What Should Inflation Make It?
So, I'm not an idiot. I didn't expect our game to be $20 just like I wasn't expecting to find Ms. Pac-Man in the lobby and the "Super Bowl Shuffle" on the jukebox. Like I said in the intro you didn't read, I get the concept that inflation raises prices. So in 1984, if two games of bowling for four kids cost $20 (at most, and I'm being generous) then, according to a standard rate of inflation, the price today, 30 years later, should be about $45.78. But this was $80!
Possible Explanation
Well, bowling is in the toilet. Apparently, bowling peaked in the '60s and has been on a steady decline ever since. They've raised prices just to stay in business. And it's how they've raised the prices. When I was a kid, you paid for the lane, not per person, and the shoe rentals were free. Now, it's like $7 a person and $5 per shoe rental. Higher prices are often necessary, and the lack of competitors (because they've gone out of business) might get you to a price that is nearly double what you'd expect from inflation, but will it help you stay in business? I'm guessing no.
We walked out of the alley. No, wait. I said, "Whaaaaaaaaat?????" sounding a lot like Cracked's own Felix Clay when you tell him people don't typically publicly masturbate. Then we walked out of the alley. A price model built on bilking $80 out of a family super desperate to bowl has to fail. I mean, who needs to bowl that much?
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