I pay i think $15? a twin pk of ribbon for my mate and he is allowed 2 pks at anyone time, but speaking of profit, while you need a higher margin to sustain a business in the "free world" i do not see why the need for DOC to pass on such a hike to it's consumers making 200% profit.

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I pay i think $15? a twin pk of ribbon for my mate and he is allowed 2 pks at anyone time, but speaking of profit, while you need a higher margin to sustain a business in the "free world" i do not see why the need for DOC to pass on such a hike to it's consumers making 200% profit.

Considering they don't have the same overheads as a free world store (advertising, ground rents, display equipment, branded plastic bags, a percentage to cover their refund policy and pilferage etc) then I think a 10% margin is acceptable. The industry in which I work operates on an 11% margin.

Originally Posted by februarymoon

Considering they don't have the same overheads as a free world store (advertising, ground rents, display equipment, branded plastic bags, a percentage to cover their refund policy and pilferage etc) then I think a 10% margin is acceptable. The industry in which I work operates on an 11% margin.

Obviously i agree.

Originally Posted by Xray48

A little off topic, but I'm really not sure that prison food is all that bad. I think that it may be very mundane, repetitive and boring. Just go to any college cafeteria or military mess hall and listen to the complaints. Whereas, a visitor might eat the food and think that it is delicious.

One personal experience happened to me. I was in the US Army, and a small group of us was required to eat in a Navy mess hall for about a week. At the Navy mess hall, they had fresh milk, real butter, home made bread and rolls, plus a great selection of meat and vegetables. Us army guys thought that we had died and gone to heaven. But, the real shocker came on Sunday. Apparently, it is traditional that on Sundays, the Navy serves sea food. My gosh! They had an unbelievable array of sea food (I love sea food), from crab legs to caviar . . scallops and you name it. Once again, us army guys thought we were in heaven. But then, we were astonished when a sailor came in and loudly exclaimed, "Not this crap again!" So, while a visitor thought the food was great, those who had to eat it, time in and time out, thought that it was crap. I think that this repetitiveness may be the source of many complaints.

British soldiers during WWI regularly got canned caviar in their field rations. They called it "fish jam" and tried to echange it with Australians and Canadians for canned beef.

Repetitiveness is a problem, but also the need to serve something that can be eaten with a plastic fork and spoon is contentious. One of my penpals is regularly given "chicken-fried steak", which is ground mystery meat coated with breadcrumbs, deep-fried somewhere off-site, frozen, shipped to the prison, and then re-heated in a bain-marie. Invitation to ptomaine.

Originally Posted by februarymoon

Considering they don't have the same overheads as a free world store (advertising, ground rents, display equipment, branded plastic bags, a percentage to cover their refund policy and pilferage etc) then I think a 10% margin is acceptable. The industry in which I work operates on an 11% margin.

The industry that I work in (bookselling) operates on a 130% margin.

Originally Posted by Keith88

It really depends on where you are. They stagger pancakes and fried eggs every other day for breakfast.

Ha! Now, that really takes me back to my days in basic training: Ft. Knox, Kentucky. They made their own syrup out of brown sugar, water and maybe even a little spit. But, they invariably burned the syrup. The fresh eggs were poured onto a griddle and flipped as soon as possible, with a big spatula. The egg whites were still clear and runny when they hit your plate. So, that was your choice: burned syrup or raw egg. Either one was enough to gag you. But if you get hungry enough, you will eat anything. And, those were army cooks. After basic training, we advanced to civilian cooks and the food only got worse. Come to think of it, I don't remember any visitors who thought that the food was delicious. I think that they must have fed the visitors in the "Visitors Only" mess hall. And, of course, the officers had their own, seperate, mess. So they didn't care what the enlisted men were eating. Now I remember why I hated officers. :-)

Does someone know, how much they charge for a typewriter in TX/Polunsky Unit?

Originally Posted by wonderfulmarriagehoney

Does someone know, how much they charge for a typewriter in TX/Polunsky Unit?

They were $225 according to my list from the end of 2011.

Wow, that's A LOT! Dang!
Thanks though!

And they pay $75 to buy them from their vendor.

I pulled up the contract a while back and saw that. I was shocked.