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Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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Like others, I have noticed a huge price increase in most groceries. I don't like it, but I still think our groceries are reasonable compared to other countries in the world. Higher quality, too.
I can't say that I have noticed. We always price match at Walmart so in a sense they are still always the lowest or at least on par with everyone else.
I don't understand the point of price matching, at least on cheap items. If the store you go to agrees to price match, you're not saving any money, you're only getting the same price you would have gotten at the cheaper store, and most of the time, you have to present proof that the price of the item is actually cheaper at the other store, with a grocery store ad or something. So why go to the trouble of getting the ad at the old store, comparing the prices at the two stores, then showing the cheaper price at the other store? That's a lot of trouble to go to for a $0.50 (or whatever) savings. You might as well just shop at the original store that had the cheap price.
Yes. We are bargain shoppers, and Walmart is only used for canned goods and paper, along with dairy products. As Mainebrokerman mentioned, we'd become vegetarians before buying meat and vegetables from them.
And yes, the prices should be going down, but as Elnina said...I need not repeat.
I notice you're in Ft Myers... From my experience, Wal-Marts in FL in general are pretty terrible in terms of meat and produce selection and quality.
With the selection of stores we have down here, I find little to no reason to go to Wal-Mart for groceries. I do buy motor oil from there and the occasional gadget or game from the entertainment center, but Wal-Mart is not on my list of stores for groceries.
Back on topic, meat prices haven't gone up from my experience. You just need to check out different stores. Produce is hit-or-miss. Why are plum tomatoes $2.99/lb???
I don't understand the point of price matching, at least on cheap items. If the store you go to agrees to price match, you're not saving any money, you're only getting the same price you would have gotten at the cheaper store, and most of the time, you have to present proof that the price of the item is actually cheaper at the other store, with a grocery store ad or something. So why go to the trouble of getting the ad at the old store, comparing the prices at the two stores, then showing the cheaper price at the other store? That's a lot of trouble to go to for a $0.50 (or whatever) savings. You might as well just shop at the original store that had the cheap price.
Dreyer's ice cream is always $3.48 at Walmart. Smith's frequently has Dreyer's on sale anywhere from $1.99 to $2.50. My favorite flavor is s'mores and only Walmart has it. Therefore, I always bring in the ad and price match it at Walmart. This is just one example on why to price match.
^^^ This. Initially the BIG price increase was blamed on fuel prices. But now, the gas is cheap, but the price of groceries didn't go down - in contrary. There are now FOUR ways to increase prices: the classic way, the shrinking/downsizing the content way, the "new and improved" way, and the lowering the quality way - quite often you see combination of all four
I noticed the first huge increase in 2010 (I don't shop at Walmart, so these were local grocery stores, albeit chains). Meat and pasta just skyrocketed. You used to always be able to go in and get pasta for under $1/lb, good brands too. Suddenly that was hard to find even on sale.
Not that I should be eating it, but candy has gotten out of hand the past 2 years as well.
Like Elnina, I see a lot of the smaller sizing/same price going on with the products I buy.
When I was single (pre-2012), I could keep my grocery bill to $100-$125/month. It wasn't easy but I was able to do it. I don't think I could do that now even with coupons and sales. Seems like every time I stop in for a couple of things, it's $25
I also agree with the post(s) on health insurance and minimum wage. Unfortunately for me (and many of us), my health insurance increased by $200/mo and I make more than minimum wage (though certainly not a fortune), so it's more money out of my pocket all around. And we wonder why we can't get ahead these days?!
Walmart produce sucks. We quit buying produce there a couple of years ago. We still buy can goods, and cleaning supplies there but much of our actual grocery shopping is now done at Publix.
I don't understand the point of price matching, at least on cheap items. If the store you go to agrees to price match, you're not saving any money, you're only getting the same price you would have gotten at the cheaper store, and most of the time, you have to present proof that the price of the item is actually cheaper at the other store, with a grocery store ad or something. So why go to the trouble of getting the ad at the old store, comparing the prices at the two stores, then showing the cheaper price at the other store? That's a lot of trouble to go to for a $0.50 (or whatever) savings. You might as well just shop at the original store that had the cheap price.
The reason I price match at Walmart is convenience. I can get all the best prices from different stores in one place, thus sparing me the hassle of going from store to store, which would not only be inconvenient and often impractical, but also would probably eat up any savings I would get from the sale price in transportation costs (especially whenever gas prices are high).
I get my ads in the mail, in the newspaper and online, so I never have gone to a store to get their ad only to present it at Walmart for a price match.
Either way, Walmart's price matching policy does not require you to have the ad. It merely states that the store may try to verify the competitor price that a customer gives. The policy states that it is up to each store to acquire the ads of local competitors to have on hand in cases where an employee wishes to or must confirm the competitor's price. Situations where they must confirm are when an item is expensive, rare or otherwise unusual or where the competitor price quoted is a lot less than Walmart's regular price.
A customer having the ad on hand merely speeds up that confirmation process, which is why they encourage you to have the ad and why they will ask you if you have it with you. If you have a smartphone you may also pull up the ad or proof of the price online to show the cashier at checkout if you don't have the ad on hand.
When a customer doesn't have the ad or cannot otherwise provide proof of the competitor's price then the cashier will call for a manager who will be able to get the store's collection of competitor ads, which are held in a binder at the customer service desk. Many times the cashier will even have a set of the most popular and frequently used ads right at the register. In my area I've found that those will be the ads which come in the mail, the ads for the local grocery stores.
in regards to price matching, I think the most expensive items should be priced match, but you dont really need to do that..I scan all of my walmart receipts using the walmart app savings catcher, which scans for prices at all of their local competitors.
If you purchase something at wallys(as I call it) and use the app, it will scan your receipt and give you the difference of the price if it is lower....sometimes, the difference is only .02 cents, but it adds up over time...last year, I got $48.33 back in savings and used that to buy my son a 12 month xbox live card when his subscription expired...
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