Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies: And Other Pricing Puzzles

Reader Reviews
--This book tells us more than we ever wanted to know about prices. --Indeed, here's probably more about prices than we ever thought there was to know! If you're a casual reader who's just trying to catch up on what's going on around us, the going could be slow and tedious. However, if you're a university prof, serious economics student, or a marketing or merchandising strategist ready to dive below the surface of pricetag information, you'll probably find this book information-stuffed, no doubt interesting...perhaps fascinating, even fun and easy to read. "Why Popcorn Costs So Much...," valuable as it may be, is just not for a light afternoon's read at the beach. Consider one of McKenzie's opening paragraphs on price adjustment: "One of the unheralded advantages of prices is that through market forces, they capture the advantages and disadvantages of property, in the process giving a market value to the advantages or disadvantages. Prices adjust until buyers are more or less indifferent between properties." [Page 33] --Or an explanation of standard pricing with 9s [as in $4.99]: "From a strictly economic perspective, if there were no cost to buyers considering rightward digits, and there were only gains from allaying the unexpected expense of paying the rightward digits, then there would be no reason for buyers not to consider all digits equally, no matter how high the price. There would be no reason then for the just-below prices...." [Page 183] --Oh, come on, Mr. McKenzie! Isn't there an easier way to say all this!? Re-reading has been SOP for this reader throughout the book. Occasionally, though, pages do make some sense (topics on coupons, on rebates especially), but this still is not a consumer primer for smart buying. Minor economics tech-talk and cold theory abounds. Never an easy read for the uninitiated, the author seems satisfied explaining things in forty words when the average consumer-writer might say it in 20. --With one exception: McKenzie (mercifully) includes a section of "Concluding Comments" at the end of each of his 13 chapters, amounting to a nice summary of every chapter's topic. So, here's a hint for the reader: scan or skip over the heart of the chapters and head for the summaries! They're short and understandable. Beyond that, it quickly gets a little more complicated than expected. --And forget the back cover PR blurb (!) about not needing "a degree in economics to enjoy this fascinating book. Just an armchair and an inquiring mind," it says. True, you won't Need advanced econ to get thru it, but: this surely could be one of the entries on your economics booklist as you trek on toward getting that degree. [Especially if you're registered in Professor McKenzie's class, I suspect.] "Fascinating"? --Overstating it some. As you "read" this work, note how many times the author refers to "his economics students," and how he's obviously comfortable using lecture-speak in and out of the classroom. He includes a vague chapter on university housing. Too, he offers many references to [presumably university] "textbook pricing." This book is definitely "higher-ed" slanted. Naw...for those not already schooled in some level of economics, it's not an easy/interesting book to get through. Finally, do ignore McKenzie's current efforts in media interviews to help make this book sound simple, consumer-oriented, reader-friendly. He chuckles his way through some talk-show-host's questions, often providing answers in short quips, quick explanations, and simple clarifications... not even close to how his book is organized. [--And I got this one based on what he said on the radio recently.... Bet the talk-show hosts never read a single page of it.] Matter of fact, the pop-look cover-design (and clever title) invites a fast bookstore buy...but if you'd rather this edition not just collect bookshelf dust, try the library instead/first. It'll likely be found in the business, science or technology section. --And I'm Still Not Sure why we get nicked big-time for popcorn at the movies. --A generous Two-Stars as a book for the "ordinary" reader, like myself. Four-Stars for the more economically advantaged. It gets a weak Three-Star average.