The Little World

I understand certain things about economics. Such as, everything costs something; time, money, trouble, blood, ec. In the case of items sold by shops the situation of the shop can noticeably influence the prices charged.

Knowing this all along doesn’t mean that seeing it in operation is rendered any less distressing when your pocket is the one that suffers. Today it was all a matter of glue.

Uhu glue, as it happens. The gel stick in a yellow tube that forms such a neat way of pasting paper. It’s actually quite good for constructing card and paper buildings as it has enough adhesion to lay bond paper to card without inducing bowing in the final product. You are still wise to put the parts you’re making under a heavy board while it sets, but it is streets ahead of white PVA as far as distortion.

You get it in 21 gm sticks or 40 gm sticks. Today I ran out and had to call at the local Lucky newsagency to get some more. I was fool enough to get to the counter with a couple of sticks without seeing the price. It turned out to be twice that of the same product sold at the Officeworks chain stores. Had I not been in dire need or been a bit closer to the nearest Officeworks I would have put ’em back on the rack.

It’s pure economics – Lucky occupies a lease in a grinding-house of a shopping centre and in turn needs to grind as much out of the customers as it can. Officeworks are a major chain store with their own premises and immense buying power. Or, put another way, there is more than one kind of Lucky…

The answer is organisation – making a sensible list of supplies needed and shopping at Officeworks when there is enough to justify the petrol to get there. Likewise with hobby supplies at our local hobby shop. I appreciate it for the convenience but I do also recognise that the expensive premises they occupy raises the prices of individual items. A rival shop ten miles away in a grotty little industrial unit pays far less rent and charges about 15% less for the models.

It is, however, ten miles at modern petrol prices and two traffic jams to get there. If you run out of XF18 paint you’d have to steel yourself to get out there any time near one of the rush hours and it would be the ruination of any day’s schedule. Better to pay the 15% higher price and do it a mile from home on a clear road.