Things that are cheaper in the UK than the US

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This is a much harder question.

I can think of:

Bread
Cereal

Um, that's it so far...

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Tunnock's Tea Cakes

― Serghei Daduismus (Dada), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Foreign steel?

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 09:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Workers

― Serghei Daduismus (Dada), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:00 (twenty-one years ago)

tea.

― toby (tsg20), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I was hoping this thread was going to be left unanswered, in comparison with the other one.

you spoilsports.

― Ste (Fuzzy), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:04 (twenty-one years ago)

There is something, but I can't remember what it is.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:05 (twenty-one years ago)

It was brought up on ILE before.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:05 (twenty-one years ago)

This wasn't it, but 69 Love Songs was available for about £12 over here.

Text messages?

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:06 (twenty-one years ago)

jeans.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Really?

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:09 (twenty-one years ago)

are text messages cheaper? i get 50 free a month/200 for $2.99 a month.

― Cynthia Nixon Now More Than Ever (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know - I was just struck by the fact that some Americans (once?) had to pay to receive them.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I can go to jc penneys when I visit my grandmother and get a pair of levi's for like $30. xpost.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I think you want the other thread, sarah!

How much are newspapers in the US?

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:14 (twenty-one years ago)

hahaha yeah!

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:14 (twenty-one years ago)

stupid me.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:15 (twenty-one years ago)

1. Gibes

2. Digs

3. Innuendo

― Serghei Daduismus (Dada), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:16 (twenty-one years ago)

most sweets or 'candy' for our american friends is cheeper in the uk.

― lukey (Lukey G), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:17 (twenty-one years ago)

healthcare

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:22 (twenty-one years ago)

word.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 10:27 (twenty-one years ago)

healthcare

So OTM

Taking out cash from machines as well- I checked my statement and I had a $12.50 withdrawal fee from one ATM!!

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yeah - the US ATM charging thing is a total scam.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Dollars

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Elections.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Culture (ie Museums and Art Galleries).

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:28 (twenty-one years ago)

a large bag of fresh baby spinach from tesco is 88p, whereas i'd pay about $4 for an equal amount in nyc.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

How odd. Is there a spinach cartel in the States, I wonder.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

well.. manhattan is truly extortionate when it comes to rent and groceries. i don't which i'd rather have: cheap spinach or a cab home that costs under £10.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

What about orange juice? I seem to remember being a little put out by the price of that in the US (i.e. proper squeezed stuff, not from concentrate and not sweetened).

Healthcare and education are the obvious ones, yes.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:35 (twenty-one years ago)

ooh there's one. My PhD.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 11:43 (twenty-one years ago)

drug

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 12:15 (twenty-one years ago)

i found common painkillers to be much cheaper. like a little packet of ibuprofen would be 75p or something.

― battlin' green eyeshades (Homosexual II), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 12:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Paracetemol is 19p!

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 12:26 (twenty-one years ago)

ecstacy

― lukey (Lukey G), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 12:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Samuel Smith's

― David Beckhouse (David Beckhouse), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 12:41 (twenty-one years ago)

You can't buy painkillers in huge bulk quantities like in the US though. I remember getting a bottle of something stupid like 1000 Ibuprofen from CVS in DC. They won't sell you the three-gallon bottle of water at the same time though.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 12:51 (twenty-one years ago)

irony

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 13:00 (twenty-one years ago)

(Doh - I didn't see Toby's other thread and his very first post on it).

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 13:10 (twenty-one years ago)

The stuff at the US Lush shops is outrageously priced compared to the UK shops. Soap should not be that expensive (but I buy it anyway)!

― Leon Czolgosz in NYC (Nicole), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 13:32 (twenty-one years ago)

It must be Gay Soap

― Serghei Daduismus (Dada), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 13:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I bought 69 Love Songs, signed, for £12.

I didn't even sign it myself.

The thing that has not been mentioned, unless it has, about Manhattan, is that over there nothing costs what it is supposed to. You take a tube of fruit pastilles marked 80 cents to the till and they charge you $1.23. How is one supposed to muster ... 'exact change'? I was so annoyed by this that they practically deported me. It was a proto-Cat Stevens incident waiting to happen.

― the bellefox, Tuesday, 19 October 2004 19:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't think Lush products are actually that much more expensive over here if you factor in the exchange rate though.

pinefox, the reason for that is that the tax isn't included in the sticker price. tax on purchases varies from city to city.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:09 (twenty-one years ago)

dentistry?

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Cuban cigars
Absinthe
Mash

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Cuban cigars - cheap=available legally?

Are Doc Martens cheaper here?

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Marmite.

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Are Doc Martens cheaper here?

Ah - that's the thing I was thinking of.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Jelly Babies!

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:57 (twenty-one years ago)

The Guardian!
The Wire!

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

McVie's biscuits

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 21:01 (twenty-one years ago)

McviTie's

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 21:02 (twenty-one years ago)

House music CDs!

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 21:03 (twenty-one years ago)

HOTELS!!!

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 21:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Also - BOOKS (first-hand) are cheaper in the UK, it would seem.

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 21:05 (twenty-one years ago)

How much is Odwalla in the UK now?

― adam. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 October 2004 21:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Kyle: I know, and I disapprove.

