# What are your unusual rules for shopping? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555 "2004-12-13T05:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/61 "2004-12-20T17:15:54Z")
> [@Fanny May](#): > > I only buy bananas that are ripe. Usually they put them in a discount bag for 1/3 price. > I have no idea why anyone would buy all-yellow or even greenish bananas and save them for three or four days when they can have fresh-now bananas for 1/3. Well, a) I’ve never seen a store do this, so that could be a reason’ b) Some people actually prefer all yelllow bananas (like me. Thiugh green is nasty) c) If you buy them yellow, you can start eating them right away if you like yellow ones, and can eat them when rip, too (I like both, just prefer all yellow.) However, if I buy them when ripe, the last one or two are usually past ripe by the time I would want to eat them. Since I don’t want to be that jerk who rips off two bananas from the bunch and leaves them on the shelf where no one will buy them. I buy them yellow and am happy with my choice. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/62 "2004-12-20T17:18:50Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > So I’m guessing you’re not a fan of bottled water? 😉 Or, you know…fruit and vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/63 "2004-12-20T18:18:39Z")
I won’t buy anything that says anything about “carbs” on the package. The low-carb craze seems to be dying down, thank goodness; it’s been an orgy of ignorance. Pretty much everyone around me has been obsessing about carbs for the past two years, and not one of them is any thinner than they were two years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/64 "2004-12-20T22:33:48Z")
I do my darndest to buy local suppliers first. When I buy a large container of honey from a local guy selling at the grocery store, I am usually paying $2 more than the store generic brand. Except the local woman who shills salsa. I am a fan of salsa. I have tried her salsa. It is not salsa. It is crap. The Only Salsa That Shirley Ujest Approves of: [Garden Fresh Salsa](http://www.gardenfreshsalsa.com/about.php) from Ferndale, MI. Their chips are simply stellar too. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/65 "2004-12-20T23:21:36Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > I won’t buy anything that says anything about “carbs” on the package. The low-carb craze seems to be dying down, thank goodness; it’s been an orgy of ignorance. Pretty much everyone around me has been obsessing about carbs for the past two years, and not one of them is any thinner than they were two years ago. - I’ve lost 25 lb by (_inter alia_) subbing LC breads for the real thing. Also no more spuds, pasta, rare sugary treats, walking 2 mi/day. Type 2 diabetes has a way of motivating a person. - I avoid sugar in patent medicines like cough and throat drops. You’d be surprised how few are sugar-free. - All-natural peanut butter. Goobers, salt, period. Give me a case of it and a water desalting kit and I could live on a desert island. - I don’t buy ANY food product with a TV merchandising tie-in. Just turns my stomach ever so slightly somehow. Also, TV exists in large part to keep us carb-and-sugar-dependent. - No preground coffee unless I can’t avoid it. - No canned beverages unless ditto. - If I can, I’ll buy from smaller companies over bigger ones. It’s getting harder. - No overspecialized convenience foods (eg: sauce meant to sub for chili on hot dogs, bacon only cookable in a microwave). ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/66 "2004-12-21T00:14:01Z")
I’m actually kind of anal about grocery shopping, probably because I hate doing it. I _always_ keep a list of what I need. When I run out of something or get low, it goes onto the list–and the list always goes with me to the store. Unless there’s a really fabulous store sale on something I’m sure to use, staples or pantry basics, I only buy what’s on the list. It really helps cut down on impluse buys and speeds up the process some. I rarely eat eggs anymore–cholesterol problems run in my family–but they’re free range when I do. And only unsalted butter. I’m a pickle snob. If they ain’t Classen’s from the refrigerated section, I don’t buy 'em or eat 'em. Gotta love that fresh pickle crunch. Many of my condiments and fresh things come from the local health foods store. They’re convenient, only slightly more expensive and the quality is much better. I love their fresh yogurt, imported tamari and soy sauces, dried herbs, beans, miso, whole grains, etc. And I’m a demon for checking packaging info for contents. I’m far from an Atkins fan but I do keep a wary eye out for sugar content and types of fat. Good to know there are other eccentric shoppers out there. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/67 "2004-12-21T02:05:37Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > Or…on the other side of the coin, An entire Cheesecake Factory’s **Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake** - With: 12,960 calories, 852 grams of fat and 1,200 grams of carbohydrates - Is 27,040 calories short of being worth its $40 retail price. Yes it is. Since I normally eat about 4000-5000 calories a day if i went around eating food with only 324 calories per dollar my food bill would come to $14 a day, or $400 a month. I actually drink alot of diet soda (about 2 gallons a week). Diet soda doesn’t get included into the equation. ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/68 "2004-12-21T08:38:22Z")
> [@Coil](#): > > I do my best to avoid any food labelled as “organic” or “green”. > [@Agrippina](#): > > I’m curious as to why. Is it price or principle? Both. First of all the so called “organic” food generally costs more and I see no reason to pay more for it. Second there is the principle. I think it is silly to call it organic or ecological. Does that make a normal egg/milk/meat/etc non-organic? I think efficient farming should be supported not inefficient practices. Sure they may use less manufactured fertilizers or pesticides, which could be a benefit, but on the other hand they will then have to use something else instead, for example more labour or energy. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/69 "2004-12-21T14:12:29Z")
> [@Coil](#): > > Both. > > First of all the so called “organic” food generally costs more and I see no reason to pay more for it. > > Second there is the principle. I think it is silly to call it organic or ecological. Does that make a normal egg/milk/meat/etc non-organic? I think efficient farming should be supported not inefficient practices. Sure they may use less manufactured fertilizers or pesticides, which could be a benefit, but on the other hand they will then have to use something else instead, for example more labour or energy. Not to mention the fact that no pesticides = BUGS ON MY FOOD. Not really, but there is still a greater chance of ‘organic’ food having something bad on it, be it a fly, bacteria, mold, etc…In addition, genetic engineering of food is a GOOD thing. No studies have shown it has any bad effect on us whatsoever, and it gives us fruit and veggies with more useable parts per crop. True, since they are grown and engineered to be big and pretty and not neccesarily tasty, it might not taste as good, but for me, they still taste fine. If I had an ‘organic’ carrot and a regular ol’ carrot from a bag from the store, I doubt I could tell the difference in taste. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/70 "2004-12-21T17:36:26Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > … but I’m lazy and I only shop at chains anyway, so I’m sticking it to the man in a way. Or to the people that shop in his stores, from whom he obtains the money to cover his costs. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555/71 "2004-12-21T17:46:40Z")
Yep. Them too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-unusual-rules-for-shopping/279555.md?page=3)