Which doesn't get passed on to you.

 

Yes, it does. But once you cut the cone tip, it's just a black push on cap that covers that. If you're thinking to remove the cone cap and pour from the bag, then a bottle would be ten times easier, with regard to spillage. And no, the bag stuff ain't no cheaper than the bottled stuff. If anything, you're paying more for the convenience.

 

It does but not directly. It's called MFCI (Manufacturing for Continuous Improvement) A reduction in cost delays a rise in retail prices. Should the supply for the heavy plastic in bottles rise, the cheaper bags will stay level due to lower demand.

 

A quart of oil is a quart of oil. The packaging is pretty much insignificant to the price, bags likely save the company a few pennies, but, when you are making millions of them that ads up. For you, it simply doesn't matter. Maybe if you ran an oil change shop..... but, for the average consumer, the cost difference is negligible. If you buy bulk, I could see how that might matter though. But, I don't buy bulk. I buy what I need, and that's it. Either that, or pay someone else to deal with it.

 

FWIW, Advance Auto currently sells the bag or bottle for $18.99 a qt. No difference in price.

 

I have to disagree here. A large part of individual packaging cost is the packaging itself. If you go into a gas station and get a 48 ounce cup of a soft drink. Say you pay $2 for the drink. Of that $2, only 4 or 5 cents is the soft drink mix. The water is even less. The cup and lid is the most expensive portion of that cost. The rest is profit. That's why they don't hurt when gas goes up. The total cost of the mix, water and packaging is about 45-50 cents. The rest is profit. If you ever see them doing inventory, they count the cups.