# Things that should cost more than they do **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2021, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090 "2021-01-21T13:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/62 "2021-01-22T15:15:40Z")
Sorry for calling aluminum foil, tin foil. That’s just I’ve always called it. Eggs are 68 cents at Aldi, as mentioned above. Walmart also had them for 68 cents for a long time. They’re up to $1.18 now. I’m in Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/63 "2021-01-22T15:37:57Z")
9.99? How big of a roll are you buying? ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/64 "2021-01-22T17:32:20Z")
I had an uncle that worked for ALCOA and the one thing every family member had was like a 500’ roll of foil in an industrial size box with a cutter on it. It wasn’t until I was on my own that I discovered, you have to buy your own foil. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/65 "2021-01-22T17:35:51Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Tires. !!! I just spent over $900 for rubber and metal braiding shot into a mold. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/66 "2021-01-22T19:26:31Z")
Yeah, and considering the externalities, maybe that is still too little. And there are cheaper alternatives, I guess. How did they convince you to part with that much? Is your car special, or does it look special now? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/67 "2021-01-22T21:06:47Z")
I know a Croatian immigrant that returns home every summer. He packs as much aluminum foil into his bags as he can to give as gifts to friends and relatives. The way he tells it, it’s really expensive in that part of Europe and not as good. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/68 "2021-01-23T01:07:37Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Nonsense. There are plenty of banana varieties. **Ninety-nine percent** **of exported bananas** are a variety called the Cavendish—the attractive, golden-yellow fruit seen in the supermarket today. > **[What We Can Learn From the Near-Death of the Banana](https://time.com/5730790/banana-panama-disease/)** > > Monocultures are a problem for more than just bananas > **[A deadly fungus is on the verge of wiping out the banana forever](https://www.wired.com/story/fungus-could-wipe-out-banana-forever/)** > > For decades a deadly fungus has ravaged Asia's banana plantations. Now it's been found in Latin America, where almost all of the world's export bananas are grown ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/69 "2021-01-23T01:55:18Z")
I submit the humble potato. Ten pounds for a buck and a half. Goddamn, how does anybody in this supply chain make a cent??? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/70 "2021-01-23T04:12:16Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > **Ninety-nine percent** **of exported bananas** are a variety called the Cavendish—the attractive, golden-yellow fruit seen in the supermarket today. So? The loss of one variety does not mean there would be no more bananas, just as it didn’t when the Gros Michel bananas wee almost wiped out… ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/71 "2021-01-23T04:57:17Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Aluminum foil- So they’re able to take a solid metal, convert it to a thin consistent sheet and package it for use… and sell it for $9.99? Seems like it should cost more. It used to cost more… > **[Aluminum: Common Metal, Uncommon Past | Science History Institute](https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/aluminum-common-metal-uncommon-past/)** > > Now ubiquitous and vital to modern life, aluminum was once more expensive than gold, locked away in its ore without a commercially viable method to release it. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/72 "2021-01-23T10:48:33Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I submit the humble potato. Ten pounds for a buck and a half. Goddamn, how does anybody in this supply chain make a cent??? But potatoes are (among) the very easiest crops to grow more than you can use, even by an amateur. I’m not suprised they cost as little as they do. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/73 "2021-01-23T13:09:14Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > But potatoes are (among) the very easiest crops to grow more than you can use, even by an amateur. Or a Martian. I think it was _Fast Food Nation_ that broke down the economics of potatoes and how the farmers’ cut of the end price of french fries is the lowest in the food industry: 2 cents from every $1.50 order of fries. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/74 "2021-01-23T13:40:00Z")
gas is cheap in the US because we make a lot of it and also get a lot of oil from Canada which is cheap to get via pipelines. Most people don’t know Canada sends more oil to US than any other country. Also gas taxes here are low compared to most places ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/75 "2021-01-23T14:11:34Z")
Canada sends 2/3 of its oil to the US. The pipeline cancelled by Biden won’t increase the numbers - forcing the US to continue to depend on imports, mostly from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Iraq. The US imports about the same amount of oil as it produces domestically. And without a pipeline to the East - it’s cheaper for eastern Canada to import oil from the above-mentioned countries (and the US) than to have it shipped by rail or truck across the country. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/76 "2021-01-23T15:44:43Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > It used to cost more… Enter Andrew Mellon, who made a huge fortune in aluminum. Some sources regard him (along with Rockefeller and Ford) as one of the first three billionaires the world had ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/77 "2021-01-23T23:29:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Originally there was the “Penny store”, where everything was a penny. > > Then there was the “Five and Dime”, where everything was 5-10 cents. > > Now there is a “Dollar store”… Next comes the Pound Shop: (one of my favorite ‘funny bits’…) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rvP4F0FXNTU/hqdefault.jpg "John Finnemore at the Pound Shop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvP4F0FXNTU) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/78 "2021-01-24T05:17:11Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > gas is cheap in the US because we make a lot of it and also get a lot of oil from Canada which is cheap to get via pipelines. Most people don’t know Canada sends more oil to US than any other country. Also gas taxes here are low compared to most places Gas, per liter; is cheaper than a Big Slurpee at the gas station soda bar, made as you wait out of water, carbon dioxide, corn syrup and food coloring. Think about where that gas came from and how it got there. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/79 "2021-01-25T15:55:08Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > 9.99? How big of a roll are you buying? I’ve been wondering the same thing! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/80 "2021-01-25T16:12:57Z")
See Amazon’s page from Reynold’s store: > **[Reynolds Consumer Products: Standard & Non-Stick Aluminum Foil](https://www.amazon.com/stores/ReynoldsConsumerProducts/StandardNon-StickAluminumFoil_ReynoldsWrapFoil/page/6C9D85D1-E9C2-4D89-864C-4C0950DDF625)** > > Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil and Reynolds Wrap Non-Stick Foil makes roasting your family's favorite meals simple and keeps clean up easy. The 200SF roll of ordinary foil sells for ~$11. The heavy duty or 18" wide foil is even more expensive. One of the ways Reynolds and the others have held the line on prices as inflation just keeps slowly ticking away has been to put ever less linear feet of foil into the same size box. That’s how they still have a product selling for ~$3.50: it’s mostly an empty box. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090/81 "2021-01-25T18:34:26Z")
I probably buy a roll once a year, and likely the biggest size available. $9.99 wasn’t from a real price, but more like an estimate of what I recall paying last time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-should-cost-more-than-they-do/931090.md?page=5)