Why is buying something with lower cost per ounce somehow cheaper or a better deal than buying something with a higher cost per ounce, even if the total price is higher for the lower cost per ounce product?
In:
It isn’t always.
For example, say something costs $0.10 per ounce in a 32oz container, or $0.12 per ounce in a 12oz container.
The 32oz container will cost $3.20 and the 12oz container will cost $1.44.
Everything seems fine, the 32oz container is a better buy right? Well perhaps it’s something you use in small enough amounts that you can’t possibly use the entire 32oz container before it spoils. Say you use only 20oz out of the container before you have to throw it out. At $0.10 per ounce advertised, you paid $3.20 and only used 20oz, meaning you actually paid $0.16 per ounce, the 12oz container would’ve been cheaper at only $0.12 per ounce because you would’ve used the whole thing.
Now assuming you actually use all of the product, paying less per ounce means you get more product for the same amount of money spent. For every $5 spent on the above product you would get 50oz with the larger $0.10 per ounce container, but only 41.667oz with the smaller $0.12 per ounce container. So you might spend *more* money upfront on the larger container, but it will last longer and you won’t have to spend that larger amount of money as frequently as if you just buy the smaller container.
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