Paying more for less

[Skeptisk]

Currently on holiday in the South West (enjoying the cold and wet - got a love a British summer!) Stopped off at a farm shop and saw some posh crisps we hadn’t tried before. What a disappointment. Twice the price but half the taste (compared to something like Walkers/Lays).

Other examples of times you have paid over the odds to get something “better” but found it was either no better or actually worse than the cheaper option?

[anonymous-user]

Not me personally but someone i follow on Instagram posted from the Goodwood FoS what they bought for £8 to eat. A large roll, 2 measly bits of bacon and a smear of sauce.

£8 chuffin quid

Same thing at the local Cafe is like £1.95 and looked about the same sort of quality to be honest

[Skeptisk]

slopes said:

Not me personally but someone i follow on Instagram posted from the Goodwood FoS what they bought for £8 to eat. A large roll, 2 measly bits of bacon and a smear of sauce.

£8 chuffin quid

Same thing at the local Cafe is like £1.95 and looked about the same sort of quality to be honest

I’ve just been relieved of £9 for a bacon roll and a cortado. To be fair it was nice but the best bacon roll I’ve ever had was from a van on the A11 travelling back to Norwich. It was a few years back so was probably closer to 95p. Every time after that when I was on the A11 I looked for the van but never saw it again.

[Terminator X]

Skeptisk said:

I’ve just been relieved of £9 for a bacon roll and a cortado. To be fair it was nice but the best bacon roll I’ve ever had was from a van on the A11 travelling back to Norwich. It was a few years back so was probably closer to 95p. Every time after that when I was on the A11 I looked for the van but never saw it again.

Went out of business

TX.

[phumy]

Terminator X said:

Skeptisk said:

I’ve just been relieved of £9 for a bacon roll and a cortado. To be fair it was nice but the best bacon roll I’ve ever had was from a van on the A11 travelling back to Norwich. It was a few years back so was probably closer to 95p. Every time after that when I was on the A11 I looked for the van but never saw it again.

Went out of business

TX.

They didnt go out of business it was that the new A11 was built which by-passed the layby those young ladies used to use to make those lovely bacon rolls.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

I often see people paying £4 for a 350g box of cereal when right next to it the supermarket have an offer on the 500g box of the same cereal for £3.50. I once pointed it out to a woman and got a load of abuse in response so now I just don't bother.

[vikingaero]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I often see people paying £4 for a 350g box of cereal when right next to it the supermarket have an offer on the 500g box of the same cereal for £3.50. I once pointed it out to a woman and got a load of abuse in response so now I just don't bother.

I moved Vikingette2 into her new summer accommodation and took her food shopping. She had trouble working out the pack sizes vs. volume. Tried to get her to look at the price per ml or price per gram label For instance (and I'm making pack sizes and prices up, but you get the gist) - Heinz Tomato Ketchup 250g £2.99 and right next to is was 350g for £3.20.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

vikingaero said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I often see people paying £4 for a 350g box of cereal when right next to it the supermarket have an offer on the 500g box of the same cereal for £3.50. I once pointed it out to a woman and got a load of abuse in response so now I just don't bother.

I moved Vikingette2 into her new summer accommodation and took her food shopping. She had trouble working out the pack sizes vs. volume. Tried to get her to look at the price per ml or price per gram label For instance (and I'm making pack sizes and prices up, but you get the gist) - Heinz Tomato Ketchup 250g £2.99 and right next to is was 350g for £3.20.

But in this case, it was 350g for £2.99 or 250g for £3.20. Surely she could work that out, that the bigger bottle was cheaper than the smaller bottle.

[DodgyGeezer]

slopes said:

Not me personally but someone i follow on Instagram posted from the Goodwood FoS what they bought for £8 to eat. A large roll, 2 measly bits of bacon and a smear of sauce.

£8 chuffin quid

Same thing at the local Cafe is like £1.95 and looked about the same sort of quality to be honest

try going to a concert at Wembley Arena - talk about stiffing the captive audience

[Shnozz]

My 89 year old Father religiously buys all his pre-prepared meals at a shop called Cook. The meals are decent quality for ready meals to be fair and about £6 a pop. On the counter where he pays he always adds a small pack of what are essentially posh wrapped cadburys buttons - £4 a bag! He’s never really looked at prices and it shows.

