Shoppers have been responding to the cost of pick and mix at Manchester's Christmas Markets.
Yesterday we shared a photo of the bag of sweets which cost us £21.89 from the Kingdom of Sweets stall inside the Cathedral Gardens zone.
The charge, £2.99 per 100g, is almost double that of the pick and mix inside the nearby Vue Printworks cinema.
We described the cost as 'an absolute joke' and from the thousands of responses we've had from readers, it seems many of you agree.
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Among the comments responding to the article on Facebook, some of you told us how you've had a similar experience, both at the city centre stall and the Kingdom of Sweets stall at The Trafford Centre.
"We did the same and when he told me how much it was (£35) I put it straight back," said Michelle Whitehead. "Shocking prices."
Mark Reader said: "Got four bags Saturday, wasn't even half that amount in them... £45 I said no chance and walked off."
Ben Matthews added: "My son and daughter filled just under half a bag each at the Manchester Christmas Markets. When I went to pay the guy wanted over £25. We walked off without the sweets."
And Sharon Murphy added: "Yep I got stung as well £17.45 absolutely for a bag of sweets for my lad disgraceful prices at the markets this year. It's so sad that ordinary folk can't afford to do this simple Xmas tradition as a treat for themselves or families it's just so unrealistic it would cost for a family of 4 to have a drink a sausage/burger maybe a sweet treat and a gift nearly £200."
Some questioned why anyone would be 'daft enough' to pay those prices, including Pat Mackenzie, who said: "Why would anyone pay that much for sweets. Christmas Markets are always so expensive, though I do love the atmosphere of them, if I do go, I only ever buy a Christmas drink."
Others suggested the council should not be allowing such 'inflated prices' on the stalls.
"Perfect Manchester Rip-Off. Does the council support this?" asked Derek Crossley. To which Katrina Waring replied: "I don't think they do, but they definitely support rip off stall licences that cause sellers to rip off the public to pay for them."
Some readers did however point out that the prices are displayed and ultimately it's for each customer to decide whether they can afford it or not.
"The price is clearly displayed. If you don’t like what they charge, don’t buy it," said Lee Clapham. And Karina Griffiths added: "Expensive? Yes. But the cost is displayed. Sweets sold like this you have to keep in mind the weight. No one should be surprised how much these cost."
Our pick and mix bag contained 98 sweets in total - a few big ones, including two jelly snakes, but smaller ones too, like tiny Dolly Mixtures.
Inside the cinema, where we went to watch the new Wonka movie, their pick and mix is priced at £1.59 per 100g.
Manchester City Council says it doesn't set the prices on the stalls.
Councillor Pat Karney, Christmas spokesperson for Manchester City Council, said: "We're always happy to check out any complaints that are brought to us however we don't set the prices on our market stalls. Traders do this themselves based on their overheads, along with the quality and uniqueness of what they're selling.
"Stallholders are obviously however subject to the same market forces as other retailers and if what they're selling is considered too expensive, customers won't buy their products."
When we've previously asked the council about rent increases for stallholders, they have said their own running costs have gone up.
Coun Karney said: "Our Christmas Markets are a massive tourist attraction for the city and help bring millions of visitors into Manchester which translates into a much wider economic boost across the whole of the city's retail and leisure sector.
"Like any other business we regularly review the operating costs involved in delivering our Christmas Markets. Whilst we try very hard to keep these costs as low as possible, if running costs go up then we have to pass these increases on to make sure we can keep bringing Manchester's world-famous Christmas Markets to the city.
"Costs this year have therefore gone up - roughly in line with inflation - but as the whole world knows, the cost of just about everything at the moment is going up."
When prices at Kingdom of Sweets have been highlighted previously, a spokesperson said:” Our prices are clearly displayed per 100g and are comparable with other premium location retailers. Staff are trained to allow customers to leave the purchase if their selection is too heavy or take some out to bring the price down."
The M.E.N has approached the company about our weekend visit.
