# $8.49 for the 36-pack of Pepsi? Will you take $6? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645 "2007-07-13T14:50:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/1 "2007-07-13T14:50:37Z")
I know we’re supposed to be very respectful and tolerant of other cultures and their customs. Still, Mr. Immigrant, you have to understand that in most retail stores in the United States, we don’t negotiate for prices; they’re fixed. Especially at a Costco. Especially when you’re dealing with a powerless cashier. Especially when there’s a long line of shoppers behind you, myself included among them, all waiting to pay for their goods. Especially when you’re trying to bargain on EVERY GODDAMN ITEM IN YOUR CART. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/2 "2007-07-13T14:52:25Z")
did you smile to the camera? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/3 "2007-07-13T15:28:38Z")
You mean there are other people? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/4 "2007-07-13T15:29:31Z")
I always end up in the wrong line too. Usually I’m behind the sweet little old lady who searches her purse, forever, for the last 3 cents instead of offering the nickel in her hand. Or the person who waits for the cashier to announce the total before getting their checkbook out, as if they just realized food isn’t free. Then there is the coupon clipper who, after the order is completely checked and the bill is tendered, says " Oh I found a 15 cents off coupon for the wine". You just have to find the humor in these things. My favorite was the guy in front of me who asked the clerk if she felt the amount of toilet paper he had selected was sufficient for all the food he was buying. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/5 "2007-07-13T15:32:07Z")
[QUOTE=Morgenstern] …You just have to find the humor in these things. [/QUOTE] I don’t normally bring my microscope when I go shopping. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/6 "2007-07-13T15:32:27Z")
But – this is the land of the free market! Doesn’t that mean that everyone can bargain as much as they like? Why can only large corporations offer terms of contracts? (Not that I’d do it myself, since I’d recognise that it’s a waste of time). ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/7 "2007-07-13T15:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=Morgenstern] My favorite was the guy in front of me who asked the clerk if she felt the amount of toilet paper he had selected was sufficient for all the food he was buying. [/QUOTE] That didn’t happen to you. That happened to George Carlin. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/8 "2007-07-13T16:03:59Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] That didn’t happen to you. That happened to George Carlin. [/QUOTE] Aw, give **Morgenstern** a break. I’m sure some of his most cherished memories are actually things that happened to other people on TV. 😃 Hey, wasn’t that a plot device used in a Simpsons episode once? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/9 "2007-07-13T16:13:26Z")
I’d pay the coupon savings amount for coupon shoppers just so the fucking line could start moving again. You’ve clipped a stack of coupons and the savings will be 2.98? Here's 3 bucks so the cashier doesn't have to scan that stack of .15 off coupons, call for confirmation that the coupon is still valid, price check…whatever in the fuck it is that takes so long. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/10 "2007-07-13T17:03:41Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] That didn’t happen to you. That happened to George Carlin. [/QUOTE] What? Just because George Carlin did it doesn’t mean no one else can? I can easily see the person behind me witnessing the same comment one of these days when the timing is right. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/11 "2007-07-13T17:17:06Z")
That guy usually ends up in front of me. Except at the post office, when I need a book of stamps, the machine is out of order, and I have exact change in my hand. Then it’s the woman who needs to mail a live chicken to the sole inhabitant of a small remote South Pacific island, except she can’t really remember his name or the name of the island. Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/12 "2007-07-13T17:27:20Z")
I got behind two people who didn’t use the divider, and the cashier rang up Person #2’s milk on Person #1’s bill. They realized it after Person #1 had paid, and the cashier said they’d have to go to customer service to sort it out. “Why don’t you just pay her for the milk?” I said to Person #2, nodding at Person #1. The cashier read off the price of the gallon of milk, and the guy had enough cash to pay for it, and they all went on their merry little way. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/13 "2007-07-13T18:57:40Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] That didn’t happen to you. That happened to George Carlin. [/QUOTE] How exactly do you know that **Morgenstern** _isn’t_ George Carlin? ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/14 "2007-07-13T19:02:09Z")
[QUOTE=Ponder Stibbons] Aw, give **Morgenstern** a break. I’m sure some of his most cherished memories are actually things that happened to other people on TV. 😃 [/QUOTE] No, it really did happen. Just ask his wife, uh…Morgan Fairchild. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/15 "2007-07-13T19:14:39Z")
$8.49 for a 36-pack? Dang, that’s really good. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/16 "2007-07-13T19:21:13Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Especially when you’re trying to bargain on EVERY GODDAMN ITEM IN YOUR CART. [/QUOTE] What were these other items? I’m trying to learn about foreign cultures. Wonder if this guy tries to haggle at the toll plaza. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/17 "2007-07-13T19:22:29Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] That guy usually ends up in front of me. Except at the post office, when I need a book of stamps, the machine is out of order, and I have exact change in my hand. Then it’s the woman who needs to mail a live chicken to the sole inhabitant of a small remote South Pacific island, except she can’t really remember his name or the name of the island. Or something like that. [/QUOTE] Or the guy in the bank drive-thru who was about three cars ahead of me. He was having a rather animated conversation with the teller, perhaps about the sixth-party check he was trying to cash using the tattoo on his arm as ID. They’re really amusing until they get annoying. Robin ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/18 "2007-07-13T19:23:55Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] $8.49 for a 36-pack? Dang, that’s really good. [/QUOTE] Pffft. I paid $8.00 for two 24 packs of Diet Pepsi three days ago at Stater Bros. This was with a $2.00 off in-ad coupon, but still that would have calculated to $7.50 for a 36-pack. I’m a _shopper_! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/19 "2007-07-13T19:27:23Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] I got behind two people who didn’t use the divider, and the cashier rang up Person #2’s milk on Person #1’s bill. They realized it after Person #1 had paid, and the cashier said they’d have to go to customer service to sort it out. “Why don’t you just pay her for the milk?” I said to Person #2, nodding at Person #1. The cashier read off the price of the gallon of milk, and the guy had enough cash to pay for it, and they all went on their merry little way. [/QUOTE] What? They didn’t complain bitterly, and question the cashier’s parentage and pedigree? They calmly worked out a quick solution that was to the benefit of all? That’s just so… wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645/20 "2007-07-13T19:35:26Z")
[QUOTE=Maus Magill] What? They didn’t complain bitterly, and question the cashier’s parentage and pedigree? They calmly worked out a quick solution that was to the benefit of all? That’s just so… wrong. [/QUOTE] I don’t believe it happened. She’s just trying to stir shit up. DNFTT. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-49-for-the-36-pack-of-pepsi-will-you-take-6/411645.md?page=2)