What are average ice-cream van prices?

Fuck me, I know there's been inflation and that, but I could knock out a few 500g packs for 35quid each and still cover my coach fare plus my own baccy and day out, and a likkle smoke in Amsterdam if I went that far.

Probably for the best, as an "older" man, I do enjoy going to a post smoking ban pub, but you do feel somewhat that today's kids are missing out on the sort of lifestyle we had a few decades back.

[-]

snakeoildriller@reddit

£3.60 for a regular "99" but last year was £3.90 so quite a win there!

[-]

dobber72@reddit

I've never purchased an Ice Cream van but I suspect they're quite pricey.

[-]

Lower-Let7075@reddit

Over 100k , more for electric .

[-]

ARobertNotABob@reddit

Somewhere between excessive and extortionate.

[-]

fernofry@reddit

£3.50 sounds reasonable considering they were 99p 30 years ago.

[-]

johnwayneswagger@reddit

Mr whippy with flake from a van next to the Thames in Richmond. £4.50

[-]

BroldenMass@reddit

Got one with sherbet, strawberry sauce and a flake for £3 outside B&Q in Trafford yesterday. Was a nice treat after the classic B&Q hot day garden centre argument with the mrs.

[-]

Glittering_Goblin@reddit

Just had one at Great Yarmouth, chap parks up at the port end of the golden mile and charges 2.50 for a medium cone and 3.00 for a medium 99 ... tends to round down to the nearest pound when rotting up though, cash only and has consistently been the freshest tastiest soft serve and cones I've ever had

[-]

Saltysockies@reddit

Dorset by the coast I paid £2.60 for a New Forest '99 Mr. Whippy wotsit bob.

[-]

Hunter037@reddit

Depends where you go. There's one at my local park (town centre) which does a kids ice cream for £1.50. Whereas the one at the beach is more like £4 for a similar sized ice cream.

Probably because the beach guy knows people are willing to pay that when they're out for a day at the beach, and there are no other options, whereas the park one is just a normal morning out and you could just go to Tesco and get a cone instead if they set the prices too high.

[-]

SnooDonuts6494@reddit

Manchester:

£3.50 for a decent one with a proper flake.

£2 for a cheap one, but it was really crap.

£5 at an event.

[-]

turbo_dude@reddit

Mr Whippy isn't even ice cream. It’s just some UHT crap that gets wazzed through a machine.

Crazy that it retails for the same price as actual ice cream

[-]

snowdroptiger@reddit

Waffle with a flake has hit £6.50 in central London.

[-]

Tiny-Relief-8015@reddit

My local dude is £2.50 regular £3.50 large £4.50 99 flake,,, also £25 per ⅛ 🤑

[-]

SnooHesitations6727@reddit

Holy shit I was paying £300 for an eighth of prop. What are the house prices like near you? Or anywhere on the vans route…

[-]

red_Rog@reddit (OP)

Diversifying, eh? 😝

[-]

Tonythepillow@reddit

Yeah, he sells icecream too now, gotta pay the pills.

[-]

Tiny-Relief-8015@reddit

So slow he doesn't have to stop sometimes

[-]

FunnyVehicle7664@reddit

When I was a kid the ice cream van made his money selling single cigarettes for 10p.

[-]

DEADB33F@reddit

£2 with flake. Market town, South Notts.

[-]

nightfire_83@reddit

There's a chap here all the other vans hate, prices from £1. He won't over charge, dearest is like £4 for the full works. Banging ices too

[-]

red_Rog@reddit (OP)

If you don't mind sharing, where's here?

[-]

nightfire_83@reddit

Oh yeah, Somerset

[-]

gdp071179@reddit

Glad I was young enough to pay 99p for a '99

[-]

DennisDunkdalk@reddit

The name 99 did not relate to the price. I remember when they were 45p.

[-]

Late_Coyote_5239@reddit

What does it relate too?

[-]

Rude-Possibility4682@reddit

The king of Italy had 99 bodyguards, so anything elite was christened a 99 by Italians. The name just transferred over with the influx of Italian ice cream parlours after the war.

[-]

frosty024@reddit

1.50p newcastle

[-]

clip75@reddit

Two ice cream vans used to visit my school in the mid 80s. One sold a whippy without flake for 12p, the other charged 20p, and despite that being a considerably better and larger cone, very few people went to that one because of the 8p differential.

[-]

EquivalentNo5465@reddit

Mid Kent - £4.50 the other week for a single cone and no extras from the van parked outside my daughter's primary school (which feels like it shouldn't be legal)

[-]

haggis_catcher-@reddit

Local mr whippy is £4.70 for a tub. Fucking disgrace

[-]

Lego-105@reddit

It'll come down to cost of living, cost of materials, and cost of energy. Me mum had a chat with an Ice Cream van guy once who was down at the Olympics in 2012 and it seems like a very interesting career and industry because it's kinda a small world of family businesses from what he said, and being almost all independent, it's actually pretty hard to get a standard price because they essentially make their own prices.

I've found it fairly reasonable in Manchester, ranges from £2.50 to £4, but the ones that drive around and use a lot of fuel tend to charge a bit more than the ones who have a regular spot in the park and that.

It is interesting though, cause a flake is almost always 50p more no matter what you pay.

[-]

Neddlings55@reddit

Around £5.50 last time i had one. They would only take cash too.

[-]

red_Rog@reddit (OP)

Wow - clinging on to the pre-pandemic era!

[-]

cowbutt6@reddit

Bristol, yesterday, van in a suburban park, yesterday: £2.50 for a cup of (basic) soft whip.

Clevedon seafront shop, the day before, £2 (mini), £3 (small), £3.50 (medium), £4 (large) for a cone or cup of (good) soft whip.

Location and quality matters.

[-]

Striking_Caramel_357@reddit

Cheapest come is £3.50 in the north east UK - with 2x kids we go to Aldi or Lidl and get a box of 4 ice creams to share

[-]

CaptainRAVE2@reddit

£3.50 in Brighton for a single cone. Madness

[-]

gdp071179@reddit

Can get a Ben + Jerrys on special offer for that.

It's shocking - used to love a soft-serve at the park

[-]

AutoModerator@reddit

Please help keep AskUK welcoming!

When replying to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc. If a post is marked 'Serious Answers Only' you may receive a ban for violating this rule.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!

Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.