While the aftershocks of this summer’s avian flu outbreak and the recent loss of pumpkin crops to high rainfall have led to higher prices for the products, analysts say those costs shouldn’t affect this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. [More]
rising prices
Five Airlines Being Probed For Price-Gouging Following Amtrak Accident
By 7.24.15
Five airlines are at the center of a newly opened federal investigation into price-gouging for their actions in allegedly raising airfares following the May derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia that killed eight people and injured 200 others. [More]
Redbox Is Running DVD And Blu-Ray Price Hike Tests Again
By 8.28.14
Movie and game rental kiosk company Redbox is considering another price change to its DVD and Blu-Ray rentals. They’re testing out new pricing schemes in different markets, presumably to figure out which pricing scheme consumers hate the least. In the market where reader Dave is, in Salt Lake City, Utah, they’re trying the price points of $1.50 for DVDs and $2 for Blu-Rays, a price hike of 30¢ and 50¢ respectively. [More]
Starbucks' Prices Going Up
By 9.27.10
Citing a 13-year high in the price of its coffee beans, plus “significant volatility” in other ingredients like dairy, Starbucks last week said it plans to raise prices on certain “labor-intensive and larger-sized” beverages. The small tall coffee will remain at its current price for now, says the company. I wonder if those truncated menus the company introduced a few weeks ago were really about hiding the least expensive option from consumers, especially since it isn’t being included in the price hike? [More]
Hershey Hikes Candy Prices 11 Percent
By 8.18.08
Well, we’ve been saying it would be more honest to just raise prices instead of shrinking the product, and Hershey has taken us up on that. On Friday, only months after a 13% hike back in February, Hershey announced a price increase of 10-11% across the product line, citing higher costs for ingredients.
'99 Cents Only' Store Chain Considers Raising Prices, Changing Sign To '99 Cents, Orly?'
By 8.8.08
[It is] definitely on the table. That is something we’re looking at . . . in the future for us. We’re looking at doing some experiments. Obviously one way [is that] you can start selling things for $1.05, $1.09, $1.15 and other ways. You could have more of a break between your 99 cents price point and the next price point.”
Delta Increases 2nd Checked Bag Fee To $50
By 7.29.08
Delta announced today that it’s doubling the fee for a second checked bag from $25 to $50, effective on new bookings starting July 31st for all travel after August 5th. Got a third, fourth, or fifth bag and a lot of money to burn? Fees for those will rise from $80 per bag to $125 each.
What Would You Do For Free Gas?
By 7.18.08
Reuters has a wrap-up of some of the wackier gas-related stories of recent weeks, including the Nevada Brothel’s free-gas-card offer, a church that’s holding a weekly $50 gas card drawing during mass, and an Orlando father who pledged to name his baby after local radio hosts in order to collect a $100 gas card. There’s also some gas thieves in Mesquite, Texas, who are siphoning from church vehicles, but that’s not so much a “wacky stunt” as a type of criminal “preemptive charity.” (“”All he had to do was come and ask us and we would have bought him a tank of gas,” said the pastor of one church.)
Fuel Prices Force Southern Skyways To Abandon Flights
By 5.20.08
Brian writes in to let us know that Southern Skyways has fallen partially victim to soaring fuel costs:
