# Money grabbing bastard supermarkets **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 20, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145 "2008-07-20T12:14:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/41 "2008-07-21T12:48:56Z")
[QUOTE=Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party] Good God man, are you shitting me? Every other baked bean tastes rank compared to Heinz’s! [/QUOTE] I used to agree with you, but I have now convertd to Branston’s beans ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/42 "2008-07-21T13:09:27Z")
[QUOTE=StarvingButStrong] A talking head on the news the other day said this all might end up being good for American’s health. More expensive food = less food eaten (especially the usually less healthy food eaten out) and more expensive gas = more walking/biking. [/QUOTE] Someone who has never been poor might assume so. We might lose weight, but I doubt it will be good for our health. Firstly, people will be cutting out preventative care in order to save money. Secondly, cheap food is crap - people will be buying more Ramen noodles and boxed mac’n’cheese, but milk and fresh produce and meat will be cut. I don’t see either of these as particularly positive. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/43 "2008-07-21T13:15:11Z")
[QUOTE=BrotherCadfael] Chances are pretty good that the store price reflects the price the store is paying their suppliers. Quite a number of foods have jumped in price recently, reflecting increases in supply, transportation, and other costs. [/QUOTE] In the UK supermarket prices can also reflect the area they are in. Wealthy area - high prices. Poor area but with bad transport links - high prices. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/44 "2008-07-21T15:22:36Z")
[QUOTE=fluiddruid] Someone who has never been poor might assume so. We might lose weight, but I doubt it will be good for our health. Firstly, people will be cutting out preventative care in order to save money. Secondly, cheap food is crap - people will be buying more Ramen noodles and boxed mac’n’cheese, but milk and fresh produce and meat will be cut. I don’t see either of these as particularly positive. [/QUOTE] I agree; I’m not even sure poor people these days know how to cook like my mom did back in the day (feeding seven people on very little money). She was raised on making everything from scratch; who cooks like that these days? Who has time to, if both members of a couple are working? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/45 "2008-07-21T15:29:52Z")
[QUOTE=tagos] In the UK supermarket prices can also reflect the area they are in. Wealthy area - high prices. Poor area but with bad transport links - high prices. [/QUOTE] I was always under the impression that no matter what area you lived in, the price for a can of peas in Tesco Dumpsville was the same as that in Tesco Poshville. In other words the same pricing structure across all Tesco stores in the UK ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/46 "2008-07-21T15:48:35Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] I was always under the impression that no matter what area you lived in, the price for a can of peas in Tesco Dumpsville was the same as that in Tesco Poshville. In other words the same pricing structure across all Tesco stores in the UK [/QUOTE] [Supermarket tricks](http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/consumer/bills/article.html?in_article_id=418223&in_page_id=510) > [@](#): > > If you thought that supermarket chains charge the same for any product in all their stores, then think again. Supermarkets are allowed to use ‘dynamic pricing’ - varying prices to take account of different markets. > > In practice, some supermarkets use this to charge more where they can get away with it - for example, in a more affluent area. Even within one town, a supermarket chain’s prices can vary, so a box of cornflakes in one of their city-centre convenience stores may well cost you more than if you bought it in their superstore nearby. It’s common practice. I see it myself when I go down South. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/47 "2008-07-21T15:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] I was always under the impression that no matter what area you lived in, the price for a can of peas in Tesco Dumpsville was the same as that in Tesco Poshville. In other words the same pricing structure across all Tesco stores in the UK [/QUOTE] [From the Competition Commission](http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2000/446super.htm) > [@](#): > > We found that the practice of varying prices in different geographical locations in the light of local competitive conditions, such variation not being related to costs (which we termed ‘price flexing’), was carried on by Budgens, the Co-ops, Netto, Safeway, Sainsbury, Somerfield and Tesco. We found that this practice contributed to a situation in which the majority of their products were not fully exposed to competitive pressures and which distorted competition in the supply of groceries. We conclude that the practice, when carried on by Safeway, Sainsbury and Tesco, who have market power, operates against the public interest because their customers tend to pay more at stores that do not face particular competitors than they would if those competitors were present in the area. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/48 "2008-07-21T16:00:00Z")
Well I’ll be savagely rogered by a 6 foot trucker from Wichita named Steve. Just goes to show how wrong I was ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/49 "2008-07-21T16:11:26Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] They’re really insidious about it here in the U.S… Regular prices themselves have increased modestly on most things (more on others), but the real difference is that you used to find way more things on sale each week, now there’s hardly anything…and they’re starting to reduce package sizes, as well. [/QUOTE] It’s sneakier than that. Many food and product manufacturers have realized that people complain and balk at higher prices, so they’ve begun the sneakiest tactic yet: keep prices and packaging the same, but reduce the amount of product that goes into the package. You think you’re getting the same amount you used to, but you’re not. Cereal boxes are the same size, just a little emptier. Potato chip bags lightened up from 16 down to 13 ounces. Ice cream that used to come in half-gallon containers now comes in 1-3/4 to 1-1/2 quart packages. The empty cardboard tube in the middle of toilet paper and paper towel rolls got a little big bigger, so the package stays the same, but there are fewer sheets. Soap bars dropped from 4.5 ounces to an even 4, while keeping the same sized box. Fruit juice comes in a fancy new container that “required” a drop from 96 ounces to 89. An ounce has gone missing from 1 pound jars of peanut butter. A 20 pound bag of dog food now has 18 pounds. And so on. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/50 "2008-07-21T16:32:27Z")
