Another sign of the times: Hellmann's mayo is now 30 ounces, down
from 32 (at least here in Indianapolis). They must think we are
all morons. I'll never forget the response I got from Edy's when
I complained about their 1.75 quart "half gallons": They said
they wanted their customers to see a "familiar price."

Part of the problem for me is getting older. I recently retired
at 62, so I remember prices as they were many years ago. Just
this morning, I picked up a package of potato hot dog buns (Aunt
Millie's brand) and they were marked $2.79. What? That's
ridiculous! That's 35¢ a bun! They used to cost that much for a
whole package.

Of course, they were on sale for $1.89, and I had a 35¢ coupon
which they doubled, so I got them for $1.19. Still too much,
according to my aging brain.

Another one of my bad habits: unit-pricing EVERYTHING. I suppose
if I could count the number of Cheerios in a box, I'd unit price
THEM. But the way things are going, the package sizes will
eventually be small enough so that you can count the number of
Cheerios on one hand.
--
barry in indy

"barry in indy" > wrote

> Another sign of the times: Hellmann's mayo is now 30 ounces, down from 32
> (at least here in Indianapolis).

Did that happen recently? I ask because I just picked up a couple
of jars on sale earlier this week and did a doubletake, my they looked
small. Figured I just hadn't been noticing.

> Part of the problem for me is getting older. I recently retired at 62,

Congratulations.

> so I remember prices as they were many years ago. Just this morning, I
> picked up a package of potato hot dog buns (Aunt Millie's brand) and they
> were marked $2.79. What? That's ridiculous! That's 35¢ a bun! They used to
> cost that much for a whole package.

Heh, and you made how much a week back then?

> Another one of my bad habits: unit-pricing EVERYTHING.

How else are you supposed to get the best sized product for
the money? All the time I see things for sale, the 10 oz size
for $1, but you'll see the 20 oz size is less than $2. Just pulling
numbers out of thin air, but you know what I'm getting at.

nancy

"barry in indy" > wrote in message
. com...
> Another sign of the times: Hellmann's mayo is now 30 ounces, down from 32
> (at least here in Indianapolis). They must think we are all morons.

Why do you feel their business decision reflects on your intelligence?


> I'll never forget the response I got from Edy's when I complained about
> their 1.75 quart "half gallons": They said they wanted their customers to
> see a "familiar price."

I am such a good translator! Your comments, clarified:
"I should have a cost of living increase every year or two, but nobody else
should".

Oh pshaw, on Thu 29 Jun 2006 07:23:58a, barry in indy meant to say...

> Another sign of the times: Hellmann's mayo is now 30 ounces, down
> from 32 (at least here in Indianapolis). They must think we are
> all morons. I'll never forget the response I got from Edy's when
> I complained about their 1.75 quart "half gallons": They said
> they wanted their customers to see a "familiar price."
>
> Part of the problem for me is getting older. I recently retired
> at 62, so I remember prices as they were many years ago. Just
> this morning, I picked up a package of potato hot dog buns (Aunt
> Millie's brand) and they were marked $2.79. What? That's
> ridiculous! That's 35¢ a bun! They used to cost that much for a
> whole package.
>
> Of course, they were on sale for $1.89, and I had a 35¢ coupon
> which they doubled, so I got them for $1.19. Still too much,
> according to my aging brain.
>
> Another one of my bad habits: unit-pricing EVERYTHING. I suppose
> if I could count the number of Cheerios in a box, I'd unit price
> THEM. But the way things are going, the package sizes will
> eventually be small enough so that you can count the number of
> Cheerios on one hand.

Perhaps you'll be able to buy individual Cherrios. :-)

Joking aside, at 61 I remember things as you do, like going to the corner
store as a child to pick up a loaf of bread for 29 cents, a jar of mustard
for 12 cents, etc.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

When I was in retail, during the mid-to-late eighties, an almost-elderly
customer came into the store and asked the price of a certain item. When
I told him that it cost $23.00 (American), he sputtered, aghast.

