EASTER EGGS AND CONTAINER PRICES

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31941, 19 March 1969, Page 7

EASTER EGGS AND CONTAINER PRICES

When buying Easter eggs this year take a close look at the packaging—you may find that you are paying more for this than the egg itself.

This advice is given in the latest issue of the Consumers’ Institute magazine, “Consumer.” Over the last two years the institute has made a close study of the prices of Easter eggs and their containers.

“The dearest gift set we saw last year was a solidlymade casket with a hinged lid, costing $9," says the institute. “It contained one huge egg with chocolates inside, and was surrounded by four smaller eggs. By comparing the cost of similar unpacked eggs we worked out that there was about $4.75 worth of chocolate, leaving $4.25 as the cost of packaging.

“You could easily convert the casket into a sewing box, but if you already have one. and can’t think of a better use for it, you may prefer to spend that $4.25 on something else. “Another gift set we saw at $3.75 contained one large egg and two smaller ones. If you bought these separately, the total cost would be about $1.30, so you would be spending $2.45 on the packaging. “Provided you know how much the package costs, you can decided whether the gift

is worth while for your purpose. Ask yourself if the package has any use once Easter is over. If the answer is no, it is up to you to decide how much you are prepared to pay for the appearance of your gift." Chocolates are another item that can come in costly packets. The institute says that it has seen 31b boxes of chocolates priced at $4.55. At the time, 31b of mixed chocolates bought loose, cost $2.25. The cost of the container therefore came to $2.30. “This box was quite attractive, but worth nowhere near this amount,” says the institute. Another contained 61b of chocolates for $9.10, or $4.60 for the box.