― the bellefox, Wednesday, 20 October 2004 11:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Staples here are cheap - tins of baked beans are about 35p, a big tetra pak of passata is 37p. Typically British biscuits are ridiculously cheap if you buy the own-brand, e.g. Tesco custard creams are about 20p a packet.

I didn't find Toronto as cheap anymore for shopping when I was there in August - most of the nice clothing shops cost just as much as here, and even cds and dvds aren't cheap anymore - I had to pay $70 cdn plus 15% tax for the SCTV box set!

Eating out was definitely cheaper though. We had some brilliant meals at that worked out to about £10 for two including a home-cooked main course and drink each. You definitely could not do that in Manchester without eating at some crappy pub that sells grade Z food as part of a "2 meals for £6" offer.

― elisabeth k, Wednesday, 20 October 2004 12:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Are books really cheaper in the UK? I did a price conversion for a few new hardbacks on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk, and the UK versions were more expensive. (Of course this might not be the best methodology.)

― Nemo (JND), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Dunno - typical novel is £7 or £8 in paperback (less for genre fiction). Hardback novels vary more - £12-20?

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:25 (twenty-one years ago)

So around 12 to 15 dollars for a quality paperback. That seems comparable, maybe a bit on the cheaper side. The question is why? Does the UK have a special deal with Canada on cheap paper?

― Nemo (JND), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:31 (twenty-one years ago)

i've found the paper quality of some UK books to be inferior to US editions, so that might be it.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe competition? We have the biggest publishing industry in the world, still, I think. Last time I saw the figures there were more books published in the UK than any other country in the world, and not just per capita.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

How much do newspapers (tabloid and broadsheet) cost in the USA?

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

yes books are definately cheaper here but US books are so much better quality.

this is good

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, when I see American hardbacks they do seem kind of solid.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Even paperbacks, actually - they're heavier.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

That really varies. The daily New York Times (broadsheet) is one dollar, but most other cities' broadsheets are cheaper, between 50 and 85 cents. Tabloids are usually 50 or 60 cents, but the New York Post is only 25 cents. Sunday papers are more expensive, ranging from $1.50 to $3.00 (the NYT once again) for broadsheets, and usually $1.00 or $1.50 for tabloids, I think.

x-post

― Nemo (JND), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

OK, that's about the same, I think.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:46 (twenty-one years ago)

US books are often printed with acid free paper these days, and UK books seem to be on pulpier paper. it is weird.

US newspapers of repute are almost all broadsheets, I can't think of too many daily tabloids aside from the NY Post (trashy) and the SF Examiner (free). I haven't actually paid for a paper in so long, I have no idea how much they are. 75 cents or something?

(whoops xpost)

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:49 (twenty-one years ago)

All our tabloids were pretty trashy too until last year - now the Independent, Times and Scotsman are all tabloid-sized.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:53 (twenty-one years ago)

British books smell better.

― adam. (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:59 (twenty-one years ago)

That article is interesting. It suggests that even though the price in the UK might be lower, the markup is much higher than in the US(and the quality less). UK books should actually be even cheaper than they are!

Most of the big newspapers in the UK are national, aren't they? Do people typically read a local paper in addition to the Times, Telegraph, Guardian, etc., or do "city papers" not exist to the same extent? In the US there's really only one national paper, and it's very bad (USA Today). The New York Times functions as one, I suppose, and the Wall Street Journal, but their audiences nationally are fairly specialized. This means that the typical price varies from city to city, since they're only competing against one other paper (and often against no other papers).

PS. Adam, it must be the acid.

― Nemo (JND), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 14:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Scotland has its own papers, as well as Scottish versions some tabloids. A lot of city newspapers tend to be evening - the Standard in London and the Evening Times in Manchester. Any others? Every town has a local paper, some free and some paid for. The paid for ones do get bought - I think it's a weird kind of loyalty because nobody's really interested in stories about tea dances, mayors visiting nursery schools, somebody's shed being broken into etc.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:13 (twenty-one years ago)

The Liverpool Echo has a big readership as well, doesn't it? And has a uniting effect when tragedy strikes

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:14 (twenty-one years ago)

most decent sized cities have their own newspapers in the uk.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:16 (twenty-one years ago)

most local papers are bought solely for the adverts - jobs, flats, small ads etc

― zappi (joni), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Pride and self esteem are cheaper in the UK. To live in the US means having to get screwed and manipulated in whatever transactions you choose to take part in.

― adam. (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Adam: I have always said that US books smell nicer: perhaps this is my Proustian relation to US children's libraries.

― the bellefox, Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Are there free "alternative weeklies" (like the Village Voice) in Britain?

― Nemo (JND), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:23 (twenty-one years ago)

that's just not the case Zappi.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Nemo theres an alternative weekly called "the Sunday post" but its not free.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know why this subject is so fascinating to me. Perhaps I should start a Comparative Newspaper Studies program at some generous university.

― Nemo (JND), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Perhaps the paper in the US is better quality because they don't care how many bleaching and processing chemicals they wash into the groundwater?

― Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh Mark, you're so negative.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 18:19 (twenty-one years ago)

The paperback I bought yesterday smells like corruption, xenophobia, and poverty.

― adam. (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 18:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, I hate those ones. You should take it back.

― Alba (Alba), Wednesday, 20 October 2004 18:27 (twenty-one years ago)

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