We only had 2-3 cases, but some people were buying 6-8 at a time. We had to suppress laughter everytime someone bought them.
:smack: Ooops, sorry…
I’m almost afraid to answer this, for fear I’m being whooshed again, but yes, the cups do cost more than the soda. I’ve worked fast food and movie theaters, and we always kept inventory on the cups, never on the amount of beverage we sold.
I was serious (sorta 
) this time, even though I had suspected as much from the illogical pricing. In those places with unlimited refills, it’s even more unfathomable.
I worked in a fast food taco place (not Taco Bell) that in the summer would sell the super large for 59 cents during the summer , which was cheaper than any of the other (smaller) drink sizes. But it wasn’t some stupid pricing, they knew what they were doing, it was just a promotion for the summer. But the real funny thing would be when someone would order a medium drink and we said, “Would you like a Super, it’s actually cheaper?” they would reply, “No thanks, I’m not that thirsty.”
I guess I have no shame. I order kids meals all the time. My 7 yo son and I walk into BK, I order cheeseburger kids meal, he gets the chicken strips kids meal…Oh, and can you please make sure we each get a different toy? Thanks!
No one has ever turned us down…not even on the toy thing.
Surely you’ve heard the Yogi Berra bit about the pizza, and whether he wanted it sliced into 6ths or 8ths?
You can always apply a Yogism to any situation.
By the way cut it in 8 slices for me, I’m going to share it.
patiently But they’re mangos. More mangos are *always * better.
There’s a recently-spreading chain of discount stores around here actually called “Stupid Prices.” That’s the name of the store; it’s what’s on the big sign out front.
I know they’re trying to imply they sell 40-cent shovels and six-dollar VCRs, but the name works the other way, too. Last time I drove by one with someone in the car, I pointed out the store and said, “One hot dog, ten thousand dollars.” 
Mmmmm…$10,000 hot dog…
I’ve noticed this several times. Not sure if pricing has changed in recent years.
Wriggly Gum:
small pack of 5 sticks: $0.25
large pack of 17 sticks: $1.00
If you go to postcard shows, you might run across this one dealer (I don’t recall his name) who sells his cheaper stock with a price structure something like this:
One to ten cards – 30¢ each
Eleven to twenty cards – 25¢ each
Twenty-one to forty cards – 20¢ each
Forty-one to one hundred cards – 15¢ each
Over one hundred cards – 10¢ apiece
Naturally, he chuckles at the customer who, for example, buys ten cards and pays $3, never realizing she could have saved a quarter by selecting an additional view, or gotten a dozen scenes for her three bucks…
I just order the kid’s meal straight out, even if I’m alone and it’s the only thing I want to eat. There’s nothing on the menu with age limits, and there’s really no reason for them to refuse to sell one to an adult, especially if the kid’s combo meal costs more than the individual items would.
For a while, I would order a kid’s cheeseburger meal to go. Basically the right amount of food for me, relatively cheap, and a toy to give to my son when I got hom. Then when they started the $1 wars, this got more expensive than ordering a larger burger and a larger soda, sans toy. Since the burger was larger, I didn’t need the fries. (Not that I needed the fries anyway, but that’s a different story…)
As far as "Stupid Pricing"goes, though, it’s a myth that bulk is always cheaper. I do belong to Sam’s and shop there about once a month. But on a per unit basis, the generic grocery store brands are generally less expensive than the brand-name bulk items they sell at Sam’s. For example, toilet paper at Sam’s is more expensive than the local store brand, and the store brand is better quality. It makes sense to really look at unit pricing on a regular basis, to make sure that the deal is really a deal for you, instead of for the store.
“Buy one, get one free” deals also drive me crazy. Logically, this should mean that each of the items is half the normal price. However, I see it happen more and more often that stores charge full price for the first item, then discount the price to $0 for the second item, meaning that you actually do have to buy two of them to get the sale price. The grocery store I shop at the most often does this all the time, but since they don’t have price check points in the store, I often don’t find out until I get to the cash register how much I’ll have to pay if I really only want one of the item in question.
Since McDonald’s offers free refills on soda, I wonder why anyone eating in would order anything other than the smallest (A take-out order makes some sense). If you’re still thirsty, just go back and drink some more.
We once went to one of the places that offered a free refill, and used it for three of us.
One local supermarket has a lot of “buy one get one free” offer. I don’t object to the concept, but they tend to charge more than usual for the items on the list. I remember seeing one price for a loaf of bread; it was $2.19 regularly when they had the BOGO deal. However, at the supermarket down the street, the same brand and size of bread was selling for $0.99.
Back in the day when I worked fast food, I took the time to work out cost for a large soda. With cup, lid, soda and straw, grand total was all of .08. A cheeseburger was about .12.
SP
I’ve found one exception to the 2 for $5.00 rule. The local convenience store up the street will NOT charge $2.50 for one of the item (usually Cokes) They will charge their regular $3.49 for one 12 pack and $5.00 if the customer buys two. Not really sure, although I know they have a lot of customer who walk there and might not be able to carry two if they’re buying other things as well.
There’s also those little candy bags–2 for $1 or 59 cents each.
If by ‘cup’ you mean everything except the liquid contents of the cup, then… yes… sort of; you’re paying a certain amount *just for the privilege of being served in an establishment that has lights, toilets etc; it costs them the same amount to serve you a big drink as it does a small one, plus a tiny bit extra for the small difference in cost of liquid contents of the cup.
And usually a larger container of the same product will have a smaller unit price, but not always. Toothpaste is an exception I notice frequently.
Not all fast food places have free refills. Yes, most newer or renovated ones will have the fountain machine out in the dining section so they give you a cup and you fill it up yourself as many times as you want, but there are still plenty of places that have the soda behind the counter. Sure, maybe they’ll give you a refill if you ask, but in my experience, Wendy’s is the only place that I can actually get one without paying consistantly.