"But fifty years ago they were only five dollars!"

I was amused. I asked him how much bus fare had cost fifty years ago.

"Five cents," he said.

"And now they're how much?"

"One dollar." (That's more or less how much it was back then, if I
remember correctly.)

"So that means that bus fare is now twenty times more than it was fifty
years ago. So this item increased to only five times as much, and some
other things, such as the bus fare, have increased TWENTY times. So how
can you complain?"

It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price had
increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
encountered a price increase in fifty years.

Mordechai




"barry in indy" > wrote in message
. com...
> Another sign of the times: Hellmann's mayo is now 30 ounces, down from
> 32 (at least here in Indianapolis). They must think we are all morons.
> I'll never forget the response I got from Edy's when I complained
> about their 1.75 quart "half gallons": They said they wanted their
> customers to see a "familiar price."
>
> Part of the problem for me is getting older. I recently retired at 62,
> so I remember prices as they were many years ago. Just this morning, I
> picked up a package of potato hot dog buns (Aunt Millie's brand) and
> they were marked $2.79. What? That's ridiculous! That's 35¢ a bun!
> They used to cost that much for a whole package.
>
> Of course, they were on sale for $1.89, and I had a 35¢ coupon which
> they doubled, so I got them for $1.19. Still too much, according to my
> aging brain.
>
> Another one of my bad habits: unit-pricing EVERYTHING. I suppose if I
> could count the number of Cheerios in a box, I'd unit price THEM. But
> the way things are going, the package sizes will eventually be small
> enough so that you can count the number of Cheerios on one hand.
> --
> barry in indy
>
>

"Nancy Young" > wrote:
> How else are you supposed to get the best sized product for
> the money? All the time I see things for sale, the 10 oz size
> for $1, but you'll see the 20 oz size is less than $2. Just pulling
> numbers out of thin air, but you know what I'm getting at.

One of the sales my local Safeway seems to have repeatedly is for jars of
pimento stuffed green olives. They have seemly identical contents (same
olive type, both Safeway brand), with the 7 oz. size and the 10 oz. size
both at $1.50 a jar. Don't need unit pricing to figure that one out. I can't
figure out what's going on here. When they aren't on sale, the larger jar is
more than the smaller jar, but does cost less per ounce.

The thing that bothers me about Safeway's unit pricing is it is often quite
unhelpful, or just plain wrong. In the unhelpful category is pricing one
brand at so many cents per ounce, and another brand at so many cents a
pound, such that one has to multiply or divide by 16 to compare. In the
plain wrong category are unit prices that outright don't match the price
divided by the weight. Another plain wrong unit price is where the container
size on the shelf label does not match that of the actual product. Say for
example the can of sardines is listed at 3.75 ounces on the shelf label, but
3.0 ounces on the can itself.

I'd complain about it, but I guess there are just too many battles in life
to take on every one of them. I just concentrate on the price rung up
matching the shelf price in supermarkets.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> Oh pshaw, on Thu 29 Jun 2006 07:23:58a, barry in indy meant to say...
> > Another one of my bad habits: unit-pricing EVERYTHING. I suppose
> > if I could count the number of Cheerios in a box, I'd unit price
> > THEM. But the way things are going, the package sizes will
> > eventually be small enough so that you can count the number of
> > Cheerios on one hand.
>
> Perhaps you'll be able to buy individual Cherrios. :-)
>

Shush ! Don't give them any ideas.

> Joking aside, at 61 I remember things as you do, like going to the corner
> store as a child to pick up a loaf of bread for 29 cents, a jar of mustard
> for 12 cents, etc.

Aldi's still sells bread for about $0.30 in my area. Now mustard, the
best prices I've seen lately are about $0.50. Even so, I spend more.
Good mustard is worth the extra price. Current favorite : Vilux Dijon
Extra Forte. Highly recommended. Jungle Jim's has it for under $2, but
it is a fairly small jar.

