Vending machines
I figure that in a capitalist economy, most sellers are pretty good at adjusting prices and selections to the demands of their consumers. However, time and time again, the Uni vending machines have proved to be exceptions to this theory.
First of all, the prices. Not only are they too high (as can only be expected of vending machines), but sometimes they don’t make sense.
At some point, the prices for most of the snacks changed from 75 cents to 85 cents. Why 85 cents? That gives you a dime and a nickel for change, which is useless unless you take joy in collecting coins. Or if you plan on doing this five times, so that the 75 cents you accumulated would finally get you something from the vending machine. Oh wait, it’s 85 cents now.
And one of the drink machines also became more expensive this year; it now costs a dollar to purchase a tiny 10-ounce bottle of juice. No one buys that when another vending machine offers a 20-ounce bottle of Coke at the same price. For some reason, though, you can also buy two 12-ounce cans for that price.
But there are some foods that probably shouldn’t be sold in the vending machine, regardless of the price. For example, salted peanuts. I have never seen any Uni student purchase this item before.
Another example of a poor snack item is trail mix. Especially since it costs $1 for only a modest-sized packet, I can’t help but wonder if some of those bags of trail mix have been at Uni longer than I have. At least they could take them out to make room for something more profitable. If they’re out of good snacks, mechanical pencils would probably sell better too.
Even with the high (and sometimes absurd) prices, however, the convenience of the vending machines is still enough to attract lots of Uni buyers. If the people who own the vending machines are going to take advantage of this bountiful market, though, they should at least be good at it.
— Alex Zhai