten pizzas delivered and the total is $122.50. It’s noted that it breaks down to “ten pizzas times twelve bucks” in the dialog. Later in the movie we are told the cost of a pizza again. Kevin orders “a whole cheese pizza” just for himself and the delivery guys says it costs $11.80.

Today I can buy large pizzas and have them delivered for $10 each, plus a $2 delivery charge. When you look at the prices with the CPI Inflation Calculator you can see that $11.80 in 1990 (the year Home Alone came out) has the same buying power as $19.70 today (2010).

-P. Econmancer

I just got done reading The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford. It was an enjoyable book and I wanted to post about the part I found to be the most interesting- price discrimination by businesses and self-incrimination by consumers.

Harford explains that there are people that, for countless reasons, are willing to pay more than the general population for goods and services. He then shows three ways stores encourage certain customers to pay more for the products they buy; Unique Targeting, Group Targeting, and Self-Incrimination.

I admire the Self-Incrimination method the most and I’ve searched out local examples since reading this book. Price discrimination is everywhere and you can save money by looking out for it. I have, as an example, included two photographs of food taken at Target. Target has ramen noodles in two spots inside the store. On the pasta aisle you can purchase one brand of ramen noodles for a little over $.10.

On the Asian food aisle (only one aisle over from pasta) you will find a different brand of ramen noodles for $.70 per package.

I see two things happening here, Target gets people that don’t take time to search for the cheaper noodles elsewhere in the store, and Target gets people willing to buy a “premium” brand of ramen noodle at a higher price (7 times higher!). I purchased both brands, just to make sure the expensive brand wasn’t lined with 24k gold foil, and I couldn’t tell a difference in quality or taste.

From Amazon:
Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup – 36/3oz

-P. Econmancer