Thais need to lower their prices: Starbucks coffee more in Thailand than Berlin

[Creasy]

7 minutes ago, RedPill said:

No, that's not it!

 

The reason you see a long queue of Thais is because you are in Thailand.

 

If you would be ie. in Dublin, you would see a queue of Irish and if you would be in Amsterdam, a queue of Dutch etc.

 

Not so difficult. That place is popular around the world ... why do you think they can open store after store around the world?

 

 

It's not popular at all in Australia.

[hugocnx]

8 hours ago, kotsak said:

Starbucks over here are for the hi-so and for those who wanna be seen as hi-so.

 

They surely don't have to do it for the taste.

[allenberg]

7 hours ago, Jessi said:

Please get back on your meds.????

Pretty sure the meds for that sort of thing haven't been discovered yet.

[RedPill]

Just now, Creasy said:

It's not popular at all in Australia.

I've never been there, so I take your word for it ????

 

A Starbucks in Sydney or Melbourne? How are they doing?

 

[Pravda]

39 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

 

 

What a load of....

 

Find me a big apartment in any european capital for the same price i pay here in BKK....impossible. 

The same i paid for a Studio with 30 sqm in Manhatten is what i pay for a penthouse in Sukhumvit...

 

 

Wow... Think before you post. 

 

No one is talking about your 30sqm ghetto in On Nut. 

 

How much do you think commercial space costs to rent in the majow mall on Bangkok? 

 

 

[RJRS1301]

Starbuck, coffee, disgusting. Who would drink it in the first place?

Tried it twice in USA==disgusting

Mexico=disgusting

Never again anywhere

 

 

[xylophone]

27 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Thais have long believed that if you can afford to come here on holiday you are rich and have money to splash around... what they don't know is that many who come here it's a once a year holiday and they've worked hard all year to save up for it.

Now with the Thai baht strength and world economy as it is they've found other destinations where they can get  a much better deal including flights, hotels, food etc.

If restaurants/bars  want to keep the prices high then they are going to lose out more.

They've greedily kept the prices at a premium to squeeze the last baht out of a dying commodity.

And now pockets do not stretch enough to come here, especially with a family..... 

 

Agree, well said, but the Thais have been used to "free-spending" visitors over the years, this especially when the other currencies were strong and that has pervaded the current thought process, if indeed there is any thought process.

 

I say this because there are so many times that I have heard Thais from all walks of life say to me, "but you are farang, you have big money"! And it really gets on my tits!

 

They don't seem to realise that I, like many others, have worked hard for 50 years or so and have not always earned good money, but have saved or invested and are now managing to reap the rewards.

 

And your point about families coming here on holiday is a good one, because again I don't think the Thais ever give a moment's thought to where these holidaymakers/tourists come from, or indeed that they are working their butts off in a full-time job back home in order to get two weeks holiday in the sun.

 

[Scott Tracy]

Is it really helpful to compare prices? Perhaps. Comparing prices in Romania with those in Germany, for example? Or perhaps Singapore with Moldova.

Perhaps franchisees are required to keep prices high, for Branding purposes. I don't know, I'm not a franchisee. I do know there is a difference in price, in the KFC in Tesco Lotus and Big C in Si Saket, for what appears to be the same meal. Except in Big C, they use card boxes, plastic cutlery and paper cups and free refills. In Tesco Lotus, square plastic plates, metal cutlery and glasses for the drinks.

I prefer Amazon coffee shops in PTT...

[Swedenlars]

Starbucks in one example. In another tread I was mentioning the beer prices in Thailand compared with Germany. This summer I was in Konstanz (southern Germany) and paid Euro 2.90 in very nice pub for a 1/2 liter draft beer. So this is equivalent 100 Thai Baht. Overall Thailand is still cheap, hotels, transportation, food etc. But the other day I was reading that often package deals are in certain cases much cheaper for Turkey.

[ThomasThBKK]

47 minutes ago, dimitriv said:

 

Please don't compare Manhattan with Sukhumvit.

 

I am looking for a new condo in Bangkok. Bangkok is big. The BTS is expanding. Where do you have to live to say that you live in Bangkok? If you have to travel 60 minutes to go to the center of BKK you are living in a suburb and not in Bangkok. 90% of the people I know who say that they live in BKK actually live in a subsurb.

 

I see that most prices outside the center (suburbs) are comparable with what I would pay in the center of a medium size European city. 

