New Canberra superhero mascot - UNITMAN

I find toothpaste a hard one to calculate which size tube is the best value. They are all odd sizes – one I have is 175g and the other (same brand) is 100ml. Bigger is not always better (cheaper) I’ve found.

Why is some small stuff ridiculously expensive in comparison to a larger version of the same product? Cans of Coke are one example. You can buy a 1.25lt plastic bottle of Coke for around the same price or maybe a little more than the cost of single 375ml can at most supermarkets.

Have you noticed the latest thing in supermarkets which I reckon is a scam; laundry detergent. They all seem to be ‘concentrated’ products now meaning in theory you only need to use half as much as the now defunct ‘regular’ detergent and the price is the same or sometimes more for half the volume of powder or liquid. My clothes don’t seem to be getting any cleaner.

I think it’s a useful service that also offers some protection to those who struggle with numeracy.

Don’t pay out UNITMAN. He’s frekin’ awesome! More mascots should be a calculator with a cape.

“but couldn’t they have come up with something better than UNITMAN the caped calculator?”

A better education system that includes basic maths?

Or we could just teach people how to calculate $/unit themselves.

Once you do it a few times it becomes easier. For those who aren’t numerate a calculator helps – you all have one these days disguised as a mobile phone.

cleo said :

Who could be bothered, you will still pay no matter what!

Yes, we will still pay. But its nice to see at a glance if it is cheaper to buy the 1kg product or 5x200g of the same thing. Much easier than standing there for a minute to work it out.

Might even force companies to go back to the old days of cheaper pricing if you buy in bulk.

I have sufficient numeracy skills to roughly work out which product is better value, however it’s nice to not have to use them and have the job done for me. I love it – about time.

I think it’s a bit of an insult that our government has to explain what unit pricing is, and that $3.05 per litre, is cheaper than $3.83 per litre.

Personally though, I like unit pricing, as it saves me the time of calculating the price myself: I don’t like standing there in front of laundry detergent trying to find the best value (why must they all be in different sized boxes?!).

Unit pricing is a mildly convenient service that some retailers have felt a need to provide in the past. I have no problem with this.

The idea that we need compulsory unit pricing as a consumer protection mechanism is mindboggling. It strikes me as a vote of no confidence in the ability of our education system to provide basic numeracy skills.

In terms of competition, it lumbers smaller supermarkets with completely unnecessary compliance costs, hampering their ability to compete with the larger chains.

Somebody is asleep at the wheel on this one.

At least they were wise enough to avoid a preceeding “C” for Commonwealth or Canberra or Cost.

The nickname would just write itself.