Dean G.

"wff_ng_7" > wrote in message
news:hwSog.11864$Wh.4221@trnddc04...
> "Nancy Young" > wrote:
> > How else are you supposed to get the best sized product for
>> the money? All the time I see things for sale, the 10 oz size
>> for $1, but you'll see the 20 oz size is less than $2. Just pulling
>> numbers out of thin air, but you know what I'm getting at.
>
> One of the sales my local Safeway seems to have repeatedly is for jars of
> pimento stuffed green olives. They have seemly identical contents (same
> olive type, both Safeway brand), with the 7 oz. size and the 10 oz. size
> both at $1.50 a jar. Don't need unit pricing to figure that one out. I
> can't figure out what's going on here. When they aren't on sale, the
> larger jar is more than the smaller jar, but does cost less per ounce.
>
> The thing that bothers me about Safeway's unit pricing is it is often
> quite unhelpful, or just plain wrong. In the unhelpful category is pricing
> one brand at so many cents per ounce, and another brand at so many cents a
> pound, such that one has to multiply or divide by 16 to compare. In the
> plain wrong category are unit prices that outright don't match the price
> divided by the weight. Another plain wrong unit price is where the
> container size on the shelf label does not match that of the actual
> product. Say for example the can of sardines is listed at 3.75 ounces on
> the shelf label, but 3.0 ounces on the can itself.
>
> I'd complain about it, but I guess there are just too many battles in life
> to take on every one of them. I just concentrate on the price rung up
> matching the shelf price in supermarkets.

Don't complain about it. Instead, when you run into people who can't do
basic match, stop being a nice person. Say things to them that make them
cry, or make them angry. Ruin their days. Perhaps even suggest that they do
the right thing: Go outside and step in front of a moving bus.

Wal Mart's famous for the mismatched unit price crap. They'll list one jar
of salsa per pound, and the other per quart, and they're the same brand,
just different flavors. Pathetic.

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
...
>
> "barry in indy" > wrote
>
>
>> Another one of my bad habits: unit-pricing EVERYTHING.
>
> How else are you supposed to get the best sized product for
> the money? All the time I see things for sale, the 10 oz size
> for $1, but you'll see the 20 oz size is less than $2. Just
> pulling
> numbers out of thin air, but you know what I'm getting at.
>

I know what you mean. And in my regular stupidmarket (respects to
Sheldon), a two-liter bottle of Schweppes Tonic is $1.69; a
one-liter bottle is $1.59. Obviously, the plastic costs a lot
more than the contents.

--
barry in indy

barry in indy wrote:
> Another sign of the times: Hellmann's mayo is now 30 ounces, down
> from 32 (at least here in Indianapolis). They must think we are
> all morons. I'll never forget the response I got from Edy's when
> I complained about their 1.75 quart "half gallons": They said
> they wanted their customers to see a "familiar price."
>
> Part of the problem for me is getting older. I recently retired
> at 62, so I remember prices as they were many years ago. Just
> this morning, I picked up a package of potato hot dog buns (Aunt
> Millie's brand) and they were marked $2.79. What? That's
> ridiculous! That's 35¢ a bun! They used to cost that much for a
> whole package.
>
> Of course, they were on sale for $1.89, and I had a 35¢ coupon
> which they doubled, so I got them for $1.19. Still too much,
> according to my aging brain.
>
> Another one of my bad habits: unit-pricing EVERYTHING.

Oh, I do this too. With the prices of food being what they are, how
can one afford not to?

-L.
(The Everfrugal)

"wff_ng_7" > wrote

> "Nancy Young" > wrote:

> > How else are you supposed to get the best sized product for
>> the money? All the time I see things for sale, the 10 oz size
>> for $1, but you'll see the 20 oz size is less than $2. Just pulling
>> numbers out of thin air, but you know what I'm getting at.

