Cost of fags in WHS.. Victoria Station

[beansprout]

Yes, should have given up by now but haven’t.

Was waiting for my train yesterday and went into WHS on platform to buy a pack of fags. Almost feel to the floor when guy quoted me £28.00 for a packet of Silk Cut purple. Was a long day for me and thought I had totally misheard him! Asked again, only to be told that that was the price whuch is well over the odds..when I queried it as have bought, admittedly end of last year was told “ this is what management charges”. Surely this can’t be right…fags stayed in WHS paws while I bought some in Herne Hill at normal price.

Still reeling over shock….. 

 

 

[Spartacus]

Sire you weren't around the back of the station where asking for a fag has a whole different connotation

[Sue]

4 hours ago, beansprout said:

Yes, should have given up by now but haven’t.

Was waiting for my train yesterday and went into WHS on platform to buy a pack of fags. Almost feel to the floor when guy quoted me £28.00 for a packet of Silk Cut purple. Was a long day for me and thought I had totally misheard him! Asked again, only to be told that that was the price whuch is well over the odds..when I queried it as have bought, admittedly end of last year was told “ this is what management charges”. Surely this can’t be right…fags stayed in WHS paws while I bought some in Herne Hill at normal price.

Still reeling over shock….. 

 

 

Go to Luton Airport and buy them wholesale. 

Do it on an interest free credit card.

Sorted (financially, if not medically).

[malumbu]

Always astonishes me that governments who do so much to discourage smoking then allow cut price fags in duty free.  Since Brexit we can do as we wish.   Ideal place to take action. I'd happy get rid of duty free full stop.

[Sue]

9 minutes ago, malumbu said:

Always astonishes me that governments who do so much to discourage smoking then allow cut price fags in duty free.  Since Brexit we can do as we wish.   Ideal place to take action. I'd happy get rid of duty free full stop.

It was a joke!

I wasn't seriously expecting someone to leave the country in order to get cheap cigarettes!

[holloway]

Prices at WHS are ridiculous. I thought £4.80 was for the price of a meal deal when I went to buy a small bottle of orange juice. I was wrong.

[beansprout]

What I find strange, was when I was up here in Sept, fags were a pound or two more - fair enough.

What I can’t get me head around is  how-in 4  months it can go up that much…

I use either Waterloo or Paddington Stations and what has become very clear over the c last six months is how all retailers have added a pound or two along the way  on everything.. M and S, Starbucks, and all the chain or independents in stations. 

In future, thing I will be bringing my own sarnies for the journey - £2.80 for a cup of coffee on the train sounds very good compared to the prices  of chain cafes. 

 

 

[Alec1]

On 16/01/2026 at 06:18, beansprout said:

What I find strange, was when I was up here in Sept, fags were a pound or two more - fair enough.

 

 

 

The budget in November added a substantial amount on to all tobacco products.  

[beansprout]

This is WHS…,

 

[Sue]

On 16/01/2026 at 06:18, beansprout said:

What I find strange, was when I was up here in Sept, fags were a pound or two more - fair enough.

What I can’t get me head around is  how-in 4  months it can go up that much…

I use either Waterloo or Paddington Stations and what has become very clear over the c last six months is how all retailers have added a pound or two along the way  on everything.. M and S, Starbucks, and all the chain or independents in stations. 

In future, thing I will be bringing my own sarnies for the journey - £2.80 for a cup of coffee on the train sounds very good compared to the prices  of chain cafes. 

 

 

Shops in stations are catering for people in a hurry who want/need to buy things they haven't had the forethought/time/inclination to buy before they got to the station.

Therefore the shops have a captive market,  and I imagine can charge whatever they think said captive market will pay, at least for things which don't have a set price marked on them, like magazines.

It is also possible that their overheads like rent are greater in a station, though I have absolutely no idea about that.

I'm a bit surprised if M&S are charging more in stations though?

I bought a filled baguette at the small M&S upstairs at  London Bridge on Sunday because I didn't have time for breakfast, and it didn't seem any more expensive than I have previously paid at M&S food stores  elsewhere?

[Angelina]

Who can afford to smoke.

I know someone who buys their tobacco at  duty free prices from a local shop.

You can get cheap but fake tobacco from the market shops in Peckham, but these are dangerously detrimental to your health.

I have no idea why these shops are allowed to sell such cr*p and get away with it.

[Insuflo]

29 minutes ago, Sue said:

Shops in stations are catering for people in a hurry who want/need to buy things they haven't had the forethought/time/inclination to buy before they got to the station.

Therefore the shops have a captive market,  and I imagine can charge whatever they think said captive market will pay, at least for things which don't have a set price marked on them, like magazines.

It is also possible that their overheads like rent are greater in a station, though I have absolutely no idea about that.

I'm a bit surprised if M&S are charging more in stations though?

I bought a filled baguette at the small M&S upstairs at  London Bridge on Sunday because I didn't have time for breakfast, and it didn't seem any more expensive than I have previously paid at M&S food stores  elsewhere?

M&S outlets in railway stations and airports are not usually operated by M&S directly but are a franchised operation, run under licence from M&S. So, there could be some leeway to vary prices.

[Spartacus]

25 minutes ago, Angelina said:

You can get cheap but fake tobacco from the market shops in Peckham, but these are dangerously detrimental to your health.

Same can of course be said for genuine tobacco products 🙄 

[Sue]

29 minutes ago, Angelina said:

Who can afford to smoke

I agree.

I'm just glad I gave up decades ago.

I used to smoke very heavily (tobacco, not anything else!) and if I was still smoking that heavily now I probably couldn't afford to eat!

Not to mention the effect on my health.

But when I was growing up almost everybody smoked. How times have changed!

BTW what on earth is "fake tobacco"? What is it if it isn't tobacco? 

Edited January 19 by Sue

[Spartacus]

Fake tobacco contains a portion of real tobacco cut with all.sorts of nasty additions to bulk it out thus allowing more cigarettes to be made from.a small quantity. 

The additions are often toxic or cancergenic to the smoker (more so than pure tabacco) 

Hopefully one day we will follow Singapore that has banned tobacco products including vapes. 

[NewWave]

I've realised all retailers based in stations charge a premium-In my last job I had to travel to and from marylebone and I realised the drink I was buying in M&S there was up to 40p more expensive than Lordship Lane M&S-And The drink in question would be water or juice so thats up to a 20% mark-up.

The maddest mark-up I experienced recently was when I was unfortunate enough to go to to Bicester Village with a friend who wanted a 'girls day out there' (OLD girls in our case)..

We went to Pret a Manger for lunch and the Salad I usually get was £2 more expensive there..ditto all the sandwiches had a couple of quid slapped on them-I've never experienced those mark-ups at Pret's in stations only there.

Edited January 19 by NewWave
awful spelling errors

[Sue]

I'm laughing at the reason for your edit 🤣

[NewWave]

On 20/01/2026 at 01:16, Sue said:

I'm laughing at the reason for your edit 🤣

usually I leave em in..but I had time on my hands and when I re-read my post even I was shocked at how terrible they were 🤭