The $55 hamper, with nine ingredients, would have cost $40.90 if the items had been bought individually from the shop. That gives the store almost $15 for putting the ingredients in a basket (that can be bought for $1.20), filling it with shredded paper and wrapping it in cellophane.
A fine foods representative at Smith & Caughey's said people came in every day to buy pre-packaged hampers, ranging from $105 to $250, or to choose ingredients for a custom-made one.
Shopping around would save money there, too: champagne and chocolates sell for $120 as a Smith & Caughey hamper; bought from Countdown, the Tattinger Champagne is $69.99 and, purchased from the manufacturer online, Butlers Chocolate Truffles and Pralines Selection are $19.99 - meaning shoppers are paying just over $30 extra for the packaging.
Frank Newman, who writes money-saving advice column Oily Rag, said many people did not realise how much extra they would have to pay for the convenience of a prepackaged gift hamper. "Given there's a market for them, I guess enough people don't realise to justify it."
He said people would be much better to buy a selection of items when they saw them on special at the supermarket in the lead-up to Christmas and then make their own hampers.
