Vending machines are SUCH a ripoff!

I barely ever buy from vending machines, but I just had to vent here:

Today I went grocery shopping, and bought a 12-pack of Vanilla Coke. It was on sale at Meijer for $1.68 a pack. That's $0.14/can. Obviously, Coke and Meijer are making some sort of profit off the sale, so let's say they each get 2 cents. That means it costs $0.10 to produce a can of Coke, and it's being sold in vending machines for $0.75 - $1.00 a can!

What a ripoff!

 

[Corporate Thug]

it prolly costs them a lost less than 10 cents/can

 

Originally posted by: shady06
it prolly costs them a lost less than 10 cents/can

You're probably right, considering that it costs pretty much NOTHING in human labor to produce pop - it's ALL robotic now.

 

[rocadelpunk]

well it's just like ticket master...it costs about 5-6 bucks for a service charge which involves 2 seconds of printing a ticket out.

those extra quarters and dimes are for your conveniance : P

 

[DnetMHZ]

they are selling to a captive audience, just like at the airport.

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: jumpr
I barely ever buy from vending machines, but I just had to vent here:

Today I went grocery shopping, and bought a 12-pack of Vanilla Coke. It was on sale at Meijer for $1.68 a pack. That's $0.14/can. Obviously, Coke and Meijer are making some sort of profit off the sale, so let's say they each get 2 cents. That means it costs $0.10 to produce a can of Coke, and it's being sold in vending machines for $0.75 - $1.00 a can!

What a ripoff!

Meijer may not be making anything on the sale of Coke. They are selling a loss leader to get you into the store and then trying to get you to buy more stuff.

 

[blackdogdeek]

the primary reason for vending machines is convenience imo. it's just so much easier to lug 1 can back to my desk as opposed to going to the local store and lugging back a 12 pack and rotating them in the fridge. for that i'll gladly pay $1/can.

 

[Ronstang]

And you just figured this out? Mensa wants you!!!!!!!

 

[dartworth]

behold the power of choice...

 

[Pepsi90919]

at the pizza joint i work at, he gets cans of coke products for $0.33 canadian each.

 

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
the primary reason for vending machines is convenience imo. it's just so much easier to lug 1 can back to my desk as opposed to going to the local store and lugging back a 12 pack and rotating them in the fridge. for that i'll gladly pay $1/can.

Ah-ha. But I bought the new long-and-skinny fridge pack! I can get all 12 cans in the fridge, and I don't even have to unpack them!

 

Originally posted by: Ronstang
And you just figured this out? Mensa wants you!!!!!!!

Well I always knew vending machines cost more, but I never actually did the calculations. It's pretty sobering how much you're being ripped off.

 

[TheNinja]

Of course vending machines are a ripoff, you are paying for convenience not just the product. When you buy your 12 pack at the store does it come chilled and ready for you to drink wherever you happen to be? Come one man, think a little

 

[blackdogdeek]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
the primary reason for vending machines is convenience imo. it's just so much easier to lug 1 can back to my desk as opposed to going to the local store and lugging back a 12 pack and rotating them in the fridge. for that i'll gladly pay $1/can.

Ah-ha. But I bought the new long-and-skinny fridge pack! I can get all 12 cans in the fridge, and I don't even have to unpack them!

they won't fit in our work fridge with everyone else's cr4p unfortunately. otherwise, i'd probably go through the trouble of hauling the 12 pack up here.

 

[fumbduck]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: Ronstang
And you just figured this out? Mensa wants you!!!!!!!

Well I always knew vending machines cost more, but I never actually did the calculations. It's pretty sobering how much you're being ripped off.

I wish mensa wanted me, i bet there are hot chicks in mensa

 

[joecool]

no news here. i like to think of vending machines as a stupid tax - you get what you pay for!

 

[PlatinumGold]

first of all, most vending machine people buy their sodas from Costco/Sams, they don't buy from big time wholesalers or bottlers because they don't do enough volume. so they AREN'T getting them for $0.10 a piece but at the same price that we normally pay.

2nd, they have to buy them and then they have to put them in the vending machines. then they pay a percentage to the locaters / location.

then they have to pay off the capital expense of the vending machine itself. all in all i would doubt that they keep more than $0.30 / can as profit.

so let's say this particular vendor has 20 vending machines and he sells 50 sodas / day. what does that make? $15.00 / day / machine = $300.00 / day.

Would you consider that an obscene profit for what he does?

btw, i buy from vending machines all the time. the BIG ripoff is the grocery store that sells the cold sodas up from for a $1.00 and the 6 packs in the back for $2.00.

now YOU KNOW these guys are making HUGE profits on those sodas, for nothing more than cooling it.

 

[loup garou]

My friend used to make BANK off the vending machines in his father's hotels. He would restock them and collect the money at the end of the week.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: joecool
no news here. i like to think of vending machines as a stupid tax - you get what you pay for!

cheapass talk.

IF i had the money, and i could afford it, i would pay to have someone follow me around all the time with all the conveniences i needed, drink, food etc. would the price on something like that be high?? YES, would it be convenient? yes.

Some people don't think that convenience = stupid tax.

i'm working on site all day long, i have a choice i can go to the vending machine IN the building and buy an ICE cold soda for $1.00 OR i can go to the local grocery store and buy a 6 pack for $2.00. hmmmm.

OR i can buy a 6 pack the day before and carry it around with me ALL day long.

 

[dighn]

yeah a lot more expensive than store bought. still though if you don't have access to a fridge at your school/work, warm soda sucks ass.

i don't buy from vending machine that often. usually bring water. we have some cheaper vending machines in my school department building though. 75c canadian instead of the regular $1.25 everywhere else on campus. but it's sold out so quickly...

 

[RayH]

I wonder about the cost of any liquid that, gallon for gallon, costs more than gasoline.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: RayH
I wonder about the cost of any liquid that, gallon for gallon, costs more than gasoline.

how much is a gallon of milk where you live?

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: RayH
I wonder about the cost of any liquid that, gallon for gallon, costs more than gasoline.

the cocacola vending machines on my campus sell bottled water at the same price as sodas!!! What a fvcking rip off!

 

[bolido2000]

A lot of the money u pay goes for the advertising that goes with the brand and not for the product itself

 

[conjur]

Try the vending machines in a movie theater! $3.00 for a 20oz. soft drink!