Shelf price or unit price?

[giggles]

When you shop, how do you decide which product to buy - do you use the shelf price or the unit price?  I use the shelf price, by my husband think we should use the unit price.  Thoughts?

[igthebold]

In general, unit price. Unit price tells you what the bang for your buck will be. Shelf price is a pure marketing thing, which is why it's almost invariably $4.95 or $4.99 instead of $5.

However, if I'm buying something I won't use up, I buy the smaller amount at a higher unit price so I won't let it go to waste.

[James]

I can't imagine using one of them independently without taking the other into consideration.  Like igthebold said, unit price would be what I look at first, and then it would be a matter of how many units I wanted to get based on how much I use, storage issues, or even how much money I want tied up in the product.

[Done by Forty]

There's something to be said for looking at shelf price if the dollars are small, or the large container will take a very long time to work through: e.g. - buying the $1.00 or $2.00 small container rather than the $10.00 container that's a good deal.  If you're in the accumulation phase and you would be investing the $8.00 or $9.00, you can make an argument for buying the smaller quantity that's not as good of a deal.

[Jamesqf]

Unit price, unless of course you wouldn't use a larger amount in a reasonable time.  But there are sometimes surprises.  For instance, the store where I shop has two sizes of Cheerios.  Prices change frequently, and the small box is usually (but not always!) cheaper than the large box.  However, at least 75% of the time, the small box is less per ounce than the large one.  Last night I bought some vanilla extract, and the same thing was true: the small bottle was less per ounce than the large one.

[jpo]

Unit price, unless of course you wouldn't use a larger amount in a reasonable time.  But there are sometimes surprises.  For instance, the store where I shop has two sizes of Cheerios.  Prices change frequently, and the small box is usually (but not always!) cheaper than the large box.  However, at least 75% of the time, the small box is less per ounce than the large one.  Last night I bought some vanilla extract, and the same thing was true: the small bottle was less per ounce than the large one.

This is true with cans of tomato sauce at our grocery store. I have a ton of tiny cans of sauce, which is almost nicer since you can control how much you use at a finer level. They print the unit price on the shelf tag so it's easy to compare.

[meadow lark]

  Also depends if you want to eat/use a larger amount.  I buy my 17 yo son boxes of brownie mix.  When his friends come over he will make them dinner - hamburger patties or steak, macaroni and cheese, and brownies.  (This also helps make my house a hang out spot - which is worth a lot to me!) I don't buy big boxes b/c I want him and his friends to finish it, so I am not tempted.  Also true with the mac & cheese - those boys are atheletes and can eat crap - I am not!
Lark
 

[Krytes42]

Unit price, unless the larger container will go bad before you can use all of it, or there's a compelling non-price reason to buy one of the choices.

[Jamesqf]

Brownie MIX?  Bleah :-)  Teach the kid to make brownies (and macaroni & cheese) from scratch.  Besides, brownies aren't at their best until they sit for a day or two.

[kisserofsinners]

I use unit price for comparing apples to apples. It gets confusing with odd weights and counts of varying brands.

[Nudelkopf]

Unit price.

But then I guess the only time I use the actual price is for optional perishables - e.g. is it cheaper to buy 3 mangos, or 6 peaches? They'll both last the same amount of time, they're both fruit, and I like them both the same. So it comes down to the price I shell out, rather than the unit price.