2418 Stupid Me

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Stupid me.

I had thought that with the difficult economy, prices in general would fall. When fewer people have "excess" money to spend on extras, stores would have fewer customers, so I had assumed that they'd lower prices to keep people coming in, maybe get more people in. Twenty times a lower profit can be greater than ten times a higher profit, right?

Wrong. I guess, judging by the evidence, anyway.

Prices all over seem to have gone up suddenly, by an average of 20%. The wedge of brie that I used to pay $5.25 for is now $7.99. The creamer went from $3.89 to $5.45. First class postage stamps have gone up again. The case of prescription cat food I get from the vet went from $37 to $45. Piper said that he usually had the bologna and cheese sandwich at the corner deli, for about $5. Yesterday he went in and ordered the same sandwich at the counter, and when the clerk asked for over $7 (for a plain bologna cheese mustard sandwich on white?!), he told the clerk to tell the owner that was ridiculous, and he wouldn't be back, and he walked out without eating or paying. (Very significant. Piper doesn't DO stuff like that. Plus, the owner is one of Piper's clients.)

I don't understand.

When you lose the customers who can no longer spend on unnecessary things, it makes NO sense to drive away the ones you have left! The IGA was likely selling less brie at the old price, true, but *I* still would have bought it. I didn't buy the more expensive brie at the IGA yesterday, and I didn't buy the spinach salad at the corner deli, so they're selling even less now.

That makes no sense.

I guarantee zero times any higher markup is less than any positive number times any lower markup.
.