The Increase In Dollars And Cents Affecting Students
By: Imran Khan
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Student Life
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Every so often, you pick up a bag of chips at the convenience store and take in to the counter, paying the same amount for it that you did ten years ago, and the entire time that the cashier is ringing you up, it never occurs to you that you're being ripped off by a small plastic bag.
College students are the most lucrative market for the purveyors of expendable goods like soft drinks, potato chips, even gasoline. Prices on goods that college students get every day have been increasing steadily for over a decade, but how many people really notice or even care?
Walking around Clark Atlanta's campus, the Panther asked students two questions: "Have you noticed an increase in price in a specific product brand?" and "Did it negatively affect your buying habits?" The results found that, by and large, most people do notice increases, but not everyone seems to mind them.
The first example mentioned was a bag of potato chips, in this case Doritos. They have stayed the same price, roughly $2.70, since 1997, but have decreased in size every year since, going from 18oz in 1997 to 13oz in 2007 (an average of 26 cents per ounce). The survey showed only 11 people realized the change in value and only one of them said it kept them from buying more.
Another product, sold right here in every vending machine on Clark Atlanta's campus, is a simple 12 oz. can of Coca-Cola. In 1999, the Coca-Cola company raised the price of Coke in vending machines five cents to 50 cents total, then another ten cents to 60 cents, and again to 75 cents, where it sits now for a total price hike of 35 cents in eight years. 17 people noticed the price increase, though few knew the exact numbers, and twelve of them did agree that they bought less of the drink because it became more of a monetary burden.
It's not just food items where college students take a hit to the wallet. Video games have gone up from $50 manufacturer suggested retail prices in 2001 to upwards of $80 with an average of $60 for most new releases. Very few of those surveyed said that they noticed the price increase and only one person noted that it affected their buying practices at all.
College students are the most lucrative market for the purveyors of expendable goods like soft drinks, potato chips, even gasoline. Prices on goods that college students get every day have been increasing steadily for over a decade, but how many people really notice or even care?
Walking around Clark Atlanta's campus, the Panther asked students two questions: "Have you noticed an increase in price in a specific product brand?" and "Did it negatively affect your buying habits?" The results found that, by and large, most people do notice increases, but not everyone seems to mind them.
The first example mentioned was a bag of potato chips, in this case Doritos. They have stayed the same price, roughly $2.70, since 1997, but have decreased in size every year since, going from 18oz in 1997 to 13oz in 2007 (an average of 26 cents per ounce). The survey showed only 11 people realized the change in value and only one of them said it kept them from buying more.
Another product, sold right here in every vending machine on Clark Atlanta's campus, is a simple 12 oz. can of Coca-Cola. In 1999, the Coca-Cola company raised the price of Coke in vending machines five cents to 50 cents total, then another ten cents to 60 cents, and again to 75 cents, where it sits now for a total price hike of 35 cents in eight years. 17 people noticed the price increase, though few knew the exact numbers, and twelve of them did agree that they bought less of the drink because it became more of a monetary burden.
It's not just food items where college students take a hit to the wallet. Video games have gone up from $50 manufacturer suggested retail prices in 2001 to upwards of $80 with an average of $60 for most new releases. Very few of those surveyed said that they noticed the price increase and only one person noted that it affected their buying practices at all.
