Author
Topic: How Cheap Things *Used* to be
(Read 844 times)

utee94 · « **Reply #42 on:** June 01, 2026, 02:26:00 PM »

Quote from: betarhoalphadelta on June 01, 2026, 02:20:29 PM

BTW I'm 14 years too young to even be at the end of the Boomer generation.

But there's an extent that I *do* care about this. As it relates to fast food? I don't eat it. (Obviously there are exceptions, but they're rare.) While I don't eat at restaurants all that often, I eat at independent restaurants FAR more often than I'm going to chains. And when I do go to chains, they're typically not the mega-chain restaurants. I.e. I can't remember the last time I've eaten at an Applebee's, or TGI Fridays, or anything like that.

There are independent restaurants all across the country. Including sandwich shops. The barriers to entry are miniscule. And there are Subway chain competitors as well. According to Google, Subway's market share has declined ~10% since 2019. The two Subway locations that were close to me, in fact, have closed. I know how much you LOVE anecdotal data, so I'll bolster that with the NY Post: Subway locations nationwide declined from a peak over 27,000 in 2016 to under 20,000 at the end of 2024.

So although you think that all big corporations are just monoliths that can control everything... Subway is getting their asses kicked.

Yup. And again I'll rejoin with Markets, how do they WORK????

847badgerfan · « **Reply #43 on:** June 01, 2026, 02:35:36 PM »

I own a 5% share in a Subway location that does really well. I originally bought in at 1%, when I was 18. By 25 I had the 5%, buying out a couple that was in a rough spot in life (divorce).

I don't want any more share, and I'm certainly not going to complain about the cost of a sub there, because it's cheaper than what you can make it for at home.

I'll sell it one of these days or leave it to the grandkids. Or something.

Should I give it to 'Fro?

Cincydawg · « **Reply #44 on:** June 01, 2026, 03:20:16 PM »

Often folks don’t believe me when I point to the reported after tax margins in many businesses. They often are 3-4-5% for areas like grocery and restaurants.

Margins are higher in manufacturing, usually, 20% is a good figure, but they also face downturns where they lose money.

delta Airlines has profit margins that bounce all over the place, recently it was 6.9%. Pfizer? 12%, net. Kaiser Permanente? They are a nonprofit.

Companies are greedy, they are in business to make money, with a few exceptions.

847badgerfan · « **Reply #45 on:** June 01, 2026, 03:39:30 PM »

Quote from: Cincydawg on June 01, 2026, 03:20:16 PM

Often folks don’t believe me when I point to the reported after tax margins in many businesses. They often are 3-4-5% for areas like grocery and restaurants.

Margins are higher in manufacturing, usually, 20% is a good figure, but they also face downturns where they lose money.

delta Airlines has profit margins that bounce all over the place, recently it was 6.9%. Pfizer? 12%, net. Kaiser Permanente? They are a nonprofit.

Companies are greedy, they are in business to make money, with a few exceptions.

Subways are generally healthy if they can pull 3-3.5% profits. It's the volume that makes the money.

bayareabadger · « **Reply #46 on:** June 01, 2026, 03:56:47 PM »

Quote from: betarhoalphadelta on June 01, 2026, 02:20:29 PM

BTW I'm 14 years too young to even be at the end of the Boomer generation.

But there's an extent that I *do* care about this. As it relates to fast food? I don't eat it. (Obviously there are exceptions, but they're rare.) While I don't eat at restaurants all that often, I eat at independent restaurants FAR more often than I'm going to chains. And when I do go to chains, they're typically not the mega-chain restaurants. I.e. I can't remember the last time I've eaten at an Applebee's, or TGI Fridays, or anything like that.

There are independent restaurants all across the country. Including sandwich shops. The barriers to entry are miniscule. And there are Subway chain competitors as well. According to Google, Subway's market share has declined ~10% since 2019. The two Subway locations that were close to me, in fact, have closed. I know how much you LOVE anecdotal data, so I'll bolster that with the NY Post: Subway locations nationwide declined from a peak over 27,000 in 2016 to under 20,000 at the end of 2024.

So although you think that all big corporations are just monoliths that can control everything... Subway is getting their asses kicked.

They also historically didn’t care too much about the success of individual franchises. So they tended to oversaturate.

OrangeAfroMan · « **Reply #47 on:** June 01, 2026, 08:14:50 PM »

Quote from: betarhoalphadelta on June 01, 2026, 01:49:59 PM

You want to talk about market economics? I'm good.

But cut this crap out. Take it down to A51 if you want to talk politics.

The fact that you think that blaming that ruling for much of what's wrong in this country is "political" is a farce. It has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

OrangeAfroMan · « **Reply #48 on:** June 01, 2026, 08:19:24 PM »

Quote from: betarhoalphadelta on June 01, 2026, 02:20:29 PM

BTW I'm 14 years too young to even be at the end of the Boomer generation.

But there's an extent that I *do* care about this. As it relates to fast food? I don't eat it. (Obviously there are exceptions, but they're rare.) While I don't eat at restaurants all that often, I eat at independent restaurants FAR more often than I'm going to chains. And when I do go to chains, they're typically not the mega-chain restaurants. I.e. I can't remember the last time I've eaten at an Applebee's, or TGI Fridays, or anything like that.

There are independent restaurants all across the country. Including sandwich shops. The barriers to entry are miniscule. And there are Subway chain competitors as well. According to Google, Subway's market share has declined ~10% since 2019. The two Subway locations that were close to me, in fact, have closed. I know how much you LOVE anecdotal data, so I'll bolster that with the NY Post: Subway locations nationwide declined from a peak over 27,000 in 2016 to under 20,000 at the end of 2024.

