This seems to be working under the false assumption that because something is better value for money you are inherently saving money. You're still spending more by getting the larger pizza, even though it's cheaper per cm^2.
This is a trap that is way too easy to fall into, especially since it's exploited so heavily via deals and sales in supermarkets.
Agreed; Also while YMMV depending upon living/family situation and other factors there are potentially health issues at play too in that chances are pretty good you're going to devour the rest of that pizza in a relatively short time period after buying it, if it is just sitting there in the fridge.
I'm personally kind of peeved that it is nearly impossible these days to buy some things (eg. bags of tortilla chips) that aren't comically super-sized, because I know if I buy the big bag and they are just sitting in the kitchen I'm likely to overeat them, so I just end up not buying them at all.
This is why, as a company, you always provide demand curve pricing that allows every potential consumer to spend as much as they possibly can.
When it comes to pizza, the majority of the cost is labor plus fixed costs. The actual material cost of goods is negligible - but perceived value is high.
I feel like pizza places made a mistake when they first decided that diameter was the way to go with advertising pizza sizes. Human brains like to think in linear terms (unless the numbers get really big, in which case we seem to switch to logarithmic thinking because we just look at how long the number is), so at worst, you want the relationship between cost of production and the number you advertise to be linear.
Even an educated person is going to intuitively feel like a 16 inch pizza is twice as big as an 8 inch, and a less educated person will actually think as much.
a) The pizza place I go to, sell it by weight and it is not round, rather rectangles [1].
b) When it comes to food, money should not be the only factor in the equation. There is the health aspect as well, and if you are not that hungry, you better off eat what you need, rather than eat more just because it is cheaper.
This applies on all junk/industrial/processed food - the less you consume, the better!
Your health is important at least as your wealth.
Another example, if you are thirsty and a can of Coke is enough, get the can, despite the fact a larger bottle has x5 drink in it and cost few cents more, simply because a bottler will make you drink more Coke, while you should drink less.
a: Even with rectangular pizzas sold by weight, the larger one is a better value than the small. Consider that the border of the pizza is a 2-3cm wide crust that will probably go to waste because eating that much white bread is awful. In any case, it lacks delicious cheese, sauce, and black olives or pepperoni.
The larger the pizza, the smaller the ratio of fixed width perimeter to center. If the area of the perimeter were to maintain a constant ratio to the total area, it's width would have to increase in proportion. That applies to any 2D shape, not just a circle or square.
In fact, the calculation in op is wrong because a 16" pizza isn't merely four times as large as an 8" pizza. The 1" crust makes the 16" really a 14" while the 8" is really a 6". 14^2/6^2 = 5.44 times as large.
b: If you were to say anything like that in the USA, you'd be reported to the TSA for un-American activities as soon as anyone heard you. And the NSA would hear you, even if you said it inside your own head. So bring a 100ml or smaller bottle of lube with you for the probe next time you fly.
You should always let your decisions be dictated by the easiest number to calculate precisely. If it's just a number somebody gave you, that doesn't seem very smart. If you have to guess and wave your hands, that doesn't seem very smart, either. If you compute the number using math, now that's smart. You can graph it, you can pick a nice sharp-looking number of decimal places. You can write the formula using algebra. That's economics.
That's also why, when you go to the movies and it turns out tickets cost the same regardless of the film, you should go for the one with the longest running time.
Depends on the use case and personal preferences, I believe.
For me, as I happen to love pizza, better prices on larger ones is a win. It's either cheaper calories (if I consume it at once) or meal that lasts longer (if I eat a half of it and eat leftovers for a several hours later).
In rare cases I consider I really want just a tiny bit and won't like any more pizza for the next 6 hours I obviously order a smaller one.
A lot of companies use this strategy. For example 24 hour fitness in my area offers a 3 year membership for ~$600 as opposed to paying $24/month. I was happy with my decision to pay monthly because I was able to switch to a new gym a year later.
Buying the bigger pizza only makes sense if you know you or someone else can finish it. If you buy a bigger pizza and don't finish eating it, you end up wasting money.
Area is not the best measure of pizza size either. "Regina-style" pizza is a lot thicker than normal pizza -- an 18" pizza at Vern's weighs 10 pounds.
Even better than selling by weight would be selling by calorie. Virtually all customers would get a good impression of both the value and the costs of that pizza.
Too accurate -- it would probably significantly decrease sales.
This article is wonderful! The whole point is that you can be more efficient with your pizza money when buying larger pizzas as opposed to smaller pizzas.
And regarding health concerns: you don't have to eat the whole thing at once! Besides, Pizza is pretty much the food of choice for feeding groups, and being more efficient with your group food budget is totally a win.
because the medium was more than twice as big as the small, and it cost only a little bit more. This sort of blew my mind.
Keep in mind that the cost of a pizza is not just the cost of the ingredients (dough and tomato paste also being particularly cheap). The wages of the worker, the fuel for the oven, and the rental for the shop are all constants.
I don't get it. If someone is not hungry then what's the point of paying more for a larger pizza when you are probably not going to eat all of it. I am also surprised that we think it's fine to buy more than what we can eat just because we can pay for it!
