ice Cream Prices .......do you think they are a rip off?

[Dave7]

A bigger "problem" if you have kids.
I dont very often eat it but my recent experiences tell me YES....ITS A RIP-OFF

LOCAL WARRINGTON VENDOR.
£1.00 WITH a flake. (Mr Whippy type)

NORFOLK.
On a recent holiday I paid £1.80 for a single cone (local made). No flake.

LAST WEEKS BIKE RIDE.
We went to an "ice cream farm" Nr Pickmere. £1.60 (home made)....no flake.

NEW BRIGHTON......yesterday(I didnt buy one).....Kelley's....£2.50 for single....no flake. Each vendor was the same (cartel ??)...now that is taking the mick.
Just wonderimg what others think.

 

[Brandane]

Yes it's a rip-off; so don't buy it. Supply/demand etc..
I love Ben and Jerry's ice cream, but refuse to pay the full price normally asked by supermarkets. If I see it on a 2 for 1 offer I might buy it; or go to FarmFoods who usually sell it at a much more reasonable price.

 

[smutchin]

Bear in mind that Mr Whippy is frozen aerated* vegetable fat while Pickmere and Kelly's are real dairy ice cream, ie made with whole milk. And I'm guessing the same applies to the Norfolk one as well. Kelly's claim to make their ice cream with Cornish clotted cream, which isn't a cheap ingredient.


*1L of the mix that's poured into the machine produces 2L of ice cream.

 

[Diggs]

I remember when BBC had a big expose on Ice cream sellers ripping off foreign tourists in London claiming it was called a 99 because it cost 99p.
Granted that was a long time ago...

 

[smutchin]

I remember when BBC had a big expose on Ice cream sellers ripping off foreign tourists in London claiming it was called a 99 because it cost 99p.
Granted that was a long time ago...

The invention of the 99 predates decimal currency by some years.

 

[ColinJ]

Co-op in Buxton on a very warm day last week: A single Magnum - £1.87. Iceland, a few hundred yards away - a pack of 4 for £1.63. We bought an own brand pack of Magnum clones instead - 4 for £1.00!

 

[Diggs]

The invention of the 99 predates decimal currency by some years.

Quite, but in the late 70s was retailing at considerably less than the 99p being charged by unscrupulous sellers outside the Tower of London

 

[KneesUp]

The amount of ice cream you can fit in a van is limited.
The price elasticity of demand is relatively low because it's a relatively cheap product that people see as a 'treat'

Ergo when there is high demand, the price will go up until the point where profit is maximised, which will be where the van sells out in the last minute of the day's trading.

The ice cream van isn't there to offer a service, it's there to maximise profit, just like any other business. Warrington doesn't tend to have as many tourists looking to 'treat' themselves as Norfolk, so it's cheaper there.

It's up to you whether or not the offer price is a "rip off"

 

[ColinJ]

I remember when BBC had a big expose on Ice cream sellers ripping off foreign tourists in London claiming it was called a 99 because it cost 99p.
Granted that was a long time ago...

Don't mention 99s - I still cringe thinking about the time I got to the front of an ice cream queue and told the good looking Italian ice cream vendor that I would like a 69!

 

[Tim Hall]

Don't mention 99s - I still cringe thinking about the time I got to the front of an ice cream queue and told the good looking Italian ice cream vendor that I would like a 69!

Good thing you weren't riding your Pompino at the time.

 

[User32269]

NEW BRIGHTON......yesterday(I didnt buy one).....Kelley's....£2.50 for single....no flake. Each vendor was the same (cartel ??)...now that is taking the mick.
Just wonderimg what others think.

Well if one visits upmarket swanky destinations, one must surely be prepared to pay a premium?

 

[smutchin]

Quite, but in the late 70s was retailing at considerably less than the 99p being charged by unscrupulous sellers outside the Tower of London

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation

ETA: sorry, just realised I misunderstood what you were saying... doh! Anyway, London prices don't bear any relation to the real world, especially when the customers are tourists, so it's hardly surprising.

 

[User32269]

the good looking Italian ice cream vendor that I would like a 69!

How much did it cost you?!

 

[smutchin]

And who do we blame for it?

I wonder if the reason she snatched the milk was to force people to make more non-dairy ice cream.

 

[Profpointy]

Nice meal cooked at home and not skimping - maybe a fiver.
Same meal in a moderate-priced restaurant - £30.

Cup of tea at home 5 new pence.
Cup of tea in cafe - two quid