MSE News: The 91% motorway service station mark-up

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  • liam8282
    liam8282 Posts: 2,864 Forumite
    Did anybody not actually know that motorway service stations markup and charge more?

    Nobody forces people to stop at them or shop in them, they are just a convenience.
  • This is one of those regularly repeating stories... with the same arguments. The 91% markup headline just looks attractive. As everyone with more than 2 brain cells here will know it's about convenience... and public conveniences.
  • Esoog wrote: »
    Everyone knows you pay more, this article is actually giving some percentages which may suprise some people at the level of markup. 91% certainly is a lot.

    The problem being, of course, is that the article in question doesn't give the markup normally made elsewhere.

    91% without context may seem a lot. 91% vs (say) 80% in a 'normal shop' does not seem quite as headline making.
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  • Hammyman
    Hammyman Posts: 9,913 Forumite
    91%, is that all?

    My missuses sign company works on 170% of materials and they're cheap compared to most others.

    Don't forget that 91% profit has to pay for staff, equipment, banking, rental of the premises, heat, light, water, business rates....

    As Paul says, there's no context and 80% is usually around the norm for a retailer.
  • Hammyman
    Hammyman Posts: 9,913 Forumite
    Wow.. such a surprise this.. I never knew you would pay more at a service station on the motorway..

    Thanks MSE.

    Say what? Thankyou for confirming you have no clue. Your average shop markup is typically around 75-80% so they're only around 10% dearer.

    Or do you honestly think a retailer with £1000's per week of overheads only charges 10 or 20% on a Mars Bar that costs them 25p from the wholesaler? You'd need to sell one hell of a lot of Mars Bars to cover that overhead.
  • Hammyman wrote: »
    Say what?

    I believe you may have missed the sarcasm tags in the post you were replying to ;)
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
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  • avantra
    avantra Posts: 1,327
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    edited 10 February 2011 at 12:23PM
    A bit of simplistic Daily Maili'sh view.

    The tax man greasy fingers are in this pie as well.

    An approximate 50% of a service area's takings are taken as tax.

    So no wonder it is very expensive to use these facility's, if the retailers have to put aside half of the profits for No.11 who do you think they going to roll it to?

    They are not charities and if to be honest this system stinks, as it should be in the interest of the gov to have these places affordable (at list on fuel) so more people can have better rest without that sinking feeling where your kid ask for a snack which you know is going to cost some imaginary stratospheric price.

    The land that the services sits on belong to us but the gov use it as a tax extraction tool instead of subsidising them on grounds of safety (I think there is only one private services area in the UK).

    It's the same old 'milking the motorist cause it's easy' mantra.
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  • liam8282
    liam8282 Posts: 2,864 Forumite
    The article is based on the mark up on high street prices, not the mark up on cost.

    "What Car? says it found a WH Smith motorway services outlet that was charging consumers a 91% motorway mark-up over its high street outlets on a 750ml bottle of water."

    So a bottle of water may cost £1 in WHS highstreet, £1.91 in a motorway service station.

    Still no big shock or horror here though.
  • Hammyman wrote: »
    Say what? Thankyou for confirming you have no clue. Your average shop markup is typically around 75-80% so they're only around 10% dearer.

    Or do you honestly think a retailer with £1000's per week of overheads only charges 10 or 20% on a Mars Bar that costs them 25p from the wholesaler? You'd need to sell one hell of a lot of Mars Bars to cover that overhead.

    The article says that WH Smith was charging 91% more than its high street stores.
    Example:
    WH Smith buys a 750ml bottle of water for £0.50 then adds 75% markup = £0.88p retail price.
    WH Smith (Motorway) sells that same bottle of water for £1.67 (a 91% markup on the high street price which already includes their markup).

    TBH I am not concerned with paying an extra 5% for my fuel at these places as they are convenient. My concern is that from my £1.30 for a litre of fuel £0.85 (65%) is going to the government in the form of duty/VAT. They are the people that are crippling this countries motorists.
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  • liam8282 wrote: »
    The article is based on the mark up on high street prices, not the mark up on cost.

    "What Car? says it found a WH Smith motorway services outlet that was charging consumers a 91% motorway mark-up over its high street outlets on a 750ml bottle of water."

    What Car? needs to be a little less subtle about its outrage. Or at least start sacking their PR men who came from DMGT.

    Since MSE didn't/couldn't be bothered to link to the article in question - here it is: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/rip-off-motorway-services-revealed/255388

    Look at the table in the article.

    Find the highest mark-up on anything that isn't bottled water.

    Be surprised that the number you come up with is nowhere near MSE's Headline Grabbing Rate of 91%.

    Be even more surprised at how near the Headline Grabbing Rate of 91% the other numbers they give are(n't).

    Wonder why this is even news.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
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