Strangely, that's noy always the case. Sometimes the per-unit price increases at the larger size of an identical product. I've seen this in laundry detergent, for example.
But also your opportunity cost is increased. Now you don't have enough for a drink to go with it, and drinking with you meal increases the nutrients you can absorb.
Bigger pizza's are also the better choice for increasing the ratio of topping area to crust, assuming constant crust thickness through the various sizes for a given pizzeria.
im sorry, this is just astoundingly stupid. the concept that you get more per dollar if you spend more is ubiquitous. thats the only thing this article considers. what the hell?
For a weight deficient person without major health issues, pizza seems good. A single large meat pizza is tasty, has about 2-3Mcal and has fair amounts of both carbs and protein.
I just have to not eat it at once but protract the consumption for a whole day (and chew properly and have enough water), to keep stomach reasonably happy with the meal.
[+] [-] Lockyy|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MichaelApproved|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] georgemcbay|12 years ago|reply
I'm personally kind of peeved that it is nearly impossible these days to buy some things (eg. bags of tortilla chips) that aren't comically super-sized, because I know if I buy the big bag and they are just sitting in the kitchen I'm likely to overeat them, so I just end up not buying them at all.
[+] [-] saurik|12 years ago|reply
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/02/26/282547399/one-reas...
[+] [-] polemic|12 years ago|reply
When it comes to pizza, the majority of the cost is labor plus fixed costs. The actual material cost of goods is negligible - but perceived value is high.
[+] [-] mistercow|12 years ago|reply
Even an educated person is going to intuitively feel like a 16 inch pizza is twice as big as an 8 inch, and a less educated person will actually think as much.
[+] [-] bryanlarsen|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tzury|12 years ago|reply
b) When it comes to food, money should not be the only factor in the equation. There is the health aspect as well, and if you are not that hungry, you better off eat what you need, rather than eat more just because it is cheaper.
This applies on all junk/industrial/processed food - the less you consume, the better!
Your health is important at least as your wealth.
Another example, if you are thirsty and a can of Coke is enough, get the can, despite the fact a larger bottle has x5 drink in it and cost few cents more, simply because a bottler will make you drink more Coke, while you should drink less.
[1] http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293984-d807042...
[+] [-] WildUtah|12 years ago|reply
The larger the pizza, the smaller the ratio of fixed width perimeter to center. If the area of the perimeter were to maintain a constant ratio to the total area, it's width would have to increase in proportion. That applies to any 2D shape, not just a circle or square.
In fact, the calculation in op is wrong because a 16" pizza isn't merely four times as large as an 8" pizza. The 1" crust makes the 16" really a 14" while the 8" is really a 6". 14^2/6^2 = 5.44 times as large.
b: If you were to say anything like that in the USA, you'd be reported to the TSA for un-American activities as soon as anyone heard you. And the NSA would hear you, even if you said it inside your own head. So bring a 100ml or smaller bottle of lube with you for the probe next time you fly.
[+] [-] philwelch|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dkarl|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wulczer|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SixSigma|12 years ago|reply
"We need 5000 widgets"
"That will cost $10,000 but if we make 10000 it will cost $15000 making each one cheaper"
Overproduction kills.
The pizza place is laughing because the cost of production doesn't square with the radius.
[+] [-] drdaeman|12 years ago|reply
For me, as I happen to love pizza, better prices on larger ones is a win. It's either cheaper calories (if I consume it at once) or meal that lasts longer (if I eat a half of it and eat leftovers for a several hours later).
In rare cases I consider I really want just a tiny bit and won't like any more pizza for the next 6 hours I obviously order a smaller one.
[+] [-] enraged_camel|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] uvTwitch|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] maaku|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wgx|12 years ago|reply
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/02/26/282547399/one-reas...
[+] [-] schiang|12 years ago|reply
Buying the bigger pizza only makes sense if you know you or someone else can finish it. If you buy a bigger pizza and don't finish eating it, you end up wasting money.
[+] [-] bryanlarsen|12 years ago|reply
Even better than selling by weight would be selling by calorie. Virtually all customers would get a good impression of both the value and the costs of that pizza.
Too accurate -- it would probably significantly decrease sales.
[+] [-] dblotsky|12 years ago|reply
And regarding health concerns: you don't have to eat the whole thing at once! Besides, Pizza is pretty much the food of choice for feeding groups, and being more efficient with your group food budget is totally a win.
[+] [-] vacri|12 years ago|reply
Keep in mind that the cost of a pizza is not just the cost of the ingredients (dough and tomato paste also being particularly cheap). The wages of the worker, the fuel for the oven, and the rental for the shop are all constants.
[+] [-] dsr12|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] acchow|12 years ago|reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWIJNaA-JNA
[+] [-] TulliusCicero|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nitrogen|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SixSigma|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] beloch|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] the_cat_kittles|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Oculus|12 years ago|reply
</sarcasm>
[+] [-] mitchty|12 years ago|reply
I know I've bought large pizzas with the full intention of eating the whole thing over a few days time.
[+] [-] drdaeman|12 years ago|reply
I just have to not eat it at once but protract the consumption for a whole day (and chew properly and have enough water), to keep stomach reasonably happy with the meal.
[+] [-] emiliobumachar|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|12 years ago|reply
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