Cost of living. Everybody jumping on the bandwagon!

sambaDTR

sambaDTR

Well-known member
Well, finally dug my golf clubs out after a total knee replacement last September. Went to Ingleby Barwick driving range with my fiver for a large basket of balls, which it has been since as long as I can remember. Now though it is £6.50 (30% increase)!
 
an item (or service) is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

If you think its too expensive, dont buy it.

I have just stopped buying stuff I dont think is worth it, especially from retailers who I think are taking the pi$$.
 
Billy69_uk said:
an item (or service) is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

If you think its too expensive, dont buy it.

I have just stopped buying stuff I dont think is worth it, especially from retailers who I think are taking the pi$$.
Click to expand...

Determining which retailers are taking the P is pretty hard.
Fuel prices through the roof
Labour costs increasing (Living Wage)
Less disposable income

Retailers sell stuff to consumers and, in the main need to sell shed loads to keep going.
Many will fall by the wayside, high streets will get emptier. Only the strong will survive which will limit choice.

A retail business I know made 5.5m last year.
This year, energy alone has gone up 4m.
I’m sure they will survive but something has to give.
 
1finny said:
Determining which retailers are taking the P is pretty hard.
Fuel prices through the roof
Labour costs increasing (Living Wage)
Less disposable income

Retailers sell stuff to consumers and, in the main need to sell shed loads to keep going.
Many will fall by the wayside, high streets will get emptier. Only the strong will survive which will limit choice.

A retail business I know made 5.5m last year.
This year, energy alone has gone up 4m.
I’m sure they will survive but something has to give.
Click to expand...
I am absolutely sure that there are lots of small businesses on the tipping point right now, and I am also sure that there are lots of other businesses who are cynically using the situation to their advantage to drive up retail prices, drive down costs to suppliers, and increase overall profits and stakeholder dividends.

I saw an interview with a a guy who is a free range egg farmer ( I forget his official title), but he was answering questions about why had eggs doubled in price in the supermarkets (he was getting the blame). He said (and I forget the exact numbers but I am in the ball park) that a dozen eggs used to cost him about £1 to produce (energy, shipping, chickens etc) and a large supermarket chain would pay him £1.25, then sell them for £2.50 (or thereabouts).

The recent energy rises pushed up the production cost of the eggs to about £1.40 a dozen, but the supermarket had lowered their buying price to 95p a dozen, whilst putting the retail price up to £3.25 a dozen, whilst blaming the supply chain and the war in the Ukraine and rising energy prices.

price gouging.
 
The biggest screwers of profit are people like Shell.
They screw all of us, forcing people to live in cold, damp homes and threatening peoples lives this winter.
1672847766613.png

Shell records $18 billion profit in second quarter of 2022​

- Revenue hits $100 billion in second quarter, up from $84.2 billion in previous quarter, financial results show
1672847816668.png
Royal Dutch Shell reported a profit of more than $18 billion in the second quarter of 2022 compared to a $3.4 billion gain in the same quarter of last year, according to its financial results statement released Thursday. The company's second-quarter income was over 154% higher than its $7.1 billion earnings during the previous quarter. Shell increased its gains by 177% in the first half of the year compared to the same period of last year. It recorded a $25.15 billion gain in the first half of 2022, relative to $9.08 billion profit during the January-June period of 2021..........................

www.aa.com.tr

Shell records $18 billion profit in second quarter of 2022

- Revenue hits $100 billion in second quarter, up from $84.2 billion in previous quarter, financial results show - Anadolu Agency
www.aa.com.tr www.aa.com.tr
 
Billy69_uk said:
I am absolutely sure that there are lots of small businesses on the tipping point right now, and I am also sure that there are lots of other businesses who are cynically using the situation to their advantage to drive up retail prices, drive down costs to suppliers, and increase overall profits and stakeholder dividends.

I saw an interview with a a guy who is a free range egg farmer ( I forget his official title), but he was answering questions about why had eggs doubled in price in the supermarkets (he was getting the blame). He said (and I forget the exact numbers but I am in the ball park) that a dozen eggs used to cost him about £1 to produce (energy, shipping, chickens etc) and a large supermarket chain would pay him £1.25, then sell them for £2.50 (or thereabouts).

The recent energy rises pushed up the production cost of the eggs to about £1.40 a dozen, but the supermarket had lowered their buying price to 95p a dozen, whilst putting the retail price up to £3.25 a dozen, whilst blaming the supply chain and the war in the Ukraine and rising energy prices.

price gouging.
Click to expand...

That’s fair but - one sided.
I can tell you who the rogue supermarket is. Then there will be another who is a rogue on something else.
Those same supermarkets have lost their shirt in some other commodity driven markets (particularly those needing wheat). That kind of thing gets no reporting.

Small retailers are also pretty good at having your eyes out when they can.

