JUST a few years ago, I finally changed my trusty 29-inch monitor TV for a widescreen 37-inch model. If you look at the latest models, mine would probably be considered “prehistoric”.

It’s not even full-HD, a recent visitor to my house exclaimed. Some of the most prominent advertisements today are for TV sets and smart phones.

And some of the advertisers are giving amazing deals, with incredible discounts that cannot but make you ask this question: How much does the TV set cost at source?

In the world of free enterprise, we all know that there is the manufacturer’s price, the wholesale price and then the retail price. If you happen to work in the companies that manufacture these items, one of the staff privileges will probably be that you can get certain items at staff price.

Retail prices fluctuate quite a bit, which is why when the manufacturer advertises its products, it uses the term “recommended retail price”.

I buy most of my electronics goods at a retail shop near my house. Although there are hypermarkets nearby, I prefer the personal service and also the fact that I can still bargain down the price somewhat.

And what about wholesale price? The simplest definition of wholesale is this: the business of selling goods to retailers in larger quantities than they are sold to final consumers but in smaller quantities than they are purchased from manufacturers.

I went to Petaling Street with my wife on Friday. It was a stroll down memory lane for my KL-born wife, especially as we walked along the adjoining streets where some of the most interesting shops still survive.

She pointed out a photo studio, Foto Pak Tai, which was where all formal studio shots were taken.

The Penangite in me could not resist telling her about Siow Siong Studio, a shop in Penang Road which still stands today after almost 70 years.

But it was the string of wholesale shops that really caught my attention. As we went from one shop to another, we realised how much prices are marked up from wholesale to retail.

We were looking for some gifts and the prices labelled were already so much cheaper than what we would have paid anywhere else.

But what was amazing was that the prices came down even further for bulk purchases. The business model obviously took into consideration that many of us are not retailers but casual shoppers.

And how much lower? We found that a minimum purchase of 20 similar items would bring the price down by 50%. I spoke to a couple from Australia who were simply delighted by such a cost-effective way to buy souvenirs for their friends back home.

And we are not even talking about what these gifts cost in their currency.

In the end, my wife bought 20 sets of colour pencils labelled at RM5 each, for RM2.50 a set. I saw a similar set at a mall and it cost RM8, she said.

I suppose this is what business is all about. Most of us prefer to pay the price for convenience and comfort – and shop in air-conditioned malls rather than walk along the streets in our hot weather.

Though let’s not forget that we also burn much fuel getting to the mall through the jam, not to mention circling the parking lot numerous times.

We finally rediscovered the porridge place (its banner proudly proclaiming the shop as serving the best porridge since 1949) hidden behind the many shops and had lunch at the walkway and watched the world go by.

When I paid the bill, I noted that the amount charged would not even be enough for me to get a cup of coffee at any of the branded outlets not that far away from Petaling Street.

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