Perplexing Milk Pricing.

[Really Ancien]

I just got some milk at Lidl. They sell the semi-skimmed at £1.49 for 4 pints or 98p for 2 litres.
So one container costs 49 ppl and the other 65.6 ppl. The price label points this 33% discrepancy out, but they still sell lots of the 4 pint size. Am I missing something? Aldi do the same.

Damon.

[toekneep]

Gill spotted a similar anomaly at Morrisons a couple of weeks ago.

[border-rider]

The price label points this 33% discrepancy out, but they still sell lots of the 4 pint size.

It's a tax on people who refuse to use metric units

It always amuses me at the airport when some people make a point of using the green channel rather than the blue "EU" one.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the difference.

[should be cycling]

MV is quite right.

It's called price discrimination and is an established approach to maximising profits.  You have to charge a competitive price to capture price sensitive customers, but if you can get away with it, you charge less price sensitive customers more for the same product.  

For this to be successful you need to segment your market so that there is some barrier preventing less price sensitive customers automatically switching to the cheaper option.  In this case an irrational preference for imperial units.  Perhaps they figure that those who have such a preference are unusually likely to be less price sensitive.

Clearly it is working, since as you observe they are still selling the 4 pint version.

Unfair perhaps, but not illegal.  Fiendishly clever, these retailers.

EDIT: link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination

[Gattopardo]

Note that tesco sells semi 2l or 4 pints for £1 yet sells tesco brand for £1.49.

Similar sell by dates and just diiferent brand names. No idea why either.

[Really Ancien]

The price of £1.49 is so universal that I thought it might be price fixing. But perhaps there are two supply chains. One which was contracted ahead when commodity prices were high and results in that fixed price, and another 'spot' price for milk supplied outside those contract arrangements. The retailers will then need to segment the market to dispose of their 'contract milk' at a high price while attempting to maximise their profits by supplying milk at a lower price in a non-standard format. It only seems to be semi-skimmed, at Lidl it's St Ivel, so they may be using it as a way of disposing of liquid milk after they've used the cream for other products.
It's possible that forward buying may throw up other odd bargains.

Damon.

[Adrian]

It always amuses me at the airport when some people make a point of using the green channel rather than the blue "EU" one.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the difference.

I expect that it is a political comment

[border-rider]

It always amuses me at the airport when some people make a point of using the green channel rather than the blue "EU" one.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the difference.

I expect that it is a political comment

I have no doubt that it is.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the political difference

[Adrian]

It always amuses me at the airport when some people make a point of using the green channel rather than the blue "EU" one.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the difference.

I expect that it is a political comment

I have no doubt that it is.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the political difference

We have a large handed wearer of the purple latex here. I can't see him setting about these proposed new duties with any great enthusiasm.

[mike]

waitrose sell boxes of 9 organic, free range eggs for less than boxes of 6 organic, free range eggs.  Not less per egg, less for the box. 

even *I* can work that one out...

[Kathy]

waitrose sell boxes of 9 organic, free range eggs for less than boxes of 6 organic, free range eggs.  Not less per egg, less for the box. 

even *I* can work that one out...

Different egg sizing? Sainsbury's have started selling "family packs" of eggs - 15 eggs of any size for not much more than the cost of six. Because they're not bothering to sort by size, it's much cheaper to package them.

[Really Ancien]

I'd be interested to know if these diffferent offers make it onto the home delivery lists. I suspect that there's a premium to be made from dealing with people who never twig to any of this. There is also the 'list' mentality which ignores any variation from the usual pattern.

Damon.

[hellymedic]

I'd be interested to know if these diffferent offers make it onto the home delivery lists. I suspect that there's a premium to be made from dealing with people who never twig to any of this. There is also the 'list' mentality which ignores any variation from the usual pattern.

Damon.

I use home delivery and there are loads of anomalous prices available to me. It's probably easier to spot when sitting at a PC than when standing in the aisle.

[mike]

waitrose sell boxes of 9 organic, free range eggs for less than boxes of 6 organic, free range eggs.  Not less per egg, less for the box.  

even *I* can work that one out...

Different egg sizing? Sainsbury's have started selling "family packs" of eggs - 15 eggs of any size for not much more than the cost of six. Because they're not bothering to sort by size, it's much cheaper to package them.

that's probably it... it says 'mixed sizes' on the box.  Not noticeably smaller tho...

[Kathy]

waitrose sell boxes of 9 organic, free range eggs for less than boxes of 6 organic, free range eggs.  Not less per egg, less for the box.  

even *I* can work that one out...

Different egg sizing? Sainsbury's have started selling "family packs" of eggs - 15 eggs of any size for not much more than the cost of six. Because they're not bothering to sort by size, it's much cheaper to package them.

that's probably it... it says 'mixed sizes' on the box.  Not noticeably smaller tho...

It doesn't matter if they're smaller or larger - the cost saving of someone not being paid to sort them is the trick. 

[nuttycyclist]

It always amuses me at the airport when some people make a point of using the green channel rather than the blue "EU" one.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the difference.

I expect that it is a political comment

I have no doubt that it is.  Perhaps we should deploy more large-handed men with rubber gloves to educate them on the political difference

I've always used the green channel.

Not a political statement but a shorter walk.  It's never crossed my mind to use anything other than "Green - nothing to declare".

[border-rider]

Not a political statement but a shorter walk

Depends which airport it is...

It's never crossed my mind to use anything other than "Green - nothing to declare".

Quite.  But they aren't the same. 

[Really Ancien]

But what do you do if you are flying from one part of the EU to another, but via a Schengen country outside the EU such as Switzerland.
UK Customs - from EU via Switzerland - FlyerTalk Forums

Damon.

[Jaded]

Miss Jaded and I play the game of comparison price checking when we are out shopping. It throws up some interesting differentials.