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November 16, 2003
What does that have to do with the price of soda in Japan?
On Friday night there was a big party sponsored by the store I work at, and some other brands. I didn't stay too late, but did my damage. The next morn, I had to open at 7am, which I did. To facilitate the waking process I decided to go to our local beanery, "The Looney Bean" and buy some tea. In an instant I realized the absurdity of them charging wildly different prices for difference sizes of the same tea. No matter what size you ordered, they just handed you a cup and a tea bag. You filled it with hot water. At least with a larger coffee, it requires more beans.As I was leaving I was reminded of something I saw on my trip to Japan in 97. There were tons of vending machines everywhere offering everything you could imagine. I walked up to a soda machine and noticed they had multiple sizes of coke for sale. The crazy part was that the two sizes of coke had the same price. I stared for an eternity trying to figure out what madness this was. Was it a trick? Why wouldn't everyone just buy the larger one? Do the locals really buy the smaller one just because they think they might not finish the larger one? Certainly, if that machine were America, everyone would buy the larger one. I knew that to be true, but didn't know why. I know an American would never think to buy the smaller one because he couldn't finish the big one. An American would buy the big one and save the unfinished portion for later. Was it because American's are cynical and always think corporations are screwing them, thus they take as much as they can? Is it because American's always think more is better? Is it a selfish thing? I still don't know. Anyone have any thoughts?
Posted by wonko at November 16, 2003 11:40 PM
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Comments
I think the Japanese thing has to do mainly with their concept of modesty, but with respect to the "What would Americans do" question:
We're basically trained from birth to be "smart" shoppers.
That almost always means buying more than you actually need (and can afford), because "It's a deal". Remember when McDonald's Burgers were $.29 on Wednesdays? I remember, after complaining how bad the burgers were, a friend saying (only half jokingly) "We'd be stupid *not* to buy them that cheap". (I think we ended up going there too...)
Of course, "smart" shopping is not "wise" shopping.
Anyone who's played D&D will tell you, intelligence and wisdom are two completely different attributes. Intelligence tells you that the economy size jar of capers is a better deal than the standard size, and, because we're "Smart" shoppers, we grab it. Wisdom should tell you "In your entire life you'll probably never consume 10 gallons of capers."
I'm almost certain one could sum up the entire "What the hell is wrong with America" question as a mix of high intelligence with low wisdom. But like most americans, i'm much to lazy to give it more than a few loose paragraphs. Maybe after breakfast: Therre's a 2 for1 McMuffin deal going on..
Posted by: Turd Furguesson at November 17, 2003 09:48 AM
I'm not convinced that all Americans would buy somthing vastly larger than they anticipate needing. Certainly some, and perhaps even most, would. But the idealist in me is screaming to be heard, and I feel like listening.
Posted by: kasei at November 17, 2003 10:02 AM
While I applaud your idealism. I bet 99.999% of American's would choose the larger one. Especially if that product was produced by a large company such as coca-cola. Like most things, one should practice moderation in ones idealism. Hmm.. That sounds contradictory to what I'd said before.
Posted by: Wonko at November 17, 2003 10:17 AM
We do by the larger portion. Why do you think we have Sam's Club and Cosco and any other warehouse store out there? I remember seeing a report a couple of years ago a news spot by a local investigative journalist who showed that we get screwed when we purchase the larger portion. That 90% of the time the product goes bad before we can finish it and that extra dollar we spend to upsize to the larger portion makes that corporation more money than if you just bought two of the regular size. So I'd have to agree that Americans would buy the bigger one for the same price, if just to say, "Screw you Coca-Cola".
Posted by: Obigabu at November 17, 2003 04:24 PM
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