We enjoy watching the Sunday Morning show each weekend for the interesting stories and people showcased. A week or two ago there was a story on a folksy cafe in Round Top, Texas.
With only 77 residents in Round Top, it’s not surprising that the cafe is only open 4 days a week. What is surprising is that the cafe made national news.
Apparently, people come from all over for the pies and even order them online for delivery. The proprietor, known as the pieman, came up with an idea for the devoted pie lovers.
You can order pie for life and have one pie a month delivered for the rest of your life. The price is where it gets complicated. The website shows $10,000. The show indicates the price is dependent on your current age.
Personally, I think it’s a gimmick to get attention. (It works because here I am writing about it!)
It got me thinking though about lifetime products in general. Is there anything you would want to pay for a lifetime supply in advance?
The risk is that the business may not hold up its side of the bargain. The Round Top Cafe could go out of business or new owners may decide they won’t honor these sales.
Is the opportunity to save money on something you always use or buy worth the risk?
photo credit: Vita Arina
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For life? No. In addition to what might happen to the purveyor of that lifelong service, what about what might happen to you? Dire possibilities aside, what we lust after now may be of no interest to us in the future. What I might want for life, is not available for purchase (and I’m entirely sure I’d even want to ensure those things!).
Good point. If I got the pie for life and then went off sugar (it could happen), what would I do with it?
It would be completely dependent on the item & the price. $10K for a lifetime pie subscription for a bakery far, far away? Not so much. $1K for a lifetime subscription to Reese’s peanut butter seasonal shapes? We’d have to seriously talk! I spend *a lot* of money on those, and I would love the idea that I never had to check the shelves to see when they were stocked again. Hershey’s had pumpkins weeks ago but they aren’t in my grocery store yet. 😉
Just Heather, yes the product and price would make a difference in your decision. I would pay xyz dollars for a lifetime of Starbucks latte. They just came out with the pumpkin spice flavor two weeks ago and I’ve had three already!
That must be some pie!
I remember a similar news article years ago about a gas station in a Northeastern state that ran a special where you could pre-purchase a giant tank of gas at the current rate and as you used it they would pump it for you. Someone took them up on it and when prices rose above three dollars they were still using the gas they paid $1.12 for.
It seems like prepaying for a commodity that you will buy regardless makes sense. My grandparents used to have their own gas pump on their property so I guess they had a form of this system. I wonder how much gasoline their tank actually held?
I don’t think it used to be that unusual to have your own gas tank on your property. In farming communities equipment and vehicles all had to be gassed up. My uncle had a pump by his garage. It would really be interesting to see how that would play out in today’s times.
Pie for life? No. I hope that one of the benefits to the economic crisis is that people will start making their own pies again. They are inexpensive to make and it is always fun to talk about who makes the best of what kind of pie. You could always look forward to Aunt Rosie’s mincemeat pies on the holidays.
Carol, that must be why my grandpa had his own gas pump; for his farming equipment.
Now don’t go putting pressure on me to make a pie! My husband loves pie; I just encourage him to pick up whatever pie Marie Callendars has on special this month. It’s worth paying $6.99 to not have that burden! (I don’t mind cooking; but really dislike baking.)
The only things I could think of were staples..like my favorite brand of toilet paper. I’m pretty sure I’ll need that for the rest of my life.
There is also risk to it too..quality control can change over the years. I certainly noticed that some of my tried and true brands have had quality issues since the downturn of the economy.
The other thing I think about is technology or laws changing that might change the product I use for good or bad. Recent environmental laws require dish detergents to be phosphate free. What if suddenly another brand does a better job at making a phosphate free detergent vs the one I used to use and love.
So I guess my answer is no..to many risks with limited upside.
Very thought provoking, thanks.
I agree with your assessment but I think many people might not be as logical. They just think about the potential savings and not the risks.
I don’t think I like pie enough to pay for it to be delivered for life, and besides it’s only one pie a month, or at least the 3 month and 12 months worth of pie are monthly. They should add in a few “meal” type pies, like shepherd’s pie, and maybe offer sugar free pies. That might get them more takers.
I think their prices are pretty high, but you’re right a savory pie would be nice to break up the monotony.
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