# Take-Out Pizza Price War **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481 "2010-02-10T21:44:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/21 "2010-02-11T12:28:16Z")
> [@palacheck](#): > > The manager of a smallish pizza chain told me that it cost his restaurant around $1.75 per **large** pizza. OVER 16 INCHES of pizza for less than the price we peons pay for a Big Mac. > > I thought only movie theaters had the balls to charge those kinds of outrageous prices. That’s only the cost of the pizza itself. A large part of those “outrageous prices” pay for things like the building rent and maintenance, employee costs, advertising costs, electricity, etc. Once you factor in all of that, the price isn’t quite so outrageous. Just about anything you buy only costs a tiny fraction of what you pay for it. McDonalds and everyone else is gouging you just as badly. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/22 "2010-02-11T17:25:44Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > That’s only the cost of the pizza itself. A large part of those “outrageous prices” pay for things like the building rent and maintenance, employee costs, advertising costs, electricity, etc. Once you factor in all of that, the price isn’t quite so outrageous. > > Just about anything you buy only costs a tiny fraction of what you pay for it. > > McDonalds and everyone else is gouging you just as badly. about %50 of the sales of a pizza joint goes to food/operating costs the rest is generally profit. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/23 "2010-02-11T17:40:23Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Not here (Florida)-what is this “price war” of which you speak? The other day I got a medium 2 topping regular from Papa John’s for $15 (plus $3 tip)… If you order online PJs has a “any large 5-topping for $10” deal at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/24 "2010-02-11T17:45:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > If you order online PJs has a “any large 5-topping for $10” deal at the moment. Could this be regional too? I just checked Papa Johns online and the special has changed from my last post, but is now any large, your choice of toppings, $10. (Not limited to 5 toppings.) I can’t say I am hating the cheaper delivery pizzas, but if this keeps up my family might end up extremely fat. We have had delivery pizza more in the past month than we have in the past several years combined I think. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/25 "2010-02-11T17:48:00Z")
Possibly, but it ought to be in his region 'cause I’m in Florida too. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/26 "2010-02-11T17:58:38Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/27 "2010-02-11T18:02:12Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > Don’t forget the $2 delivery fee they charge you. This is annoying, and I complained about it the last time I had Domino’s deliver. (For the record, their new recipe still tastes like ketchup on cardboard.) Including tip, I think I paid about $23 for a large pizza with one topping. Ridiculous. Their whole business model is based on delivery. Any fees for delivery should be baked-in to the cost of the product. They should give walk-ins a $2 discount instead. I can walk two blocks to the local sports bar and order a great $12 large pizza and carry it home myself for free. Delivery businesses are going to have to bring their prices way down before I’ll be tempted to buy from them again. ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/28 "2010-02-11T19:11:56Z")
I thought we loved joining you guys in wars! Wait for us, I want a 5 topping PJ pizza for £6.40 ($10). We have to pay twice that. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/29 "2010-02-11T19:51:28Z")
> [@pope\_hentai](#): > > former chain pizza manager here. the material cost to make a 14 inch pizza is like 2 or 3 bucks. prices can get lower. i hope one of em chokes on it. Depending on the price of cheese at any given time, this is correct. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/30 "2010-02-11T20:08:39Z")
I got a stuffed crust from Pizza Hut for lunch today for $12.13. I remember paying closer to $20 a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/31 "2010-02-11T20:11:19Z")
Yeah there’s a price war. Pizza Hut was charging $18+ for a large not so long ago. Dominoes had all sorts of deals but it usually involved getting 2 or 3 medium pizzas instead of the one large for a reasonable price I wanted. That was about the time I stopped going to them and started going to a local Italian place. I have tried the new Dominoes pizza recently though, it’s quite good. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/32 "2010-02-11T21:15:04Z")
> [@pope\_hentai](#): > > former chain pizza manager here. the material cost to make a 14 inch pizza is like 2 or 3 bucks. prices can get lower. i hope one of em chokes on it. Yea…but you have to add cost of labor…so add 5 cents… ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/33 "2010-02-11T21:21:36Z")
We get Little Caesar’s quite often. Two large one-topping pizzas cost $11.70, I believe. That’s one dinner and a couple lunches sometime during the next week. Total bargain as far as I’m concerned. The frozen pizzas in the grocery cost more — at least the good ones. (All hail Totino’s.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481/34 "2010-02-11T22:03:30Z")
I picked up a pizza from Papa John’s on Saturday, just to try it out and take advantage of the ten-dollar deal. So now I know what DiGiorno means when they say their pizza takes like one delivered from a restaurant. But, wow, was that a terrible pizza. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-out-pizza-price-war/528481.md?page=1)