Taco Bell's 1/2-lb. burritos for $1.99

[Alex Linder]

This is a true scam of genius, genuinely beautiful in its simplicity.

Taco Bell earlier this year was pushing its "89c burritos."

Now it's pushing the exact same burritos as "1/2 pound burritos" for more than double the price.

Sheer genius!

[Alex Linder]

To round out the scam, TB is now pitching a nigger taco for 89 cents.

[BryanVP]

Are those the ones with watered down cheese, rice, and potatos? All that is definitely worth 3.99lb.

[BryanVP]

Nigger tacos are only 79 cents here.

[Alex Linder]

I'm telling you that, far as I can tell, the old burritos, which were fair value at .89c, if you were hungry at 2am and nothing else open, are EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE as the new half-pounders that cost $2 apiece.

[albion]

BLACK JACK TACO - 89c
http://www.tacobell.com/blackjacktaco/

Half Pounders
http://www.tacobell.com/halfpoundburritos/

All that greasy Mexican food makes Jack a dull boy.

[Alex Linder]

Come on, I want someone to tell me I'm wrong, and prove it.

[COTW]

Originally Posted by Alex Linder

Taco Bell earlier this year was pushing its "89c burritos."

Now it's pushing the exact same burritos as "1/2 pound burritos" for more than double the price.

Originally Posted by Mr Murray

So why do you call the pricing of the "new" half pound taco a scam?

It's fairly self evident why he's calling it a scam. Just because he's aware of it doesn't lessen the matter.

What if you noticed that a product you bought last week at the grocery store had new packaging this week with a big "New Value Size!" printed on it yet was actually 1 or 2 ounces less in weight and still the same price. Would you keep that information to yourself and quit buying it or would you tell everyone that you know that might have interest in that fact?

[Mr Murray]

Originally Posted by COTW

It's fairly self evident why he's calling it a scam. Just because he's aware of it doesn't lessen the matter.

What if you noticed that a product you bought last week at the grocery store had new packaging this week with a big "New Value Size!" printed on it yet was actually 1 or 2 ounces less in weight and still the same price. Would you keep that information to yourself and quit buying it or would you tell everyone that you know that might have interest in that fact?

The 89 cent taco was a loss leader product.

Wikipedia (Links)

Loss_leader

Now that they've returned the price to a profitable level and used a little marketing to soften the blow you call that a "scam"???

Any free-marketeer/libertarian/no-regulation capitialist calling this a scam is a hypocrite. The sellers can set their price and the buyers can keep their wallets closed and walk away.

[COTW]

Fast food doesn't do loss leaders, that's grocery store marketing.

I haven't eaten at Taco Bell in years and when I did I stuck with the plain hard tacos; I hate all that sour cream crap in my food and all that brown mush.

Anyways, I assumed Alex knew what he was talking about and gave him the benefit of the doubt on this trivial issue. That is until now. I gave the Taco Bell website a visit and within seconds found out the difference between the two.

1/2 lb. Burrito $1.99
double portion beef, cheese sauce, tomatoes, sour cream, red strips(red peppers?) - in a tortilla

5 layer burrito $0.89
ground beef, beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, nacho cheese sauce - in a tortilla

So there, scam debunked.

[Frank Toliver]

You assholes, now I want tacos.

[John in Woodbridge]

Originally Posted by Frank Toliver

You assholes, now I want tacos.

Ha ha ha. Where I live there is a restaurant chain called Chipolte that makes gourmet burritos. They cost about $6.50 but one is a whole meal or a meal and half with all quality ingredrients. I like picking up from there but the line no matter what time of the day is all the way around the restaurant.

[George Witzgall]

Originally Posted by Frank Toliver

You assholes, now I want tacos.

damn taco-lover, now I want assholes.

[Mr Murray]

Originally Posted by COTW

Fast food doesn't do loss leaders, that's grocery store marketing.

Eh?

Never heard of the "Burger Wars" then?

McDonald's plans to take a big bite Big Bite out of the Big Mac's price.

If the majority of the company's franchisees approve the new promotion today, prices of Big Macs and several other sandwiches could drop to 55 cents each for anyone who buys any size fries and a drink, too.

That could spark a price war among fast-food chains, reminiscent of the feeding frenzy caused by Taco Bell's introduction of its low-pricing menu in the late 1980s.

Although fries and drinks have higher profit margins that will offset the loss leader, a high sales volume is critical.

[COTW]

Originally Posted by Mr Murray

Eh?

Never heard of the "Burger Wars" then?

An exception does not make the rule, Mr Murray.

[Alex Linder]

1/2 lb. Burrito $1.99
double portion beef, cheese sauce, tomatoes, sour cream, red strips(red peppers?) - in a tortilla

5 layer burrito $0.89
ground beef, beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, nacho cheese sauce - in a tortilla

So there, scam debunked.

I haven't gone to TB since my original post. Perhaps they have returned the .89c burrito, which was a good deal. I used the term scam loosely, not legally.

I still say, based on the two half-pounders I ordered months ago, they did not seem any larger than the .89c burritos. They can say X burrito officially weights Y, but it comes down to the preparer how much he puts into it.

[COTW]

Originally Posted by Alex Linder

...I still say, based on the two half-pounders I ordered months ago, they did not seem any larger than the .89c burritos. They can say X burrito officially weights Y, but it comes down to the preparer how much he puts into it.

True, an order of fries can vary a great deal. Plenty of people get ripped off in that case.

[odin]

Originally Posted by COTW

Fast food doesn't do loss leaders, that's grocery store marketing.

Burger King franchise owners are currently suing the corporate office for forcing them to sell the dollar double cheeseburger. They claim the ingredients alone cost $1.18. Corporate says it's a loss leader and the franchisees will make back their loss from the massive mark-up on soft drinks. Franchisees say too many people come in and buy a bag full of double cheeseburgers and nothing else, so they are losing money.

[Alex Linder]

I can also say that these new five-layer .89c burritos are...not very good. Little meat in them, mostly beans and yicky sour cream.

[Donnie in Ohio]

Originally Posted by odin

Burger King franchise owners are currently suing the corporate office for forcing them to sell the dollar double cheeseburger. They claim the ingredients alone cost $1.18. Corporate says it's a loss leader and the franchisees will make back their loss from the massive mark-up on soft drinks. Franchisees say too many people come in and buy a bag full of double cheeseburgers and nothing else, so they are losing money.

It is also no secret in the fast-food world that the Burger King is queer.

Over 40, no Burger Queen, no Burger heirs, and he wears a robe and knee-britches in public.

I'll take a sack of White Castles myself.