Sneaking Candy into Movies: Frugal or Cheap?

[atxgirl]

I can't decide whether sneaking candy into a movie is cheap or frugal. I guess it's cheap but it's become so common just like taking extra condiments/ napkins at a restaurant that it's hard to decide. I think maybe society has changed that it's now frugal to do so.

[shenz]

I call it SMART!

It's extremely expensive in there, it's ridiculous and unreasonable!!

Good job for sneaking - i hope you don't get caught! As long as it's not too obvious I guess.

How about movie-hopping - is that frugal or cheap? I've done it a couple of times - and never got caught. My future sister-in-law and my bro got caught once. Well they asked for their tickets and she calmly said "oh we threw them away." Yeah, she's very calm. That's why she's good at poker! =P

[wildgift]

Funny story time.

I used to go to this cheap, dingy 2nd and 3rd run theater. People would sneak in beers, burritos, lunch, marijuana, whatever. It was pretty "ghetto", even though this part of the "hood" was pretty nice. It was actually like "nerd heaven" there because of the colleges and bookstores. But I digress. They had lousy popcorn.

Some time later, they went "art house" because the other art house theater nearby closed, and the whole indie movie thing was getting big. They raised prices, cracked down on street folks, and cleaned the place up.

I had more fun there when it was a messed up joint. Still, it's a good, cheap art house theater now. I'd kill to have such a dump near me right now.

[Buck Nekket]

Originally Posted by shenz

How about movie-hopping - is that frugal or cheap? I've done it a couple of times - and never got caught. My future sister-in-law and my bro got caught once. Well they asked for their tickets and she calmly said "oh we threw them away." Yeah, she's very calm. That's why she's good at poker! =P

Although I'm a bit on the fence about sneaking candy into movies, I don't think movie-hopping can be considered frugal. You buy a ticket and go see one movie. It makes sense if you go see a different movie than the one you bought a ticket for because you paid to sit through one. But I don't think it can be likened to sitting through one for several repeats.

[jego]

If movie houses are too expensive, rent or buy a dvd. Going to the movies is a luxury for me. If I need some "chill" entertainment, I stay at home.

[TightFistedMiser]

Rather than sneaking in snacks I openly carry them into my local theater. I don't know if outside food is against their policy but they have never said anything to me about it. To keep going to the movies frugal we go to the $5 shows and purchase our tickets using gift cards bought at a 20% discount on Ebay. Also we use the theater's reward card to earn free items every second visit.

[hermione]

My sister and I prefer to wait for the DVD release of movies we really want to see, buy the DVD for (often less than) the cost of 2 movie tickets so we can watch it as many times as we want.

Of course this is partly due to the fact that we live 40 miles from the closest theater; if we lived near theaters, we might take in an occasional matinee or go to one of those $1 or $2 theaters which we used to do when we lived in L.A. Sometimes I really miss the city -- but I don't miss the pollution which used to give us awful allergies.

[flipchick1127]

If movie theaters didn't charge outrageous prices for their food, then I wouldn't have a problem buying food from them. However, their prices are WAY above the normal market price for those foods if bought elsewhere. They have lost to their competition with other food sources in my book, so I am not going to buy from them. I go to the theater because they beat the competition in terms of movie experience. I have no problem sneaking in food. If they want me to buy their concessions, they will sell them at a competitive price.

[MsMakingIt]

I dont know what American folk pay to see a movie, but here its $13....except for half price Tuesday. A small packet of Maltesers was $7 the last time I bought one, and they're $2.99 for a larger packet in the supermarket. I like to have some chocolate while I watch a movie, but I cant afford the theatre prices. I am aware they dont make most of their profit from ticket sales....but if I didnt take my own snacks I wouldnt go at all... and they wouldnt make any profit from me.

[mikey123]

I think it's frugal. What they're doing selling snacks at extremely high prices is plain old highway robbery. In these times they should also consider their customers. If they sold them at a more reasonable price, I think it would benefit them in the long run as it can create returning customers. Heck, who wants to sneak in snacks if they can buy it also for a reasonable price at the theater? I know I wouldn't.