Get Your Vip Charmin Toilet Paper At Villa

[MeetJohnDoe]

Does your tender bottom rate a wiping with toilet paper that costs B465 (US$ 13) for a pack of 6 rolls?

Now don't get me wrong, I am a regular customer of Villa Market and think it is a great addition to the grocery shopping choices in our little town of Pattaya. Sure, some of the imported items are expensive but I realize that they buy them in small quantities and many of them are relatively low-cost items (not high value stuff) and are rather heavy so shipping costs are high. I certainly appreciate having such items available as many have not local substitute and they bring a little bit of home to my home in Pattaya

However, some of the items they import DO have perfectly acceptable locally produced substitutes and are therefore reasonable in price. One reason I point out the silly prices on imported items that have local substitutes is that I hate to see Villa waste their capital importing such stuff and then having it sit unsold. Like today, I needed some toilet paper and happened to see they had Charmin brand imported from somewhere at B 465 for a 6 roll pack. My local brand (Scott Ultra Premium) was B 55 a 6-pack. Other single-ply packs/brands are available for B 40-50 a pack. They also had some imported Bounty brand paper towels for which I can't remember the price but I'm sure the same sort of mark-up applies.

Tell me, would anyone of sound mind actually pay 10x the price of local TP for an imported brand? It just seems silly to me...maybe some customer requested it so they ordered some (they say that's their policy). I notice this allot with the cleaning products too...like Pine Sol imported cost some silly amount of money when you can buy locally produced Detol (same thing) or many other cleaners for cheap money.

This is not a rant against Villa...I love them. For stuff like Vegemite, where there is no Thai/SE Asian producer, go ahead and import that nasty stuff from Oz for all the Roos in Thai/Pattaya...but imported TP...save your money so as to keep your nice Pattaya store in the black

[bkkjames]

Well, after hearing many years ago that Sly Stallone never wears the same underwear more than once, I believe anything is possible.

Perhaps the importer can rebrand the as*wipe for the local market to make it more appealing.

Charmin...

- "When you butt needs a pampering after a long night"

- "It's the key to better bowel movements"

- "Imported from America for Americans"

- "Can also be used as fancy table napkins"

- "Helps You and Dr Spock get rid of the Kling-ons"

[dingdongrb]

I happen to notice that some folks speak better out their <deleted> than their mouths so perhaps it is these folks that want/need the Charmin????

Or perhaps they just want to please Mr Wipple (aka Dick Wilson)........

[Jingthing]

Yeah, but if you faithfully use your bum gun, that Charmin' 6 pack could last you a year.

I can imagine there is a small market for most anything. Perhaps finicky kids nagging for it. Brand loyalty and advertising can be a powerful thing.

About the market for these overpriced imports, sometimes I do wonder. I have been here for years now and NOT ONCE have i witnessed someone purchase one of those 300 baht pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Now obviously somebody is buying or they wouldn't keep stocking them many places. B&J is good stuff and there is nothing else on the Thai market that really compares to the experience of it.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Jingthing

[Spiny]

What's toilet paper, stopped using it years ago. Bum gun much more hygenic

[dingdongrb]

What's toilet paper, stopped using it years ago. Bum gun much more hygenic

...... and a blow dryer?

[torrenova]

Treated myself to a tin of Heinz beans a while back at something horrific like Bt185 or so for a tin (about £3 then). I like beans with breakfast if I cook one but not at that price. Can't find any local ones I like outside restaurants.

It was like the Bt2000 or so tomatoes when they opened !

Bog roll is fine as the Scott brand double roll.

[Mobi]

The Villa supermarkets in Bangkok are patronised by very wealthy expatriates, Japanese, and also rich Thais.

I doubt whether many of these folk even they care how much anything costs as they have very generous "living allowances" on top of their huge salaries. So when they do their entertaining, it's probably a bit of "one-upmanship" to have imported toilet paper, or maybe they buy it because they live in such a rarified atmosphere that they believe that all Thai products are crap - or won't wipe their crap properly.

I don't think that the Villa owner has quite sussed out the Pattaya market properly. Most of the customers here are from a different cloth to those in Bangkok.

