This just struck me. It costs $0.25 for me to get a tampon out of the machine in our office’s bathroom, but $2.89 for a box of 10 tampons in the drug store.
The tampons in the bathroom are Playtex, with a plastic applicator. Each one is individually wrapped in plastic and has an outer cardboard tube around it. The ones from the drug store are Tampax, cardboard applicator, wrapped in paper and come in a flimsy cardboard box.
I know that the drug store has to make a profit and that the office supply company probably gets a bulk deal, but why the heck does a cheaply constructed tampon cost me about four cents more than a better one?
I think I know where I’m purchasing my tampons from now on…
There’s the issue of having to pay someone to restock those machines. And from what I’ve seen at workplaces and read, the tampon machines are occasionally vandalized (probably to steal the money inside), so they have to be maintained and fixed.
Part of it is the convenience factor - things out of vending machines always cost more than if you buy in bulk in a store. If you want a soda, you can always choose not to buy one if the machine cost is too high. But if you don’t have a tampon and really need one, you’re pretty limited in your option to pass that machine by.
Umm…I think she was asking why the machine is cheaper, not more expensive.
Re the answer volume, volume, volume. Lot’s of things are seriously cheaper in bulk, and I doubt they look at Tampons as a profit item and probably just price it at their cost or near to it. FWIW please don’t deplete the machine to save a few cents. The bathroom Tampons are typically emergency items and they are a lot more important to a woman in need than the few cents it would save you.
:smack: Shows me why I shouldn’t cut down on caffeine just yet; I think I’ll go get one of those vending machine sodas. Turns out it’s reading for comprehension that I’m slacking on today, anyway. In my tampon buying, I’ve found a savings over getting them from the machine, and so didn’t read closely.
To follow astro’s point and my comment about being really stuck when you need a tampon in an emergency, then please don’t deplete the machine.
FWIW, Walgreen’s isn’t often that cheap - if you really want cheap, hit one of those big warehouse stores, or even the other regular discount stores like Walmart/Kmart/etc. Plus the 10-packs of tampons aren’t the volume sizes; if you want to see a price savings, get the 30-pack boxes. 10-packs seem to be like the small boxes of Kleenex, something you want to take to the office but won’t use up a lot of space. They get you on the price of those.
The machine refillers have some big industrial-sized box that they just stuff the machines with, and dump in a storage closet until they swing around again to refill.
Another issue to consider that I didn’t think of initially is that it might cost a substantial sum to get the dispenser changed (several hundreds of dollars) to one that will be able to handle multi-coin change and the change over simply isn’t worth it to make the couple extra bucks a month profit that the extra quarter (if they were priced at 50 cents) on a low volume machine like a tampon dispenser would generate.
Well, first of all, which tampon is “better” is a subjective matter. Personally, I prefer cardboard applicators.
I’d also add that tampons are one of those items for which consumers usually have a strong brand loyalty. A well-known brand like Tampax can set prices quite high without losing customers, because most women won’t switch brands under any circumstances short of the most dire emergency. Generic brands tend to be much cheaper.
Also, as Ferret Herder notes, the 10-tampon box is not the economy size; if you buy an 80-tampon box instead, it’ll probably be much cheaper than the machine.
In my case, where I work, the money from the machines goes to a christmas fund and gets used for a party at the end of the year.
It is a large company with several hundred workers. The money adds up fast.
Any way, the tampons are purchased by the company as a convenience thing for the women. The small fee of a quarter is no way a reflection of the actual cost of the tampons, rather a way to prevent someone from cleaning out the machines. Also acts as an idirect donation to the christmas fund.
Maybe it’s a ‘service’ issue. The office may be willing to lose a little money here because it’s worth it to keep the women happy. It’s not like it would be a highly profitable enterprise anyway, is it? I mean, I thought most women kept themselves pretty well-prepared, and then stocked up the supplies in their purses periodically (sorry).
I’ll bet the janitors don’t have to restock the vending machines often, probably not even monthly.
I’m surprised nobody at your compnay has griped about the fact that the men don’t have to pitchin any money Maybe your company should install condom machines as well.
Those extra 3 cents a tampon is to ensure that there is a tampon where/when you need it. In my experience, tampon machines often take your money without dispensing anything, jam, take two or three quarters before dispensing anything, get quarters stuck in them, etc.
So while theoretically, they’re only 25cents/tampon, I think I’ve spent between 50 and 75 cents (on average) for every tampon I’ve bought out of a machine.
Maybe your company should install condom machines as well.