So although you think that all big corporations are just monoliths that can control everything... Subway is getting their asses kicked.

a - I'm talking about the masses, not oneself. Our individual experiences aren't valid. And if you're not a boomer, then I wasn't referring to you, obviously.

b - Subway can afford to get their asses kicked for a time. But they'll still be here when all of these other, smaller outfits disappear. They're also declining because they expanded too much and too fast. We all know this.

c - the big corporations can afford to figure out how to orchestrate rules/laws/practices to maintain or improve the status quo in which they thrived

The fact that I get any pushback on this is absurd.

FearlessF · « **Reply #49 on:** June 01, 2026, 08:47:44 PM »

I have a friend (good Husker fan) that franchised/managed/owned 7 subway shops in the Sewer City area.
My daughter worked for him at several.
He said, (10 years ago) that he averaged about $25K per year on the 7. Some obviously performed better than others - even with the same management
Keeping up with 7 of them was a bit of work.
He then bought the small town bar 3 blocks from me because the doors had been closed for a while and folks begged him to buy it.
He regretted buying and running the bar - sold it after a few years
kept the subway shops - much easier

Gigem · « **Reply #50 on:** June 01, 2026, 10:06:08 PM »

Quote from: FearlessF on June 01, 2026, 10:39:25 AM

about a 2 hour drive

When I graduated A&M I briefly commuted from Bryan to the outskirts of Austin. About 90 miles one way. Did that about 5 months. Job ended up not working out, so I never moved.

Gigem · « **Reply #51 on:** June 01, 2026, 10:14:42 PM »

First, we had the All-Powerful Egg Lobby. Now we have the Subway Sandwich Mafia.

Gigem · « **Reply #52 on:** June 01, 2026, 10:27:48 PM »

BTW, just so I’m clear on this.

Years ago, about ~2010 or so, I *think* the average foot long subway sandwich cost something on the order of $6-8. I say I think, because I don’t really remember, I didn’t order from there enough to know the price by heart.

Anyways, Subway came out with a deal, $5.00 foot longs about 2015. I don’t remember the exact year, but somewhere in that timeframe. But we all agree that they made their sandwiches cheaper than they had been selling them, by at least several dollars. But, as I recall, it was only on certain ones, not all. And also, it seems like anything added was more. Like it didn’t come with cheese, or maybe limited topping.

But anyway, they had this deal for several years, maybe 3-4 years. Everybody agrees that it was a good deal, even if it was somewhat limited. And myself, I’d usually add stuff to my sandwich that crept the price up here and there. Cheese, extra condiments and whatever. And of course, I’d get the chips, and maybe a cookie, and make that drink a large, because hey, I saved money. So by the time they rang me up, I probably spent just as much on a $5.00 foot long, with the extras, as I spent before they had the special.

But Subway, being in the sandwich mafia, having now cornered the sandwich market, killed this deal only to now only offer these same meal for $12-13. At the exact same time that all fast food joints pretty much did the same thing, raising their prices by 30-40% in 2-3 years.

Hmmm….

Gigem · « **Reply #53 on:** June 01, 2026, 10:38:51 PM »

I get a little bit (ok, a lot) rankled anytime someone starts in about corporate greed and the like. Not because I don’t believe that it happens, it certainly can and does happen. But if you look at most cases, it happens only when the free market either doesn’t exist, or can’t exist.

In my business, I have to explain to customers almost every single day about why things cost what they do, and why we have to charge what we charge. You know how many times they tell me “I can buy the same pump on Amazon for xxx$? “ Usually anywhere from 1/2 to 1/3 of my price. I get accused of price gouging pretty often. But they don’t see the insurance costs (currently sitting at about $30,000 a year), the equipment costs, the payroll costs. Everything that you have to have to run a business goes into that cost, including customers who stiff the bill, theft, employees that damage customers property by running into their gate, Taxes levied specifically for small businesses. Fuel. And inventory.

I had a customer just last week that told me they could get the same part for 1/2 our cost. I readily agreed, but I asked them, but can you get it today? And if you could, how much time are you going to spend installing it? How many trips are you going to make to the hardware store because you don’t have all the right fittings, and if something goes wrong, who is going to warranty it?

Gigem · « **Reply #54 on:** June 01, 2026, 10:41:48 PM »

Quote from: Cincydawg on June 01, 2026, 11:21:27 AM

My first commercial flight in 1980 for a job interview in Pittsburg cost about $800, coach of course, from RDU. That $3233 in current dollars.

I’d guess today it might cost $400.

Rohm and Hass?

MrNubbz · « **Reply #55 on:** June 01, 2026, 11:54:17 PM »

Quote from: OrangeAfroMan on June 01, 2026, 08:19:24 PM

a - I'm talking about the masses, not oneself. Our individual experiences aren't valid. And if you're not a boomer, then I wasn't referring to you, obviously.

b - Subway can afford to get their asses kicked for a time. But they'll still be here when all of these other, smaller outfits disappear. They're also declining because they expanded too much and too fast. We all know this.

c - the big corporations can afford to figure out how to orchestrate rules/laws/practices to maintain or improve the status quo in which they thrived

The fact that I get any pushback on this is absurd.

You spasz that is Nothing like your previous post blaming a whole generation absolutely nothing. It's frightening you somehow passed reading comprehension - that's absurd

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Topic: How Cheap Things Used to be

utee94

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

847badgerfan

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

Cincydawg

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

847badgerfan

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

bayareabadger

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

OrangeAfroMan

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

OrangeAfroMan

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

FearlessF

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

Gigem

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

Gigem

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

Gigem

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

Gigem

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

Gigem

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be

MrNubbz

Re: How Cheap Things Used to be