Your position is buying something if it is good value is a good one.
All retailers will offer some of that most of the time tho.
 
There’s no doubt costs for the supermarkets have gone up significantly but I don’t understand how they can just decide to pay less for a product and force those prices on suppliers. There should be laws against it.
 
Down here in Dorset our local Morrison's petrol is more expensive than the independents and by quite a few pence per liter, its quite clear they are profiteering they will no longer get my trade even when or if they are cheaper.
 
1finny said:
Determining which retailers are taking the P is pretty hard.
Fuel prices through the roof
Labour costs increasing (Living Wage)
Less disposable income

Retailers sell stuff to consumers and, in the main need to sell shed loads to keep going.
Many will fall by the wayside, high streets will get emptier. Only the strong will survive which will limit choice.

A retail business I know made 5.5m last year.
This year, energy alone has gone up 4m.
I’m sure they will survive but something has to give.
Click to expand...
My hobbies are in woodwork and the price of wood has gone through the roof. The trouble is, the wood stockist had most of it before prices went up and are making a killing.
 
r00fie1 said:
The biggest screwers of profit are people like Shell.
Click to expand...

I filled up the car with diesel on New Years Day at the Shell station in Yarm.

I asked the cashier if she was on double time or if there was a bonus for working on 1 Jan.

She smiled and said 'No'.

Quite incredible.
 
red_harrington said:
I filled up the car with diesel on New Years Day at the Shell station in Yarm.

I asked the cashier if she was on double time or if there was a bonus for working on 1 Jan.

She smiled and said 'No'.

Quite incredible.
Click to expand...

What she won’t have been aware of is this kind of thing was negotiated away.
All 24/7 retailers worked with unions over the years to get rid of all the double time or time and a half - which was only available to those who worked on the day.
Concessions were negotiated by the union - one off payments, salary additions extra hol etc.

Not saying it is right but it was mainly achieved amicably
 
1finny said:
What she won’t have been aware of is this kind of thing was negotiated away.
All 24/7 retailers worked with unions over the years to get rid of all the double time or time and a half - which was only available to those who worked on the day.
Concessions were negotiated by the union - one off payments, salary additions extra hol etc.

Not saying it is right but it was mainly achieved amicably
Click to expand...
I worked nights for my company the week before Xmas for a few extra spends.

They offered me it Monday - Friday 2000-0800. The night rate was decent. What I didn't realise was the night rate or 'unsociable' rate was only midnight - 0500.

The other 7 hours were apparently a 'sociable' work time😂. Clearly my fault. I won't be doing it again.
 
S7DiscoDown said:
I worked nights for my company the week before Xmas for a few extra spends.

They offered me it Monday - Friday 2000-0800. The night rate was decent. What I didn't realise was the night rate or 'unsociable' rate was only midnight - 0500.

The other 7 hours were apparently a 'sociable' work time😂. Clearly my fault. I won't be doing it again.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think that’s part of the problem. Communication about ‘bad news’ is sometimes a bit poor
 
Norman_Conquest said:
My hobbies are in woodwork and the price of wood has gone through the roof. The trouble is, the wood stockist had most of it before prices went up and are making a killing.
Click to expand...
Isn't timber and wood still in high demand? Prices have been rising for last few years now from what our builder told us. When we got our fence done in 2020 our fence guy told us the prices were set to double but he had bought a few hundred of everything he used regularly so we got in at the right time, our friends booked a few weeks later and weren't so lucky.

Am sure some retailers have benefitted from some existing stock but I guess prices don't immediately get passed onto customers when stock goes up to prevent scaring customers away with sharp increases so could well be they phased in the price rises using existing stock
 
looking at it long term, post WW2 profit-driven corporate capitalist society, fuelled by mass consumption and fossil fuels was never going to be a sustainable system. There will always be profiteers when there is shortage of resources which crucifies the poor, and people have got used to consuming things they don't really need. Inequality is terrible.
We need a system change, a mind-set change. Unless this happens things will only get worse.
Don't vote for anyone unless they promise to tackle this fundamental problem. That's why we have XR and all the other protest groups because the system is unable to change itself. Time to take them seriously.
 
S7DiscoDown said:
I worked nights for my company the week before Xmas for a few extra spends.

They offered me it Monday - Friday 2000-0800. The night rate was decent. What I didn't realise was the night rate or 'unsociable' rate was only midnight - 0500.

The other 7 hours were apparently a 'sociable' work time😂. Clearly my fault. I won't be doing it again.
Click to expand...
When I worked for Middlesbrough Council we were getting an Ofsted inspection so they offered overtime to people to get everything up to date.

Quite a few of us managers did a lot of additional hours for a week, then after the fact they pulled out an old document that said overtime hours were all capped at a rate of £12 an hour. My usual hourly rate was over £24 an hour, so we were paid half time for unsociable hours overtime :confused:
 
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