Let's compare
One of my American friends here in Basel just told me about a great website where you can order some of your favorite American food items online, from Switzerland, and they'll be shipped right to your door (for a delivery fee of only 4 CHF). Right now they're promoting special Thanksgiving items, knowing that Americans in Switzerland are scrambling to find a can of Libby's pumpkin in order to make pumpkin pie for next Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner. We've often talked about the high cost of everything in Switzerland, but I'm totally floored by the prices for the American products sold on this website. My friend described this as "shopping in desperation". Even Jell-O becomes a delicacy when you can't buy it at your neighborhood store!
Let's compare a few prices. I picked out a list of things I would like to buy from Taste of America and compared their prices to those available at Safeway (one of the grocery store chains I shop at back in DC).
Libby's Canned Pumpkin: 6 CHF (equivalent to $4.50), $1.59 at Safeway
Stove Top Stuffing Mix: 7.70 CHF (eq. to $5.80), $1.50 at Safeway
Jello: 2.80 CHF (eq. to $2.10), $.50 at Safeway
Duncan Hines Blueberry Muffin Mix: 11 CHF (eq. to $8.35), $3.19 at Safeway
Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix: 9.10 CHF (eq. to $6.90), $2.29 at Safeway
Duncan Hines Chocolate Frosting: 8.70 CHF (eq. to $6.60), $2.19 at Safeway
Quaker Instant Oatmal: 11.50 CHF (eq. to $8.70), $1.99 at Safeway
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese: 5 CHF (eq. to $3.80), $.79 at Safeway
Campbell's Tomato Soup: 4.50 CHF (eq. to $3.40), $.89 at Safeway
Grand total? Taste of America: 66.30 CHF (equivalent to $50.35). Safeway: $14.93!
I'm not sure which is more shocking; these prices, or the fact that I just took the time to look all of this up and post in on our blog. What can I say. Winter evenings are long when Kirk is out of town. I'm just wondering why I didn't think of this fabulous idea of importing American food products and selling them online. I could be rich!
Let's compare a few prices. I picked out a list of things I would like to buy from Taste of America and compared their prices to those available at Safeway (one of the grocery store chains I shop at back in DC).
Libby's Canned Pumpkin: 6 CHF (equivalent to $4.50), $1.59 at Safeway
Stove Top Stuffing Mix: 7.70 CHF (eq. to $5.80), $1.50 at Safeway
Jello: 2.80 CHF (eq. to $2.10), $.50 at Safeway
Duncan Hines Blueberry Muffin Mix: 11 CHF (eq. to $8.35), $3.19 at Safeway
Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix: 9.10 CHF (eq. to $6.90), $2.29 at Safeway
Duncan Hines Chocolate Frosting: 8.70 CHF (eq. to $6.60), $2.19 at Safeway
Quaker Instant Oatmal: 11.50 CHF (eq. to $8.70), $1.99 at Safeway
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese: 5 CHF (eq. to $3.80), $.79 at Safeway
Campbell's Tomato Soup: 4.50 CHF (eq. to $3.40), $.89 at Safeway
Grand total? Taste of America: 66.30 CHF (equivalent to $50.35). Safeway: $14.93!
I'm not sure which is more shocking; these prices, or the fact that I just took the time to look all of this up and post in on our blog. What can I say. Winter evenings are long when Kirk is out of town. I'm just wondering why I didn't think of this fabulous idea of importing American food products and selling them online. I could be rich!
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