# Things whose price has barely changed in decades **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921 "2025-12-21T20:17:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/1 "2025-12-21T20:17:45Z")
As a child, we eagerly read the Sears “Christmas Wish Book” every year the moment the catalogue arrived. It started with pages of gifts for $5, $10, $20… etc. before continuing to what in retrospect were often ugly clothing and housewares, and other stuff you would expect, like $1000 calculators and VCRs. My thrifty parents never did get around to buying a “Dröste Chocolate Initial” for $5. I saw something similar on sale at a drug store last week for $4 - and it occurred to me the price of such had barely budged. Not that I bought one. Don’t need it now; and at the time my dad usually suffered alternate cheapo gifts of Old Spice, Hai Karate cologne, or the oddly named Brut (Brute?) **by Fabrégé** - a phrase which I guess turned skunk water into wine. **What other things have basically stayed the same price over decades?** ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/2 "2025-12-21T20:18:51Z")
Gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/3 "2025-12-21T20:22:44Z")
Compact discs. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/4 "2025-12-21T20:27:07Z")
Costco Hot Dogs ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/5 "2025-12-21T20:27:19Z")
Gas station bathroom condoms. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/6 "2025-12-21T20:30:39Z")
Arizona Iced tea still goes for .99 cents I think. It’s cheaper than bottled water. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/7 "2025-12-21T20:59:39Z")
Salt. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/8 "2025-12-21T21:13:24Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Costco Hot Dogs … and rotisserie chickens! I heard they lose money on both of these items yet refuse to raise the price for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/9 "2025-12-21T21:14:18Z")
Loss leader. You go in for a chicken and you leave with a cart full of other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/10 "2025-12-21T21:17:01Z")
Video games were $49.99 in the 90s, and then eventually became $59.99 and very rarely more. Adjusted for inflation, that means they’re actually cheaper now than before even though they cost much much more to make now. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/11 "2025-12-21T21:25:41Z")
Totino’s Party Pizza. It was regular priced 3/$5 in the 00s, and can still be found on sale for that price or very close to it frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/12 "2025-12-21T21:29:22Z")
When I was in high school, if you didn’t care about the brand, you could get a pair of jeans for about $15. Last time I bought jeans, a couple of years ago, that was still the price. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/13 "2025-12-21T21:44:28Z")
Even cheaper than that at Costco, I think. They have several options for $10/pair. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/14 "2025-12-21T21:47:34Z")
Toothpaste? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/15 "2025-12-21T22:05:16Z")
Have you **BEEN** in a store lately? Toothpaste is like $9/tube. It used to be pennies. Here’s one: Computers. In 1984, a Mac 128K was $2,495. In 2025, a MacBook Pro M5 is $2,599 (decked out!). ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/16 "2025-12-21T22:14:43Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Here’s one: Computers. Meanwhile, RAM is like, what, a billion dollars now? Prices increased fivefold in just a few months: [RAM price crisis LIVE — all the latest updates on price surges, global memory shortage, expert advice and more | Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/news/live/ram-price-crisis-updates) Computers won’t be cheap much longer. AI is hogging all the new chips and there won’t be much left for everyday home users. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/17 "2025-12-21T22:19:38Z")
_“Ten Bucks, just like down the street!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/18 "2025-12-21T22:19:59Z")
Most beauty and health things have increased exorbitantly. But aspirin. Regular old aspirin. Is cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/19 "2025-12-21T22:26:57Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Gasoline. I have no idea how old you are, but I’m old enough to remember gasoline costing less than 30 cents a gallon. Prices didn’t increase until the oil embargo of the 70s. Now, I will grant you that the price of gasoline, although it has gone through wild fluctuations, hasn’t greatly changed in the last 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921/20 "2025-12-22T05:01:40Z")
This is something I ‘used’ to think about when I thought of this question. 24 packs of soda. I remember a 24 pack of name brand soda being about $6 in the early 90s, and I remember a 24 pack of name brand soda being about $6 before covid. Of course, since covid its now $12 for a 24 pack. But we had a good run. I will add this. Pizza is still pretty cheap. In college I used to get a large 1 topping takeout pizza for $5-6 about 20 years ago, now you can get a large 1 topping for about the same price. > [@hajario](#): > > Costco Hot Dogs Charging someone $1.50 for a hot dog and a fountain drink in the 1980s is criminal. Isn’t a fountain drink only about $0.30 in parts (cup, straw, drink) even in today’s money? Also hot dogs aren’t that expensive, a generic pack is still under $2. > [@beowulff](#): > > Have you **BEEN** in a store lately? Toothpaste is like $9/tube. The dollar tree still sells a large tube for $1.25. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-whose-price-has-barely-changed-in-decades/1025921.md?page=2)