Grocery store tricks

[Tightwad Kitty]

Originally Posted by nickie33

meijers puts stuff on sale and doesnt put the sale item in the register. you have to watch real close when the cashier rings the stuff up and they get real mad when you tell them the right price, 90% of your order will ring up wrong, i believe the store depends on people not watching the register, that gets real frustrating but it can save you atleast 30% on your order, i believe all stores do this

Here in Australia, they cannot do that! Pricing policy is that you would get that first item FREE then all other of the same item at the sale price. so that if you had six different kind of items, wrongly priced then you should get the first one of each FREE! Most likely a goverment fine to boot! When you reported them to Fair Trades.

With scanners, you need to check that you haven't had multiple entries, I once was nearly charged for 3 irons when I had only one at the checkout. 'That's $124 please' and I had only out $50 note. 'Sorry the scanner was touchy!' was the reply.

[Lemony]

meijers puts stuff on sale and doesnt put the sale item in the register.

Stuff like that is why I prefer the U-scan at my local grocery store.

[katwoman]

Here's one Jewel does that's really clever:

You know how each shelf tag is supposed to include unit cost? Well, in trying to compare the same product from different manufacturers, one will have a unit cost in $/ounce while the competitor unit cost will be figured in $/pound!

Unless you know your conversion factors and carry a calculator this is ridiculous! Personally, I find it insulting as well.

[Ima saver]

Most of the time, my store, does not even include the unit cost.

[Tightwad Kitty]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

Most of the time, my store, does not even include the unit cost.

Here in Australia, we don’t have unit price in the shelf tickets and most shoppers don’t know what you are talking about if you refer to the unit price of item. Here I work in kilogram or litre (1000) so that you see an item by price per kg or litre. E.g. Coffee 200g @ $3.99 or Coffee 500g $7.84. The unit prices would be $19.95 for 200g and $15.68 for 500g; it’s the same coffee only the size is different. It’s when an item read $84 per litre you do start to asked yourself, if I can buy this cheaper else where.

As I keep a price book, my formulas are in the back of the price book so if I need to work on problem or unit price I can do so!

[katwoman]

I agree, the metric system is infinitely easier. Even tho our packages now have gram and liter equivalents they are equivalent to the English weights and measures. Not the nice round numbers you would normally see for the metric sysytem.

Which still makes for more calculating than I care to do.

This is probably one of the reasons the US would use against converting over - empowered consumerism.

[flash]

Originally Posted by heatherlst

I play the raincheck game. My husband only gets paid once a month, so I do a really big shopping the first week, and then only really cheap stuff and milk the other weeks. So I don't miss out on good sales, I get rainchecks. How I do this...I wait until the last day of the sale, go in that night, usually after 8 or so. Often they're sold out of whatever was a good sale, or the staff has already cleaned out the area to make room for new sales. I then pick up what small items I was already going to buy, and then get rainchecks for the stuff they were out of. I can then use that raincheck later with coupons, hopefully during super double coupons, during that first week of the month. Using coupons and rainchecks, I've gone from $450 a month for our family of four to $200-$250.

Did you know you can get a raincheck if they are out of even one FLAVOR of an item? Since rain checks usually are good for a year, then you can wait for the great coupon and make your own super sale!

[trillium]

Acme Markets here on east coast USA is notorious for placing their 10 for $10 items on non-related end caps. I'm a stickler for the little cereal and oatmeal cups that'll cost ya $2.50 at a cafeteria... they stick them on the end isle of canned goods.

Soda that is on sale is by the freezer section, snack foods (chips and crackers) is by produce. I've found most stores I've visited the "on-sale" items aren't even located in their proper sections so you have to hunt them down. The only time this doesn't apply is when it comes to frozen foods - but even then, the on-sale poultry is segregated from its more expensive brothers

[Quynne]

All of those tricks is another reason I like Aldi's. The price is the price and it is always less than Krogers or Meijer. I am always calculate every sale to be sure I am not getting cheated. lol. I try to not be driven by so-called sales and stick to my list. Doing that I pretty much spend the same amount no matter where I go...unless I go to Aldi's and then I spend less.

[shelbylovesmelby]

Originally Posted by laceshawl

One store in our town displays the price in much bigger numerals when it is on sale - that is, it always used to be on sale with the previous owner. Since the new owner has taken over, I notice the big price is often just the regular price, but people still think it's on sale.

The sports store I used to work @ in HS & College kinda did the same thing. Would have some "in store specials" & they'd have tags like a TJ Maxx or the alike w/ some orig retail price & a STORE SPECIAL price. I can't tell ya how many people asked me HOW LONG IS THIS SALE ON FOR???? They market it as a sale when it's really an irregular they got a "deal" on & they'd keep them till they were sold or clearanced out @ that store special price.

[toys]

It's not as common with grocery stores that you can use this trick any more, but with places like Toys 'R' Us, for example, it still works. Did you know that you are allowed to use one manufacturer coupon AND one store coupon per item?

Let's say you have manufacturer coupons from Huggies, and TRU is running an in store coupon special on Huggies brand diapers. You can use both, together. (btw, TRU usually runs diaper coupons at least twice per year in the fall and spring - check local papers for the ads)

I haven't seen many in store grocery coupons recently, usually they just do manufacture coupons, often with their logo printed on it.

[carsensejoe]

the worst deals are always at eye level!!!!!

[greedy4chips]

Do they make actual price books or do you carry a notebook? I see potential business in my future!

[Judi Dial]

Easy way to make price book is to keep your register tapes for a while and use those.

The conversion thing happens here too. Mostly it's absurd, flour by the gallon, etc. But it's also frustrating. The worst section I've found this is the herbs & spices, frequently the most expensive items by unit in the store, $100+ a pound or whatever. It's amazing what markets will do!

btw, rain checks are only good 30 days here, not a year.

Judi

[jamiefic]

So sneaky! You wish you didn't have to be so on guard, but it's true, you do! I think the price book is a great idea. I love writing down prices and love that when I go to the grocery store I can have everything priced out before I go, stick to my list, and know what I'll walk out paying.

[Mamaw]

I dislike it when you go to a store as I did this week and there was a big Red Star price on the shelf next to the regular price which is the same.

[pamelad]

That drives me crazy too!

[Coleroo]

The regular stores here (not really grocery stores, just chain discounts) in the midlands of South Carolina are notorious for ringing up the *wrong* price (in their favor) as well. One Kmart here is especially known for doing it and then the excuse there is ALWAYS "oh, it was just put in the wrong section / labeled wrong / no longer on sale". I have gotten into so many arguments with them...lol


I don't know about everywhere else, but my mom discovered years ago that at grocery stores here, even though something might say "2 for $" or something, you DON'T have to buy 2 of them to get the sale price. It cleverly makes you think that, but we never do get two. We always get the sales price with just one product. That has been effective in Food Lion, Walmart, and BiLo down here.

Also, I find the cheapest meat is found when they get marked down for a quick sale. Usually they're 50-70% off of some great meat choices and nothing is wrong with them (yet). I always buy meat like that, then bring it home, divvy it up in freezer bags, and store it in the freezer.

[BillK]

Ever since good old Y2k, our shopping habits have really change. When certain cereals, soups and other products with long expiration dates are on sale, it pays to stock up. Then just rotate stock through.

I wonder how many other people change their habits since that magic date?