Incident at the Vending Machines...
LMAO! Another great Jeff-ism. You should write a book, Jeff, with all our your quotes. You do make a valid point. How do people expect new rides to be build, and money re-invested in the park, if they don't buy things in the park?
-Mikey :)
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If you're like me and you think Cedar Point should get the B/M Flyer in 2004, give me a "Hell Yeah!"
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Where is the Flow Be Gone!
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Get with it or die in the process.....
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Where is the Flow Be Gone!
The point is, that when you are at an amusement park, ballgame, festival, etc... you are not necessarily a captive audience, but you can be most conveniently served by purchasing what is within the confines of your microcosm of the world. Can you go outside? Sure, but you've lost the convenience.
Before the advent of 24-hour grocery stores, if I wanted a Coke at 10:30 at night, I had two choices: I could go to the local Uni-Mart (Speedway, 7-11, Sheetz, etc.) and buy a Coke for a dollar, or I could do without. Nevermind that during the day, I could get the same Coke at the grocery store for 35 cents. That was the cost of that convenience. In our current case, the convenience is not having to leave the park for a beverage.
Is the cost of this convenience worth it? Based on the responses on this topic so far, no. But it's already been said: We're in a free-market economy. If you believe the price to be too high, vote with your dollars. Don't purchase the product.
I'd like to explain it further, but I can't add anything to this simplicity.
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Duane Cahill
I know a lot about cars. I can look at a car's headlights and tell you exactly which way it's coming.
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-Chris Woodard
To the people in front of me: "No, those towers aren't supposed to sway like that. I think you should leave the line right now."
VertiGo: now known as Verti-Picnic Tables.
That's good to hear! :) If people are buying them then they won't come down, but if CP is taking a hit in profit because of the prices, expect them to change - they went down from $2.50 to $2.00 last year so I don't know who's brilliant idea it was to try $3.00!? :)
Also, Browntggrr, you are right about CP costing as much as a baseball game, but to me, the price CP charges is much more justified and you get a whole lot more for the money. At CP, there is a lot of cost associated with running/maintaining the park and also a budget to build new rides and attractions. You get a 12 hour day out of your $40 at CP instead of 3 hours at a baseball game. Baseball has created their own problems by overpaying mediocre players. Even crappy players like Rey Ordonez make 2 million dollars or more. Owners are to blame as much or more than players for their economic problems. I'm not going to pay $40 to go watch a game, possibly even a crappy game, when I can spend $40 to go to CP or another park and be almost guaranteed 10 or more hours of more fun than I'd be having watching baseball! :)
-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew
It is nice to know that the execs at CP are listening to their guests with the possibility of the price reduction. This is the reason that CP has been voted #1.
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...I will be more than happy to give you a cigarette...
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Go Full Force
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Snoopy Rocks! On Ice starts June 22--Do you think they'll let me drive the Zamboni machine?
I want to drive the Zamboni!
As we were entering CP last Friday, employees were taking away any water bottles people were carrying into the park. People protested, and the employees would just shrug, saying they were just required to enforce the policy. There were piles of water bottles at every station. Now, to me that is just robbery.
I stepped out of line, put our bottles into our backpack, and walked in, with no questions asked. The only reason for the policy is so they can sell you the same thing for $3. It's not like there's some safety concern or legitimate way to justify the "policy" What a rip!
We'll be packing our own, and asking for refills at the concessions this Friday--with ice
In spite of popular opinion, I have to guess that the $3 prices are going in increase their profits on the machines.
Basically, it comes down to the elasticity of demand. Or in layman's terms, how the percentage increase in price compares to the percentage decrease in sales. If it's price inelastic, they will make more money by raising their prices (up to a certain point, of course).
What makes prices elastic...
- Substituability, basically whether or not you have other options, in this case the answer is pretty much no. The exception is free water which has been mentioned as is probably affecting the sales.
- Budget restraint. If people spend a large portion of their income on an item it is more elastic because people simply can't afford to buy as many. Does a bottle of soda constitute a large percentage of a person's income? Hopefully not.
- Postponability, in other words, is it something you could buy later at a better price. Again, this answer is primarily no. Although, increased prices may make you wait for your off-park lunch to get a beverage.
So, when you look at it, pretty much everything points to an inelastic item that will make more money as you raise prices. I would recommend getting used to the prices and finding substitutes.
Now that I've finished my little thesis ;o) the real question is should you really be drinking a pop after walking around in the heat for hours? Free water for me, thank you.
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Wicked Twister Rocks
Get To The Po!nt My Website
Evan H.
Webmaster
GetToThePo!nt
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BTS Cedar Point
http://www.cedarpoint.tk
My husband and I were in the park last weekend (Sat 10/15) and while standing in line for I think it was the Magnum we decided to get a botle of water to share from the vending machine. There were several beverage machines lined in a row along with one candy machine.. Every last one of them said sold out and the backlit front faces of them were damaged from being struck or kicked in by the guests that were probably taken for their money only to discover that the machine was empty and their money was not refunded. I know for a fact that the replacement parts for those machines are not cheap. (I worked in a bowling alley many years ago and was responsible for ordering a part for a pop machine that was destroyed by some drunken fool that fell into it and broke the front face.).. People aren't smart enough to realize that yeah, it's bad enough that they can charge us $3.00 for the same bottle of pop or water that we could have gotten anywhere outside of the park for $2 less and that we pay it because we don't have much other option, however when we act out of violence and go on a destructive rampage because the machine cheated someone out of their money (it happens to the best of us and yes, I'll admit, it pi**es me off when it happens to me) kicking the damend thing in doesn't solve anything.. It only raises the prices for you and everyone else. Who do you think pays for the damages? It definately doesn't come out of Cedar Points pocket. To avoid that whole scinario, I think it would be wise to bring back the old way of doing things.. Soda fountain jerks through out the longer lines. Saves one not only the hassle of trying to dig for and insert 3 one dollar bills, 12 quarters or any other combination of the correct change accepted by the machines (which if you ask me is a pain in the A$$ in itself) it would be less costly in the long run. Does anyone else agree??
I would like to hear everyone elses thoughts on this.
*** Edited 10/20/2005 4:24:01 AM UTC by Witches wheel Wendy***
Wendy Barnhart
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