The grocery store I usually frequent saw suckers like me coming from a mile a way and figured out a way to dispose of their unwanted items and still manage to make money - or at least cut their losses. I’m talking about those shelves filled with slightly damaged items or items they no longer carry, or items they want to put on fire sale for whatever reason.
Ohhh a can of mosquito repellent on sale for 99 cents during the month of February. Hey summer’s only a few months away and it’s got a sell by date of November 2017 - that’s still probably effective… And look, there’s a can of dented French cut green beans for only 40 cents. The can doesn’t look like it’s bulging and the seal isn’t compromised so they’re probably safe to eat… What’s this, a box of candy canes for a dime? Hard candy never goes bad, right? That same box of candy canes sold for two bucks 90 days ago…
Any other gullible types like me that insist on spending money on items a store would otherwise throw away?
How are you gullible if you’re buying something you’d normally buy, but at a considerable discount? I grew up eating veggies and fruits from dented cans and baked goods from the day-old bakery. Frankly, I’d prefer my grocery store to get *something *for damaged items rather than trash them and ultimately raise all their prices.
We’ve got a family joke about buying “used meat” - that is, meat marked down before it goes bad. We’re still alive, so I’ll keep buying. You going to give me a break on the price of a slightly crushed box of corn flakes, then I’ll grab it. If it’s edible/usable and something I’d buy anyway, I’ll take the bargain gladly.
Sometimes there’s nothing I need. Other times, I can get something like Clif bars for 50 cents.
I just try to keep in mind what an intact package of whatever it is costs at Aldi. If it’s not a good deal comparatively, I leave it on the shelf.
Eta: And meat! First trip past the meat section is to look for yellow markdown stickers. If it’s a good deal, I but it whether I need it or not and throw it in the freezer.
Canada’s “consumer watchdog” national TV program (“Marketplace”) had an episode recently about grocery store waste. Went so far as to dig through garbage cans and dumpsters. It’s shocking the amount of edible stuff that ends up there. The impression is that the grocery stores would rather toss it than discount it. I had an inkling there was waste, but wow, the scale of it.
Shortly after the episode aired, my local chain grocery store adopted these 50% off stickers, presumably as a reaction. I fucking love them, pardon my language. Rack of back ribs for $6 because the “expiry date” is today? Yes please.
I looked in a dumpster for cardboard boxes, behind a grocery chain. I was mortified at the packages of steak, pork chops and hamburger thrown away. I didn’t get close enough to look at dates. But it seems to me the 2 day old meat in a meat cooler could have been donated to a homeless or women’s shelter. Criminal.
One of the local supermarkets sells what they call ‘Misfits’ which is produce that doesn’t quite come up to snuff. I look in there quite often. Why pay 99 cents for one lime when I can get 5 for $1.49.
Half of what I buy is from the discount rack. Especially the torn bags of dog food. Half-price for 90% full bag.
Pretty much all the cans in my pantry are dented and discounted.
A while back, they had a huge quantity of Cascade dish detergent that the boxes got a little wet. I bought about 20 boxes, all at a huge discount. Used it for years…
Right now, I’ve got a freezer full of beer battered crab poppers. They’re pretty tasty!
Another family that likes the $1 bags of discount produce. Some are too far gone to consider but a bag of 6 avocados for a buck that are just ripe makes Mrs. FtG’s day.
My kids don’t get snacks that didn’t come from the local Big Lots discount end cap. They mark down the already marked down prices. I get whole packages of cookies for 50¢. They have a lot of decent “health” snacks like fruit leather and granola bars for 10¢ to 25¢. I think last time I was there I walked out with multiple boxes of Annie’s organic fake Teddy Grahams for 75¢ a box.
I think I do it mostly on snack foods because they seem so overpriced to begin with and we aren’t big snack food buyers anyway. It can be a real treat for the kids without having to spend 5$ on a overpriced box of granola bars.
As far as meat goes. I usually buy the big hunks of meat at Cash and Carry and break them down myself. My local stores hot sheet has boneless skinless chicken breast at 1.12$ a pound as long as you buy the whole 40 lbs.
If you’re buying something you’d buy anyway, you’re not a sucker, you’re thrifty.
I don’t have a cite for this, but I’ve heard that grocery store chains “how much is thrown out” as a metric for how successful a store is. As in, throwing away more stuff means a store is doing better. In fact, if anyone has a cite about this (confirming or debunking) I’d like to see it.
I’m surprised you could get into the dumpster, they’re usually locked.
Nah, not around these parts. There are virtually no homeless or street people. Businesses don’t care if you need a box or two. They are usually picked up and baled a couple of times a month. Everybody knows everybody in this small town. If you don’t mind if your Aunt’s neighbor seeing you dumpster dive, it’s okay with the store. Guess what? Aunt’s gonna call and ask why you were looking in a dumpster as soon as She hears. Sad ain’t it?
Some of that food ending up in the dumpster is from consumers who put a package in their cart then change their minds and, instead of handing it off to an employee in a fairly timely manner, stick it in some random place where it can warm up to the point it can’t be re-shelved. All day long the staff where I work are finding cold food in odd places (seriously? You tossed a pound of corned beef behind the top shelf bottles of the shampoo section?). Once it warms up we have to toss it.
So, people, if you change your mind hand the food to an employee - if nothing else, hand it to the cashier on your way through the check out. The store will be much happier and less food will wind up in the trash.
I see tables with “sale” items set up near the checkout lines sometimes. Always a sad hodgepodge of utter shit nobody wants (creamed eels, corn nog, wadded beef, and other fictional items from The Simpsons) and insult to injury, the prices aren’t even that cheap.
If you really want to unload the last of your honey-mesquite corn smut and vinegar soda, at least try to make it seem like a steal.
I worked for Costco for a while many years ago and they tracked how many rotisserie chickens were pulled because of the time they’d been sitting out. If you weren’t pulling any, you weren’t making enough. The thought being if there were none to salvage, there were none if a customer wanted that last one. Now Costco uses the meat in some of the prepared foods it sells - before they were dumped in the trash.
