What would you expect would be the better selling product size – same brand, same everything?

  • 24 ounces for $2.69
  • 30 ounces for $2.89

Which one would you buy?

The product involved is store-brand eggs, by the dozen. Where I shop, “large” eggs sell for $2.69, and “jumbo” for $2.89. Jumbo eggs are 25% larger than large ones, and sell for only about 7% more.

So much for our rationality when it comes to money.

40 years ago, the rule of thumb was something like “if the larger size is 10 cents or less more than the smaller size, buy the larger size.” (Extra large is 27 ounces per dozen.) Now prices are much higher, but the differentials are still roughly what they were 40 years ago!

Yes, egg size may be critical in certain recipes, and “large” is standard. Perhaps that’s what causes us to pay more per ounce for the smaller sized product.

I wonder how the prices for various levels of octane in fuel work – and how they should work.