AIBU to blame people who constantly pay high prices for food and drink at events for keeping those prices high?

One of the fake Stanley’s you can get everywhere will do the job. The ice in mine is still frozen in the morning. Think it was a Primark / tk maxx one.

I saw a fb link revelry I think about festivals and food prices - I knew they were always high but the link explained how much of the cost went to the festival organisers - the % cut they took was really high.

You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the basic principles behind capitalism, supply-and-demand consequences, and the concept of money.

People who sell things aren't just doing it for a fun hobby, they do it in order to make a profit.

In every sales situation, if the price of an item is "too low" then it will be popular due to being good value for money and the supplier will run out of the item before the pool of willing buyers is exhausted. If the price is too high, it doesn't sell and the supplier has stock left over and will have wasted staffing and storage costs. The right price is the price that balances the flow of supply and demand to optimise the use of staffing and storage resources and optimise the profitability without tipping over that balance point in either direction.

In a theatre where there are 1000 seats, the resources available for storing and selling ice cream for the interval are not going to be sufficient for 1000 ice creams to be sold. The majority of the building space and resources are dedicated to the theatre show, not for the storage and distribution of ice cream, and the time available for the interval is also limited. Therefore the price needs to be high in order to restrict the demand to an amount that can be managed. If the ice cream was £2 instead of £8 then the number of people wanting an ice cream would be too many to deal with and half the people queuing would be disappointed because the available supply ran out, not to mention time running out and people missing the show. Putting people off from buying it, because it's too damned expensive, is a necessary and important part of ensuring that this doesn't happen. Your reluctance to pay is part of what ensures that those who want it enough can have it. The alternative if prices were lower would be to have some kind of lottery allocation or rationing to decide who gets the available ice cream. It is ok for the luxury of a theatre icecream to be priced too high for some people to pay so long as the number who are willing to pay is sufficient to justify the logistical costs of buying, storing and serving that number of people and make a reasonable profit. Those who can't manage that price can have a cheaper icecream at home where the practical and logistical complications of gettkng the icecream there are a lot lower.

Op my son paid £6 for an ice cream at a steam rally the other weekend. I think its the standard price now unfortunately

as an aside - on a day out to the park my friend produced from her bag a thermal mug with three small ice lollies inside. All still well frozen 4/5 hours after she left home. I’ve been trying to find a similar mug that is big enough to contain the long sticks but I’m still searching

£8 spend was needed to keep little one happy - ok I get that. Might as well spend £16 as I quite fancy an ice cream as well - ok, rare family day out, not a crime. £24 to include Dwife - nope, absolutely not a chance, she can sip on tap water!

I understand that this is not the point of your post but I do think he should have bought you an ice cream!

Ice creams are a lot more expensive generally than they used to be. I’ve actually switched to buying ice lollies from the supermarket because if it. Can’t justify magnum prices.

I guess other people are buying them for the same reasons your husband did.

They can charge what they want really.

i don’t tend to go to events as I find them expensive but if I’m there I tend to just accept the prices.

I’d like to know how much tax and what sort of wages ice cream seller at £2 is paying. Plus, where I live, it’s a bit of a joke that ice cream vans are selling drugs alongside to make their actual money.

And cornettos are tiny compared to when they first came out same for magnums.

The vendors often have to charge these prices to make a decent profit after paying the fee to set up there. My friend runs a Mac and cheese stall at events. Can’t charge under £10 for a tray of it with toppings.
It’s not really a free market. Where some stalls could charge less and get more custom. They’re all paying the site fee, set up costs, wages.
Anyway. A 99 medium cone with flake and sauce is £3.50 from the van here in Surrey.

not sure why the OP is getting such a hard time for just having a bit of a rant. I agree, total rip off at cricket grounds, in way that it isn't at say the football - frequency?

£8 for a Cornetto? Delicious ice cream from Italy, just one Cornetto, at that price don't give it to me!f

I think you are perfectly normal. Most people consider a concert or similar as a once in awhile treat. Especially when you are raising children on a normal income.

Remember that a lot of these vendors don't have the same hours in which to sell things for a profit also so have to make their coin in a limited amount of time. You are paying for the convenience.
I am surprised at the number of you saying you bring food in as most venues here in New Zealand ban that and your bags are searched before hand.

Some venues do not allow food and drink to be brought in, so what do you expect there? People not to go the event, even if they can afford it?

What about going away in the school holidays, that is always way more expensive than any other time, do you also blame them for for keep going and keeping the prices up.

Supply and demand is here to stay!

There are plenty of opportunities to teach children the value of money. Once o a year trip out is not one of them and giving them a lecture about it is just miserable and being a fun sponge.

Blimey. Where I live it’s £15-22 per ticket for adults a lot of the time.

I hope you didn’t give your husband a hard time about it. And if you only go out once or twice a year it seems mean to not buy your child an ice cream as a one off treat.

I’d love to know where you are getting an icecream for £2! I live in a deprived city in the north and it’s £6 for an ice cream or lolly from a van!! Thankfully because we all live in cheap housing we can afford it.
Edited to say I do alway take a picnic though if out for the day so can slightly justify cost.

Not everyone has lots of money to spend. We always did the picnic thing when we went out - and now the kids are young people without money to spend like water, they do it themselves. It means they can have a nice day out without spending £20 each on a mediocre lunch/drinks, and actually picnic food (decent bread, special cheese, fruit, salad, special crisps) is much nicer.

Blimey that’s a lot of assumptions about the op.
Obviously it’s reasonable to assume food and drinks will be expensive at events (captive audience) but £8 for an ice cream is ridiculous.
Id rather be tight than stupidly frivolous. And better to bring up a child so they know the value of money than buy them stuff even when it’s mega expensive just to avoid them crying and fussing.

Mini Haagen dazs tubs fit really well in a food thermos, ice lollies in a regular flask, they stay frozen for hours. I often take better quality snacks and drinks to events (or we’ve already eaten and don’t have anything), there’s one place I know that say they’ll take them off you at bag search but most are fine. It is more effort but mostly worth it.

Still two quid where I am for a Mr Whippy with sauce etc.

I’m glad you told us “children love an ice cream treat” otherwise we never would have known!
Your dh was unreasonable to buy any given how expensive they were. I would have explained the maths to your dd (A lot of money for one each now, or much less for one each from the shops later. And money left over for next weeks shopping etc)

You must know you pay over the top at these events. You sound a bit tight to be honest. So because the ice-cream was expensive you wouldn't have brought it and let your excited child go with out. I bet you moaned all the time about the price of things and spoilt a nice very rare day out.you sound like you hate spending money.

Well you managed to get cheap seats and were allowed to take in your own food, which is not the case for all gigs. I can remember in the past having to open my handbag and a bottle of water being confiscated. You can't have everything.

I've never heard of 'The Hundred', are they any good? Presumably kids like them. Last time I went to an outdoor gig Snow Patrol were on the bill :-).