Some imported items will always sell, as the OP and others have pointed out, but others will not interest the customers here. It's not that they are all poor, it's just that they understand the value of money a little better.

My guess that most of these expensive, imported items that don't sell, will gradually be withdrawn from the Pattaya branch.

[torrenova]

I don't agree that the majority of shoppers in Bangkok VM's are uber wealthy or that snobbish but I do agree that the owner has not gone her finger on the Pattaya pulse yet. Go to the Emporium Gourmet or whatever it is called and have a look at some of their stuff. Very good it is as well.

[Jingthing]

Well, I am so not wealthy, but I am a regular at Villa for certain things. For example, they have an excellent price on fresh jalapeno peppers!

Some of their pricing is almost comical though. I was looking to buy some Japanese soy sauce. The small size cost almost as much as a large size bottle with something like three times the volume!

Edited December 24, 2008 by Jingthing

[torrenova]

I agree that VM has some things people want but you can't "do a shop" there. It is just for this and that. I find their duck breasts very good indeed.

[dotcom]

Hey Jing. Is Foodland still open in Pattaya Beach?

Be worth some comparison shopping on the soy sauce. I don't think it's the store being greedy as much as butt rape by the importer.

For fresh meats Villa will take some beating. I'll splurge on that.

[torrenova]

Foodland is on Pattaya Klang, up from Carrefour.

[steelepulse]

About the market for these overpriced imports, sometimes I do wonder. I have been here for years now and NOT ONCE have i witnessed someone purchase one of those 300 baht pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Now obviously somebody is buying or they wouldn't keep stocking them many places. B&J is good stuff and there is nothing else on the Thai market that really compares to the experience of it.

As Homer Simpson would say "" ummm Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia"

I bought B&J when it first came to Thailand and it was 2 for 1, but since then I haven't purchased any ice cream at all.

[patsfangr]

Point well made, John. I, too, occasionally stop in at Villa, and pick some item or another from the USA that isn't available elsewhere. But I do try to keep some semblance of "value" in mind when I do so. I definitely would not spring for the Charmin at such an outrageous price. (I use the 'Maxima' Giant Roll pack, which is in the same range as the Scott you mentioned, but better, IMO. Of course, each to his own a$$, when it comes to that essential, and very personal activity!)

I shop regularly at Foodland, and find their prices to be much more reasonable. The lack of variety is a bit disappointing, as are the very cramped aisles. But, overall, it's a decent market for most things. The excessive price that I notice there is for imported canned soup. I like the Progresso brand soups; as well as the Campbell's "Chunky" soups. But I just can't bring myself to pay $4 for a can of soup!

I think Villa is best kept in the "check it out now and then" role, for occasional pickups of 1 or 2 special items. I'm always looking for some of the over the counter heartburn/gas aids that are so common in the USA (TUMS, Zantac, etc.). Can't seem to find those anywhere in Pattaya, including Villa.

[JerryO]

there is a new store on Sukumvit, direction heading to bangkok, just past tepprasit is soi khao talo, and it's just past the big vacant lot on the corner ther called "Coway"; they display at some of bangkok's trade shows. they have great products reasonably priced, and one of them is the toilet seat that fits over most existing toilets; i thik it's about 4,000 baht, and instead of hand holding the spray water "gun", it's built into the toilet seat.

in japan and korea these are super expensieve because they have to be electronically heated but in thailand the water doesn't come out freezing so no need to buy an expsnive one to heat the water. you can cut your toilet paper bill to zero with this and as someone earlier had writeen, its' hygeneic.

Boonthavorn sells one by Toto, not electric heated, for maybe 8,000 baht so the one from Coway is really a bargain for your tushy.

[crudy21]

Love your bum!

[wpcoe]

They also had some imported Bounty brand paper towels for which I can't remember the price but I'm sure the same sort of mark-up applies.

I was at VM the other day, and scoped out the Bounty. There was no price on the shelf (as it seems to be the case for LOTS of items at VM), and a stock boy ran to the register and said it was B145. !!! Four dollars for a roll of paper towels? I think not.