[Olivera]

slopes said:

Not me personally but someone i follow on Instagram posted from the Goodwood FoS what they bought for £8 to eat. A large roll, 2 measly bits of bacon and a smear of sauce.

£8 chuffin quid

Same thing at the local Cafe is like £1.95 and looked about the same sort of quality to be honest

£8 is absolute chump change compared to the ticket/grandstand prices.

Best not looking at food prices at the Miami GP:

[HTP99]

DodgyGeezer said:

slopes said:

Not me personally but someone i follow on Instagram posted from the Goodwood FoS what they bought for £8 to eat. A large roll, 2 measly bits of bacon and a smear of sauce.

£8 chuffin quid

Same thing at the local Cafe is like £1.95 and looked about the same sort of quality to be honest

try going to a concert at Wembley Arena - talk about stiffing the captive audience

Wembley Stadium concert a couple of weeks ago they were proudly advertising a drinks deal "4 cans for £27.50", cans of Stella!!

[Jasandjules]

I think I might just win this.

Dog show many years ago. Friend wanted a hot water. I went to the stand and asked. Can't sell hot water, will have to sell a tea without a teabag. Ok, I will have that please. £5.

Yes, you read that right, it cost me £5 for a cup of hot water. I did get a teabag on the side mind....

[Hoofy]

Skeptisk said:

Currently on holiday in the South West (enjoying the cold and wet - got a love a British summer!) Stopped off at a farm shop and saw some posh crisps we hadn’t tried before. What a disappointment. Twice the price but half the taste (compared to something like Walkers/Lays).

So they're healthier for you and you're supporting a small, independent business.

I paid £6 for a toastie at a recent Brooklands event. TBH it was enjoyable enough to eat (if a little narrower and more rectangular than I'd have imagined) but I'm also supporting an independent business who paid for the space, the payment of which goes to the museum.

There are limits, of course. I wouldn't have paid £15 for a toastie at the same venue.

[robemcdonald]

I don’t have any particular examples to share, but have had my share of £20 burgers when attending events (I’m looking at you Cambridge beer festival)
All these relatively expensive items seem to share one trait. They are all disappointingly average in the quality department.

[John D.]

slopes said:

Not me personally but someone i follow on Instagram posted from the Goodwood FoS what they bought for £8 to eat. A large roll, 2 measly bits of bacon and a smear of sauce.

£8 chuffin quid

Same thing at the local Cafe is like £1.95 and looked about the same sort of quality to be honest

Stating the obvious I know, but the local Cafe isn't in the middle of FoS. You are paying more for more.

[JagYouAre]

Skeptisk said:

Other examples of times you have paid over the odds to get something “better” but found it was either no better or actually worse than the cheaper option?

Pretty much any branded food item in a supermarket. Especially things like cereal, yogurt etc. Kelloggs stuff is upwards of £3 a box, while Sainsbury's own (or other supermarket) are a fraction of the price and taste the same. Yeo Valley yogurt etc made in the same factories as the own name stuff and cost twice as much.

[Scabutz]

There is a wine I drink thats often on offer in supermarkets. Campo Vejo. There are different versions, the yellow label is the cheapest, then orange (Reserva), then a dark cream coloured (Gran Reserva). Each one gets more expensive up to £15 a bottle for the top one, but the yellow one is the nicest, in my opinion.

[anonymous-user]

M&S and Waitrose ready meals. Honestly I think they are worse than the equivalent Tesco or Sainsbury equivalent.

Fish and chips in any restaurant with the hand full of chips served in a basket with fake newspaper in the bottom. I guarantee that the fish and chips from my local chippy will be infinitely better.

Green and blacks Easter eggs. Give me a Cadburys button fresh out of the fridge Easter egg any day.

[D1bram]

Scabutz said:

There is a wine I drink thats often on offer in supermarkets. Campo Vejo. There are different versions, the yellow label is the cheapest, then orange (Reserva), then a dark cream coloured (Gran Reserva). Each one gets more expensive up to £15 a bottle for the top one, but the yellow one is the nicest, in my opinion.

Great that you prefer the cheaper one (crianza), though I would say most don't.

With Rioja there are strict rules as to the ageing for how they are classified, a reserva costs more to produce than a crianza, then a gran reserva more again.

So you are paying more, but certainly getting a more costly to produce product too.