 

 

 

 

 

<deleted> are you on about? Thong Lor is radically cheaper than any place in New York. I live between Asoke and Thong Lor, that's not a suburb.

 

I lived and worked in Manhatten before coming to Thailand - the price difference is enormous, commuting 2 hours from New Jersey to NYC is also very normal just to save money... People life with roommates because they don't have enough cash for their own apartment there. 

 

I paid 3 grand for a Studio in the upper eastside, 40 minutes with subway to wallstreet, i can easily find a 200 sqm apartment for that price here.

 

[Jane Dough]

8 hours ago, Lungstib said:

If you want to live cheaply in Thailand you keep out of places like Starbucks, Mc.D's, 7-11, Tesco and frequent places selling whole meals for 40b. Its possible but not necessarily how you want to live.

Many of the items in Tesco are cheaper than in the Thai markets.

 

Rooster

[NoshowJones]

8 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

So it is housing, food, and your cigs are cheaper.

Don't forget gasoline, electric, water, transportation, and girls.

Geez, what is left tell us that is more expensive here then the UK??

Delicious Kidney pie?

 

You mean Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie, at todays rate, about 40 Bt, 1 GBP in the UK, about 280 Bt at Villa.

[Guest]

Welcome to Disneyland Siam World.

[WorriedNoodle]

Last time I went to Phuket (pre tsunami) the price of a Big Mac (and thus the price of everything else there) was a darn site more expensive than the rest of Thailand. We never went back again.

[Rocking Robert]

8 hours ago, Pravda said:

I never drink Starbucks back home, but Starbucks latte in Thailand is the only coffee that doesn't give me acid reflux. 

Acid reflux  get it checked 

[Jonathan Swift]

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

The people that set the pricing for starbuck products are under the impression that anyone who buys their product must be a well heeled type and can afford to pay they prices as there are million other places around to buy cheaper coffee should they choose to... 

The premise of this story is naive and absurdly out of touch with economic reality. Prices are solely the product of supply and demand. Period. If the prices were too high for their customer base they would go out of business. That's a fundamental inviolate principle of economics and business. So SOMEBODY is buying and paying those prices, and the Gods of Starbucks inc. are undoubtedly satisfied with the numbers. It has nothing to do with the baht or the decline of tourism. It has nothing to do with Thailand or any other country in which they do business. There must be enough Chinese tourists or rich people drinking coffee to keep those prices up. There is a sufficient revenue stream to support those prices. That's all there is to it. There are plenty of other places to buy good coffee at reasonable prices. This is a big fat nothingburger complaint. I pay 25 baht for a delicious latte from the convenience store with picnic tables attached to my apartment, I bought a huge beer mug so can buy 3 at once, 75 baht for a triple size cup of fresh ground delicious coffee. That's about $2.50 USD. Somebody is looking for scapegoats for Thailand's economic woes. Thailand overinvests in Chinese tourism, and when they overrun the tourist traps including your Starbucks driving up prices in spot markets the rest of the economy suffers. Thailand is failing to address the bigger picture. There is no viable economic development, and in particular Thai government is a miserable failure at attracting the rest of the world to come spend money. Instead Thai government is creating a hostile environment by making immigration and visa rules nearly impossible to navigate. If you compute the amount of money spent long term by expats who stay here it would be a substantial number, and would represent an excellent long term investment for Thailand. Are there any relevant accurate economic studies to reflect that? 55555555

[Stevemercer]

It used to be that my wife bought clothes and things in Thailand and took them to Australia to save money.

 

In the last 12 months it has been the opposite. She'll buy brand new pajamas. T-shirts and other clothes for the equivalent of 20 Baht ($1 AUS) each in Australia and bring them back to Thailand. The material tends to be thicker and good for the cooler weather current in Thailand. She can also sell the items to her friends as 'winter wear' for 100 Baht.

[Cheesekraft]

starbucks is only for the seating, wifi, and atmosphere, which is priced into the coffee. There are much better quality coffees all over the country for a fraction of the cost.

[emptypockets]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I get the impression that lots of Thais buy starbugs products to be able to run around with those containers and show everybody that they can afford that coffee. Kind of: Look at me, I can afford this (at least if I max out my credit card).

Why not? The ex wife and I had a holiday in the UK 30 odd years ago and bought the cheapest packet of biscuits at Harrods just for the bag. She showed that off for years.