So **Max** my OP is correct. The supermarkets are a load of money grabbing bastards. They’re also sneaky, conniving, snidey insidious fuckers into the bargain ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/51 "2008-07-21T16:40:28Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] So **Max** my OP is correct. The supermarkets are a load of money grabbing bastards. They’re also sneaky, conniving, snidey insidious fuckers into the bargain [/QUOTE] The supermarket doesn’t manufacture or package the products, friend. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/52 "2008-07-21T17:01:32Z")
[QUOTE=Hello Again] The supermarket doesn’t manufacture or package the products, friend. [/QUOTE] Indeed they don’t…well apart from their own brand that is 😉 Even those they don’t manufacture or package are still sold BY THEM at the same price as the packages that at one time contained more. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/53 "2008-07-21T17:08:08Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Indeed they don’t…well apart from their own brand that is 😉 Even those they don’t manufacture or package are still sold BY THEM at the same price as the packages that at one time contained more. [/QUOTE] they don’t manufacture or package their own brand either. These are bought in from outside vendors who make the products as “own label” for the supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/54 "2008-07-21T17:25:47Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] I would never buy a Lunchable. [/QUOTE] Word, although I must admit my daughter likes that type of stuff because other kids at school eat them. I send what I like to call “ghetto lunchables” to school – which is basically the same ingredients, except I packaged it myself. I figure I can make her lunches for under 50¢ per day, even if I use the “name brand” deli meats and cheeses (and I usually don’t – she doesn’t seem to notice either way). What I will never understand about the grocery store is why stuff like no-salt-added veggies and no-sugar-added fruit comes in smaller containers AND costs more. And I am not talking about more per ounce or more per volume or more for the name brand, but actually _more_ – like, a 12-oz. can of “premium” regular sliced carrots is 89¢, but an 8-oz. can of store-brand no-salt-added carrots is $1.09. Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/55 "2008-07-21T17:53:32Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] The local store is now offering for sale 8 oz. Kraft cheese slices for $5.05 a package. You can buy their 16 oz American cheese slices for $5.87 last time I looked. I’ve had to cut out almost all cheese, butter, pizza and cuts of meat from my diet. I’m back to eating a lot of hot dogs which I hate. Small lemons are $1.00 a piece so none of them ever. Cooking oil is very expensive so no using it for much. The increases are hard enough, but my town has an expensive pretentious market. I hate this town. [/QUOTE] I went there after posting this and the local store American cheese was raised again to $6.09. I got a ride to Woodmans in Madison yesterday, which means I bought what I really want and the price was 66% to 50% of the local price. I now get to eat for a whole month instead of running out two weeks into the month. Bonus the cheese I wanted had a rep there so I got $.25 coupons for 5 packages of cheese I was going to buy anyway. Buying two packs of crackers got me a pound of American cheese as a bonus. The crackers cost less than the cheese. I got two of those deals. Cheese!!! ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/56 "2008-07-21T18:15:20Z")
Question: Do you have these so called loyalty cards in the USA? If so what do you get back in return for your “loyalty” ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/57 "2008-07-21T18:25:35Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Question: Do you have these so called loyalty cards in the USA? If so what do you get back in return for your “loyalty” [/QUOTE] Yup, we got 'em. You get additional discounts that people without the tag don’t get. In my experience, good sales on meat (or any other commodity staple like flour) always require the tag. Sometimes you get “bounceback” coupons at checkout (they print on your receipt) but those are only rarely worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/58 "2008-07-21T18:29:42Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] When my kids write their own versions of “_Mommy Dearest_”, my absolute refusal to buy Lunchables and similar items will very likely head their list of Grave Injustices. In 28+ years of combined pre-school and school for two kids, I bought individually packaged lunches (or even deserts) about six times. I always made the kids’ lunches by hand from bulk foods or leftovers. I also encouraged them to bring home their plastic containers and their paper bags (_cheap bastard_) although I was less successful in that effort. OTOH, they got decent food–mixes of meat, fruit, veggies, and dairy with less sodium than their classmates–and they never joined the ranks of supersized kids. [/QUOTE] Heh. My mom made us peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches on white bread from the used bread store for ten years straight. She also included a Little Debbie cake which we would eat on the way to school. I clearly remember one day in primary school when somehow I got a zip-lock bag of Fritos which must have been leftover from something, and one day when mom had to go shopping and delivered a baloney sandwich to school–wow. Anyhoo, to me food was love and I did become supersized after leaving home and getting to buy anything I wanted. [QUOTE=chowder] Question: Do you have these so called loyalty cards in the USA? If so what do you get back in return for your “loyalty” [/QUOTE] In most cases, they swipe it at checkout and it applies the sale prices to applicable goods. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/59 "2008-07-21T19:12:13Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Y I buy no alcohol or liquor. Can’t think the last time I had a glass of wine–I miss it sometimes (not often). [/QUOTE] Here, blessedly, in the Pacific NW wine and beer have been rock-stable in prices, with many wines even dropping in price over the past couple of years since small-scale indie wineries have been sprouting up everywhere. It’s nearly getting to the point where, like it was in Italy when I visited, wine is the cheapest beverage. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145/60 "2008-07-21T19:18:54Z")
For using our loyalty cards we get the princely sum of ONE FUCKING PENNY for every £ we spend. On rare, and I mean rare, occasions we get a separate ticket with our receipt which usually offers us: 1. Extra ClubCard points off our next purchases…great joy I don’t think 2. 5p a litre off petrol if we spend over £50 in a single transaction 3. Money off some useless crap that we seldom if ever buy 4. Again( rarely )we get money of cheese and other stuff that we do buy [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/money-grabbing-bastard-supermarkets/457145.md?page=4)