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Toilet roll multipacks
Aug. 20th, 2007 01:24 pmOK, so we're all used to the idea, that buying a big pack of something, works out cheaper. You buy a crate of beer, then you'll pay a lower price than if you buy individual cans.
The theory being, I'd imagine, is that buying a case of beer, is less packing, and because you have it on hand, you're more likely to use it up faster. Therefore more 'stuff' sold to you.
But... why is this the case with toilet rolls? I mean, bogrolls are non-perishable, and I'm pretty sure their usage rate is independant of how many you have in stock. I mean, I might go get a beer, if there's one handy, but I don't tend to use a 'few extra sheets' simply because there's loads in stock.
I refuse to believe the packing, and associated costs of toilet rolls are so heavily skewed that the difference is found there. I mean, a sheet of polythene over your 24 pack, does have less surface area than 24 individual rolls, but... well, I have a hard time beliveing that that's actually a significant quantity.
Now, there's economies of scale in shifting larger volumes, but ... again, I can't see the 'usage rate' of toilet roll changing at all, whether we buy one at a time, or 500 at once.
A similar train of thought goes for other 'non perishable' goods. The only really limiting factor is on storage space, or 'upfront' costs, but ... well, I'd have thought that that kind of thing evens out over the kind of quantites that end up moving through supermarkets - enough people shop there, that you'll still move a lorryload over a sensible amount of time.
The theory being, I'd imagine, is that buying a case of beer, is less packing, and because you have it on hand, you're more likely to use it up faster. Therefore more 'stuff' sold to you.
But... why is this the case with toilet rolls? I mean, bogrolls are non-perishable, and I'm pretty sure their usage rate is independant of how many you have in stock. I mean, I might go get a beer, if there's one handy, but I don't tend to use a 'few extra sheets' simply because there's loads in stock.
I refuse to believe the packing, and associated costs of toilet rolls are so heavily skewed that the difference is found there. I mean, a sheet of polythene over your 24 pack, does have less surface area than 24 individual rolls, but... well, I have a hard time beliveing that that's actually a significant quantity.
Now, there's economies of scale in shifting larger volumes, but ... again, I can't see the 'usage rate' of toilet roll changing at all, whether we buy one at a time, or 500 at once.
A similar train of thought goes for other 'non perishable' goods. The only really limiting factor is on storage space, or 'upfront' costs, but ... well, I'd have thought that that kind of thing evens out over the kind of quantites that end up moving through supermarkets - enough people shop there, that you'll still move a lorryload over a sensible amount of time.