[RedPill]

5 minutes ago, Cheesekraft said:

starbucks is only for the seating, wifi, and atmosphere, which is priced into the coffee. There are much better quality coffees all over the country for a fraction of the cost.

There you go, you got this right.

 

It's the same as a beer inland or at the door steps of 7/11, it's cheaper than a beer on the beach ... but you pay for the view/location and it's priced in.

 

 

 

[balo]

There are still a few countries in the world where Starbucks is more expensive than Thailand.  Starbucks in Norway charge €5 for a latte!  

But wages here are 10 times higher than Thailand , go figure.....

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

 

 

[jany123]

7 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

The premise of this story is naive and absurdly out of touch with economic reality. Prices are solely the product of supply and demand. Period.

I couldn’t agree more.... seen it in action a lot around here

 

For example, a couple of nights ago I was at what has become my go to place for lasagne.... the owner came out and had a wee chat. He was complaining about the turndown and the general lack of business whilst thanking me for my patronage.

 

on leaving, I found that my meal price had jumped from 200 to 250 baht. So.... less demand means higher prices have to be charged of current customers such that wages etc can be paid. Logical really

[Peterphuket]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I get the impression that lots of Thais buy starbugs products to be able to run around with those containers and show everybody that they can afford that coffee. Kind of: Look at me, I can afford this (at least if I max out my credit card).

That happens many years ago already with small bags from AIS, etc.

[Peterphuket]

23 minutes ago, WorriedNoodle said:

Last time I went to Phuket (pre tsunami) the price of a Big Mac (and thus the price of everything else there) was a darn site more expensive than the rest of Thailand. We never went back again.

Phuket was and is always more expensive then the whole country.

[bimmerbob]

9 hours ago, Ventenio said:

What is this crying over money?  Are you in a prison?  No.  So, leave.  Go to another country where it is cheaper........it's an EASY fix.  Oh, the Thai Baht is too much for you .... OK, too bad, try Cambodia or Laos or another place.  You have options in this life:

 

1.  complain, cry, complain, get mad, complain, complain

2.  do

...that is so short-sighted! Go see an optician Ventonio.........

 

[emptypockets]

5 hours ago, OnTheRun said:

This. My mates back home don't believe me when I tell them the prices here, especially beer prices. 

Do the price conversion at 70 baht to the squid and see what they say.

Beer used to be cheap at 33 baht to the Ozzie dollar. Not so cheap at 20 baht now. The actual price hasn't gone up too much but the exchange rate has changed the dynamic. If you got paid in Thai baht you would have seen inflation and a slight increase in excise on local beer over the past ten years or so.

If you insist on drinking imported beer then you pay the price for your choice.

Bit cheeky to take a single item to comment on.Right now I have a carton(30 cans) and a packet of forty smokes in front of me in Australia. Beer was 53 and smokes 54 dollars total 107 bucks. At roughly 21 baht to the dollar that's well north of 2000 baht. Last week in Thailand 24 beers were about 800 baht and two packs of twenty smokes were 200 baht give it take. Thailand wins hands down.

[hugocnx]

2 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

i wish Tarbucks would serve superior quality Nescafe Gold Cup instant coffee instead of the liquid they currently offer.

Try SB coffee in a diesel engine. 

[hugocnx]

2 hours ago, Autonuaq said:

Thailand is so cheap that one spent more money in Thailand for the same as in europe. Food, drink, rent alle is the same costs or even more expensive. And the smole you got in the past has be lost a long time ago.

 

Also the production in Thailand is now the same ormore expensive then the european plant does we have exluding the transportation costs which made us as well that our competion also move production back to the west.

 

Pitty to conclude that Thailand could be today like South Korea, soon will by overtaken by vietnam or cambodja

China will overtake them all. Not to far future. Sorry, off topic

[Percy P]

9 hours ago, meechai said:

Honestly we live in one of the most expensive US States

We stay in Thailand a few months every year

 

The only thing cheaper (for us) in Thailand is electricity

We don't rent/have a mortgage in either place

We don't really eat out in either place

 

Everything else is either same or more in Thailand

 

Are you relating to the cost in your countries  money after conversion  of Thai money . In Thai currency thing are very cheap it's when you convert it it becomes expensive. If your working in Thailand getting paid in Baht no problem. I'm paying now twice as much in £ for the same item l did 10 years ago and Thai prices to what I buy have remained the same.

[Andrew65]

The secret of Starbucks success:

"Selling a 40 cent cuppa coffee for $3".