Cashews that cost 142,500.00

Honey Tasted Cashew Nut: Hat Dieu Mat Ong

Today I bought some cashews that cost 142,500 VND. Wow! I didn’t look at the price when I picked them up at the supermarket, so I wasn’t expecting it. At 450 grams, it seems like an average-size plastic container of cashews.

The container says “Honey Tasted Cashew Nut”; in Vietnamese, this is “Hạt Điều Mật Ong”. It’s made by Yến Nhung.

But to compare with prices back home: 1 USD = 21,000 VND, so the cashews cost about $6.79.

I wonder if I should look at prices before buying an item. T says I shouldn’t, but I believe in a free market, where prices matter. There’s always some number that represents what the item is worth to me. If the price is lower than that mental number, then the purchase is worthwhile; otherwise, it’s not. The less something costs, the more I’ll buy; the more it costs, the less I’ll buy. That’s just microeconomics, the way supply and demand works.