Well, I can safely say that whatever we’re talking about, it’s probably more expensive now than it was this time last year.
But let’s compare like with like, instead of now with then.
I’m forever being asked about the prices of things. Printer ink, for example:
6000, exactly how expensive is printer ink?
We’ve all seen that thing about the world’s most expensive liquid being printer ink.
Of course, it’s not true – depending on what source you choose, perfume, scorpion venom, and the bloods of both human and… er… horseshoe crabs are way pricier* – but whenever you’re buying your printer ink cartridges**, it doesn’t feel that way.
So. Printer ink: actually not that expensive.
But no sooner have we determined that printer ink isn’t the world’s most expensive liquid (not even close), then suddenly the line of questioning obviously goes straight onto cars and cheese.
6000, pound for pound, which is more expensive: cars or cheese?
See?
At first thought, this seems fairly straightforward. It’s clearly… it’s… hang on, actually, which one is it?
Thankfully, there’s a graph. There’s always a graph.
And yeah: it’s actually pretty tight.
Can’t read it? Make it bigger by clicking here.
Is this pre-tariff or post-tariff? And if it is (or isn’t), which prices will be more affected?
OK, let’s leave out the ridiculously priced vehicular outliers at the top. And the run-of-the-mill mass produced dairy products at the bottom, and… it’s actually pretty even, isn’t it?
Stilton: more expensive than a Range Rover.
The 4 wheels of a BMW 330i: cheaper than a wheel of brie.
How bizarre.
It was Gouda outpricing a Ford Mustang GT that really got me, though. A Gen-4 5.0L Coyote V8 engine generating a track-ready 328kW of power and 540Nm of torque, or some rather bland, beige, Dutch dairy offering?
I know which one I’m choosing – and it’s not going to fit on a cracker.
I’m not sure if ranges of any other everyday products would fit together so nicely when measured on the same price for weight scale – oranges and refrigerators perhaps, or household pets and glass – but if anyone has any examples, please send them through.
.
* And if we’re going down the route of molecular biology reagents, then this stuff at €1,750 for 10uL (that’s 0.00001ml) beats everything else hands down.
** LPT: Get a tank printer.