Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I'm the Next Contestant on The Price is Right!

Not really, though I'd get a kick out of meeting Drew Carey! But I was thinking about this today: how good a sense do you have of what things cost? And I mean the little things in life, that you might buy occasionally if not every day.

Example: dental floss. I just saw my favorite kind at Duane Reade. (Glide Comfort Plus Mint) They don't always have it in stock, so I grabbed 3 packs. Then I noticed that it was $4.99 each. That seemed weird to me-- I have no idea how much I've paid in the past, but if you'd asked me how much a pack of dental floss cost, I'd have guessed maybe $2.99. I haven't bought it in a few months, but I've bought it many times, and always at Duane Reade, so why was my guess off by 40%???

In trying to think of other things like this, I'm sure there are many household items for which I have no idea how much I'd pay-- cleaning products, sponges, a pound of sugar. And for bigger things like a lawnmower or a car or a set of skis, I'd be totally clueless. If I was a contestant on The Price is Right, I'd probably lose! How would you do?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I probably would lose too. But it is slightly unfair as things cost differently in different places.

I should keep better track of what things cost. I'll definitely know if an item has an extremely high markup but less than $1 I might not notice if I didn't buy it every week.

So, my goal is to make a price journal with prices and brands of things I buy. That way I can tell what is a good deal and the best place to stop for what I need.

Melissa said...

I'd likely be able to tell them what the item usually goes on sale for, but I don't tend to buy things at retail prices.

I'm assuming The Price Is Right uses "suggested retail price" to price their items. My grocery store is often much lower than these "suggested prices", so I'd likely have to add 10-20% to all of my estimates to get close.

Anonymous said...

My problem with prices stems now from being caught in a "price time warp". I think everything I've been buying for the last 5-10 years is the same price it was 10 years ago. That's why things so expensive b/c I know it used to be "cheap" (well...it was, in 1995).

Big items, I would suck on TPIR. Bit items, no matter what their true value is, is always really really expensive (to me) and I'd low guess every time. (A fridge should not cost more than $500.)

1001 Petals said...

I kept a price book for a long time so even now, I know how much things generally cost and do keep an eye on things so I know when something is a good deal or not.

scissorbill said...

$21.86 for 6 with free shipping at amazon!

MEG said...

I would lose for sure. I don't keep up with what anything costs except the things I buy often myself - which limits my knowledge to gourmet food and alcoholic beverages.

As for personal products, furniture, books, etc I just don't buy often enough to remember.