Sneaking candy/food into the movie theater. Do you do it? (sell, sale)
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We all know how expensive the candy and sodas are at the movie theater theater these days.
When I was a little kid, me, my brother and dad would all fill our pockets full of candy and sodas before we went into the movie theater to watch the matinee. I still occasionally practice this today. I went to go see a movie recently and the girl I went with snuck in a small bag of chopped up fruit and snickers for me and a bag of popcorn in her purse for herself as well. We did this despite the signs posted not allowing this.
Do you sneak in your own candy/food? either because you don't agree with paying exorbitant prices or maybe just because the theater doesn't sell anything you like.
I think its crazy that movie theaters charge an arm and a leg for food and drink. Yes I know that theaters make most of their profit on food and drink.
Sometimes yes. If I think of it and have the time to buy in advance. Oftentimes a friend and I are rushing to get in line after work though, so we just buy from the theater.
I did encounter someone on my last trip to the movies, who had a different way of saving money. When I ordered my small soda and popcorn he lectured me about what a money waster that was and how I should buy the jumbo combo because it is a better deal (especially with free refills). Um, yeah, I don't buy the jumbo packs because I don't need to drink two liters of soda in one hour, nor eat a grocery bag sized popcorn! It's not a meal. I'm just looking for a little snack while I watch the movie.
Yes, when we go to the movies now we take small diabetic snacks with us since all that sugar and fats just are no go for us anymore.
Do we feel guilty? Nope not one bit. Doing this is necessary for the diabetic to manage their blood sugar. I've had a theater manager question us about doing this and all I said was "Diabetic" to him which ended the conversation.
Sounds fine, as long as I can bring my own food from Burger King to your high priced restaurant and my own liquor to the bar you own.
Theatres are private property, so whatever rules the owner has, he has a right to enforce. Most places look the other way if what you bring in is within reason. However... hamburgers, pizza, odorous foods like fried chicken can get you tossed out. Glass bottles, beer, and such can also get you tossed. Very few care about candy bars or such unless it is the exact theatre packaging.
If you do bring in your own food, have a heart. Skip the nuts with the shells that go everywhere. Skip the candy in the crinkle wrapper. Take your wrappers and trash to the trash can.
Theatres where the per cap (sales of concessions per person) are low tend to go out of business fast. That was one of the problems the discount theatres had. The low ticket prices brought in people who brought their own food and there wasn't enough to pay expenses. THe discount places were a nice idea, but masses of people not acting as expected killed them.
I'll be the first to agree that many of the prices charged are high, but after you break out payroll, power, supplies, additional cleaning expense, licenses, taxes, and so on, the final profit isn't as much as you might think, especially in the smaller theatres and the ones with limited attendance.
I realize that movie theaters must make a profit in order to stay in business, but with ticket prices rising rapidly, about $10 per person now, and a coke and popcorn costing about $8, where it would cost about $3 or $4 anywhere else, some people would rather wait a few months until it comes to dvd and let the whole family watch it for a rental fee of $3.
At what point do movie theaters price themselves out of business?
Almost forgot, to answer the question, I never sneak candy in and rarely buy candy at the theater.
If I went to the movies often, I'd probably try to sneak stuff in. But on the rare occassions I do go, I consider it a special treat to buy from the concession stand.
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