Oh, that makes more sense. But mine is funnier 
A friend just took this.
Dry chicken pizza is all they will have until further notice. Whatâs going on?
At least thereâs some good news: the seafood pizza is out of stock.
8 Likes
Itâs like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Please donât give them any ideas for new pizza toppings!
6 Likes
You had me at cheddar.
Same in Chiayi last week. Itâs quite clear whatâs going on from the sign.
You mean century eggs?
What I donât get is: How can cheese pizza be out of stock? Itâs the base for all the other pizzas.
2 Likes
If I have to guess, itâs related to tomato sauce. The dry chicken pizza doesnât use any.
Neither do their other pizzas really. I think the pizza maker just leans over and whispers âtomato sauce.â And even that may be too much for local tastes.
3 Likes
I saw cases of Dr. Pepper today. Who was it that wanted that?
1 Like
Wow, so itâs back. Again. I used to be obsessed with Dr Pepper precisely because it costs NT45-95/can and the scarcity mindset kicked inâŚ
I donât think this racket is limited to shops buying things on Taobao and then marking them up for our shopping enjoyment. I think some shops and supermarkets here also buy vegetables and fruit at Costco, then open the bags and repackage the goods with a nice markup. Easier than the Taobao racket and clearly also profitable.
I canât imagine thatâs very common. Which fruit and vegetables from Costco do you think that would make sense for? Nothing really springs to my mind as being hugely cheaper in Costco that it would be from a local distributor or even a wet market. Generally I find Costco to be a relatively expensive place to buy fruit and vegetables â itâs often cheaper just to go to a local produce shop, and itâs definitely cheaper to go to one of the big markets.
But yeah, of course prices increase as you move toward the consumer end of the chain and as quantities get smaller. Thatâs been the case since the concept of trade was invented. Itâs not really a âracketâ (well, it is I suppose, but no more than most things involving multiple businesses that donât want to lose money).
Potatoes is the first thing that springs to mind. And the then repackaging of usually 2 per packet with plastic will definitely keep some other businesses here afloat. I live near a fruit shop though, where I can often see Costco packages and they donât sell potatoes.
Potatoes in Costco now are what, NT$400 or something for the big bag? More? I forget, but they seemed relatively expensive the last couple of times I bought them.
Theyâre maybe marginally cheaper (or possibly marginally more expensive â Iâm not sure) than when Iâve bought them at the Wanhua wholesale market, but I havenât noticed a large difference either way.
Stuff like oranges, lemons, garlic, ginger, dragonfruit, onions*, and Iâm not sure what else are way cheaper at the wet market for small quantities, so Iâd expect distributors to be selling them to supermarkets for much less.
(* I know thatâs a bit of a random list, but I donât buy many fruit or vegetables in Costco. When I do, itâs because they have something difficult to get here like imported varieties of grapes.)
I remember reading an article about Costco saying that Taiwan is one of their most profitable markets, if not the most.
That should say something about their prices.
I thought Costco is always profitable everywhere, most their profit coming from their membership fees.
Sure, but some of their highest margins and retention rates are in Taiwan
https://topics.amcham.com.tw/2018/09/costcos-taiwan-success-story/