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

[Weeeeeeeeeee]

Went to watch The Hundred the other day. Got the cheap seats (restricted view - £12.50 per adult and £5 per child). We took food and drink. Bought some drinks from the bar but waaay too expensive to have as many as we'd have liked.

Husband took little one off for a promised ice cream (it was hot and young children love an ice cream treat). It was £8 per ice cream (one was a Cornetto, the other two scoops in a pot). Wtaf?! I don't know how anyone can justify charging that. I also wonder how on earth people with more than one child are meant to afford it. Had hubby realised the cost, before promising the little one an ice cream, he wouldn't have said ice cream was on the cards! Won't be doing that again, for sure.

AIBU to blame people who repeatedly pay such exorbitant prices for these prices being maintained? If everyone took a stance and refused, surely they'd have to come down.

I wonder if it's some sort of sick joke to see how much can be charged and people will still pay...

That's a good point.

Thanks, suckerrrs 😆 Jokes.

Actually just booked some cinema tickets - £5 per ticket and then £4 total for a large drink and large popcorn. Don't think that's bad at all 🤷🏼‍♀️

It’s captive pricing just like at the airports. The same at concerts… £7 for a small tray of chips that you could get for £1.50 anywhere else. £5.50 for a 500ml fizzy drink - i took my son to a gig and we shared 1 as I couldn’t justify the price( the tickets for the gig were free)

It is extortionate but people will pay it. Usually those that aren’t on a budget.

Utterly mental, isn't it.

I see all these photos online of people's numerous days out and I do wonder how tf they afford to keep doing it!

We've stopped going to concerts / gigs like we used to... £100+ for shit seats and only a couple of hours' entertainment... Nahhh!

Appreciate i will sound as though I'm no fun or stingey (maybe a bit poor at times but that's different!) and, genuinely, neither are true but I don't like to feel ripped off / taken advantage of.

Currently being creative and finding alternative ways to enjoy the things we like.

Judging by the number of pubs, venues and festivals going to the wall, they are not covering their costs. They need to charge more.
Wages, insurance and raw material costs have shot up since covid. The costs of marshalls, h&s provision, utilities, venues, performance licences etc are huge.

I paid £6 for a Cornetto from an ice cream van in a (non-London) park last weekend. It’s fairly standard now.

Im in London and my local ice cream van charges £2 per ice cream so yes I think that’s a lot, it’s only £4+ if we go to the larger parks. But the one that visits the local playground is cheap.

It becomes a vicious cycle though, doesn't it - venue struggles to cover costs so puts up prices, not as many punters can afford new prices so the numbers drop and revenue falls, venue struggles to cover costs so puts up prices.

That aside, I clearly haven't been buying ice cream frequently enough to have seen ice cream inflation.

I was starting to think I'd gone stir crazy and imagined ice cream being an affordable treat!

That said, I can still remember ice cream being less than £1 but Magnums hit the magic hundred pennies... Would never ask for one of those!

Our local ice cream van is £4. It was £5 in London at the weekend.

I was at the Hundred.

Beer was £6.60 a pint, I don’t drink but as it was 7 hours the friends I was with sunk 5 to 6 each. I had 3 samosas for a tenner which were gorgeous. We did take loads of snacks and soft drinks and I also bought along a huge birthday cake I made for my mate and shared it round about to about 8 other people in the stand.

You are allowed out of Trent Bridge at anytime as long as you show your ticket and there are lots of takeaways across the road. Plus the Spoons next door.

I am off to Southwell races on Sunday, I assume the drinks will be loads there but again it’s ok to take stuff in apart from alcohol.

Our local park has an ice cream van which is £7 for a 99!! We have gone to the park less and less now as having 3 young children they’d all like an ice cream but who can justify that price! It’s a shame as the park is one of our free activities to do

Aren't the pitch prices notoriously high at events.

We pass a supermarked on the way to/from the park. They have nice ice cones £1.50 each.

I think maybe the ice cream van will have had to pay a large fixed fee to be there so they're trying to make their money back (which obviously doesn't apply to an ice cream van on the street). So I say blame Lords rather than the customers!

So you know the in and out of their business and all the costs involved to know what they can afford to charge and also make a profit and pay wages? with eveything else?

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 :-).

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.

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)

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!