TOT: is this reasonable?

Jul 14, 2026 Last reply: 4 hours ago 63 Replies
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In message <11484g4$37g5n$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 18:28:35 on Mon, 27 Jul

2026, Pancho snipped-for-privacy@prot>> In message <113652u$258c2$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 21:10:05 on Tue, 14

Obviously not. It's the markup on the ingredients. Those other costs are paid from the 2/3 of the retail price which isn't ingredients.

Yes.

Depends what the food is. Selecting and buying, and storing, wine isn't free (plus there's the interest on the money borrowed to pay for it up front). Boil-in-the-bag pub-grub takes almost no preparation.

The doggy bag was free, but it didn't come with labour to fill it.

The restaurant was busy, and had three quite frantic staff trying to service too many tables. The main course took 1hr 45mins to arrive after we were seated, which was OK for us, but not a great proposition for lunch.

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In message <11484om$3c3hi$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 18:33:10 on Mon, 27 Jul

2026, The Natural Philosopher snipped-for-privacy@invalid.invalid remarked:

That's simply not true in for example consumer electronics. The retailer gets a 30% margin, the importer perhaps 20%, and the manufacturer around

10%

So something on the shelf of whatever Dixons is called this week with a £299 price tag will have cost them £200, and the importer would have bought it for £160, and the component cost being around £145.

Dixons didn't have its own manufacturing plant, but did a certain amount of its own importing (Saisho brand). But that meant they were stuck with the stock, whereas third party imported items were usually on sale-or-return.

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In message snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, at 17:47:27 on Mon, 27 Jul 2026, Scott snipped-for-privacy@gefion.myzen.co.uk> remarked:

How far in the past? I'd have estimated it to be in the 1940's in USA,

1970's in UK.
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T

You haven't worked in that area have you?

Back in the day no retail outlet would accept goods with less than 200% markup on retail price.

That's the cost of running a staffed shop, customer support and warehousing stock.

Supermarkets are different. They work on high turnover JIT costings,

You have to be joking. No one supplies retail shops on a sale or return basis, Customers perhaps ...

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