When I visit family in the USA, I usually have a tote bag as checked luggage with four to six rolls of Bounty. And, yes, Bounty is enough better than Scot or generic towels to justify an extra piece of luggage.

[Jingthing]

I like the Progresso brand soups; as well as the Campbell's "Chunky" soups. But I just can't bring myself to pay $4 for a can of soup!

Yes, I agree. I would buy these canned soups for an occasional lazy meal but at those prices, never. There are better local alternatives. It is funny how these local prices changes ones perspective on value. On my last extended trip to the US I had a new appreciation for Progresso soups and also of course Ben and Jerry's. They're giving it away there (ha ha).

[wpcoe]

there is a new store on Sukumvit, direction heading to bangkok, just past tepprasit is soi khao talo, and it's just past the big vacant lot on the corner ther called "Coway"; they display at some of bangkok's trade shows. they have great products reasonably priced, and one of them is the toilet seat that fits over most existing toilets; i thik it's about 4,000 baht, and instead of hand holding the spray water "gun", it's built into the toilet seat.

in japan and korea these are super expensieve because they have to be electronically heated but in thailand the water doesn't come out freezing so no need to buy an expsnive one to heat the water. you can cut your toilet paper bill to zero with this and as someone earlier had writeen, its' hygeneic.

Boonthavorn sells one by Toto, not electric heated, for maybe 8,000 baht so the one from Coway is really a bargain for your tushy.

When folks indicate they use a bum gum or other water squirting device and say they don't use toilet paper at all, I can't help but wonder: do they just let their clothing sop up the water, or do they sit on the pot long enough to air dry?

I lived in Japan a number of years and grew quite fond of "washlets," as they are called there, and in my Bangkok townhouse I installed the version like JerryO mentioned above, though I can't recall the brand. It was around B4,000 at the time (four years ago) at HomePro. Some of the more deluxe washlets in Japan have built-in warm air blowers to dry one's derriere -- THEN I could see maybe eliminating the Charmin...

[redwood13]

I'm always looking for some of the over the counter heartburn/gas aids that are so common in the USA (TUMS, Zantac, etc.). Can't seem to find those anywhere in Pattaya, including Villa.

Zantac is a trade name for generic RANITIDINE -- Xanidine (Berlin Pharma) in Thailand.

-redwood

[patsfangr]

I'm always looking for some of the over the counter heartburn/gas aids that are so common in the USA (TUMS, Zantac, etc.). Can't seem to find those anywhere in Pattaya, including Villa.

Zantac is a trade name for generic RANITIDINE -- Xanidine (Berlin Pharma) in Thailand.

-redwood

Thanks for that info, redwood. I'll check it out. I don't know where Berlin Pharmacy is; but I'll check at Fascino, where I usually buy meds.

[taxexile]

The Villa supermarkets in Bangkok are patronised by very wealthy expatriates, Japanese, and also rich Thais.

I doubt whether many of these folk even they care how much anything costs as they have very generous "living allowances" on top of their huge salaries. So when they do their entertaining, it's probably a bit of "one-upmanship" to have imported toilet paper, or maybe they buy it because they live in such a rarified atmosphere that they believe that all Thai products are crap - or won't wipe their crap properly.

I don't think that the Villa owner has quite sussed out the Pattaya market properly. Most of the customers here are from a different cloth to those in Bangkok.

Some imported items will always sell, as the OP and others have pointed out, but others will not interest the customers here. It's not that they are all poor, it's just that they understand the value of money a little better.

My guess that most of these expensive, imported items that don't sell, will gradually be withdrawn from the Pattaya branch.

agreed.

seems to be the same in hua hin where they recently opened a branch , well heeled weekend thais with trolleys full of stuff and bemused falangs surprised at some of the prices there exiting with only a handful of goods.

why are the prices there continually rising ? (even thai products) in spite of a strong baht , lower fuel costs and the depreciation of foreign currencies.

[MeetJohnDoe]

This post goes under the category "well...what do I know!"

Apparently, there are some very tender buns in Pattaya, and some very astute merchandise managers at Villa Market, as low and behold, what should I see today when I'm there again to buy my non-VIP ars@-wiping paper, but that the Charmin is all gone and a little sign saying "out of stock" posted in its place