Evaluate Pricing - take your time

Carefully evaluate pricing so you can see what "games" the grocery store is trying to play.

Yes, they play games with pricing, especially produce.

I've seen it.

A trick they use in the grocery store is to price produce by the item and then switch for a week or two to pricing by the pound.

Aha, a little challenge for those of us trying to save money on groceries.

One week we're trying to see how much they want for an item of produce. The next week we weigh the produce to see what the equivalent price per pound is. It can make you dizzy, and a bit torqued off.

Maybe it's not a trick but merely a reflection of what they pay, but it doesn't seem rationale to me except from the standpoint of making more money on the produce. No matter what they pay, they set the manner in which they sell it.

Have you ever seen crackers sold by the box? Of course. Are the same crackers also sold by the pound? No. Are they ever sold per cracker? Never.

Why not? That's what they're doing with produce. If we have to evaluate pricing for produce, why not crackers too?

Eggplant, squash, cucumbers and broccoli at $2 each and $2 a pound can make for a very different cost for the same item of produce. Often it amounts to a doubling of the cost. If you want to save money on groceries, focus on the fine print. Is the $2 for one winter squash, or is it for one pound of winter squash?

Use the scale they have in the produce section to find out how many "thousands of dollars" they want for that squash. It's a good way to find out exactly what you'll be expected to pay, and that's essential if you're going to save money on groceries.

If they don't have a scale available for you to use, then find the produce manager and beat him over the head with that winter squash and tell him or her that you need a scale in the produce department if you're going to be a regular customer in their store, being a good player of their produce games.

Done with Evaluate Pricing, back to Frugal Shopping