> The thing that bothers me about Safeway's unit pricing is it is often
> quite unhelpful, or just plain wrong. In the unhelpful category is pricing
> one brand at so many cents per ounce, and another brand at so many cents a
> pound, such that one has to multiply or divide by 16 to compare.

They should be consistant. I guess it's not required by law.

> In the plain wrong category are unit prices that outright don't match the
> price divided by the weight.

That probably is against the law.

> I'd complain about it, but I guess there are just too many battles in life
> to take on every one of them. I just concentrate on the price rung up
> matching the shelf price in supermarkets.

I hear ya. I'm lucky in the stores where I shop, they do seem to
have accurate shelf pricing (remember when the price was on the
item itself? That, I don't miss), and the checkout prices are dead
accurate. My peeve is that it's sometimes hard to come by the
advertised sale items, at least for certain things. Annoying, but not
worth getting excited about, as you say.

nancy

In article 9>,
Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:

> Joking aside, at 61 I remember things as you do, like going to the corner
> store as a child to pick up a loaf of bread for 29 cents, a jar of mustard
> for 12 cents, etc.

True, but how much did you earn (or your parents earn) when you were a
child v. how much you earn now?

Do the math on income then v. income now and then compare that to prices
then and now and lets see what the real difference is.

marcella

"Mordechai Housman" > wrote:
> It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price had
> increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
> encountered a price increase in fifty years.

I keep a 1965 Sears catalog, along with few other things, that give me a
reference to prices of years past. One of the hard things for people to
handle is that the increase in prices has not been constant across all
items. Some have actually gone down over the years, some have stayed about
the same, some have gone up with the rate of inflation, and some have gone
up more than inflation.

According the the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of living has gone up
around 6 to 1 since the mid 1960s. See: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Electronics have gone down dramatically in price even in absolute terms. A
25" color TV (the top end model) cost $670 back in 1965 in the Sears
catalog. How much does at 25" color TV cost today? At Best Buy, they have a
27" color TV as low as $225. Or as high as $555 (for tube type). Six to one
would have been $4000.

My parents sold their house in Philadelphia in 1967 for $21,500. Comparable
houses on that block sold for around $450,000 last year. Dramatically more
than inflation. Six to one would have been $130,000.

I have a picture of a 1964 car being gased up. Regular is $0.279 a gallon.
In the background there's an A&P. Whole fryers are on sale for $0.25 a
pound. I recently paid $2.90 a gallon for regular gas. I recently bought a
whole fryer on sale for $0.59 a pound. Based on the overall inflation rate,
the gas should have been $1.70 a gallon and the chicken should have been
$1.50 a pound.

You win some, you lose some! ;-)

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

On Thu, 29 Jun 2006 15:26:31 GMT, Mordechai Housman wrote:


>
>It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price had
>increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
>encountered a price increase in fifty years.
>
>Mordechai
>

Being one of the old farts, my biggest bitch is that a car now cost
more then my first house.
And yes I know every thing is relative. But it still ticks me off.
--
Pan Ohco
I would like to see the bottom of my monitor, but I have cats.

Dean G. wrote:
> Aldi's still sells bread for about $0.30 in my area. Now mustard, the
> best prices I've seen lately are about $0.50. Even so, I spend more.
> Good mustard is worth the extra price. Current favorite : Vilux Dijon
> Extra Forte. Highly recommended. Jungle Jim's has it for under $2, but
> it is a fairly small jar.

What part of the country do you live in?

I think price gouging happens in areas where a high cost of living is
expected. I am looking forward to next week when I'll be in North
Dakota and am able to buy stuff that is not so overpriced!

Karen

"Karen" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Dean G. wrote:
>> Aldi's still sells bread for about $0.30 in my area. Now mustard, the
>> best prices I've seen lately are about $0.50. Even so, I spend more.
>> Good mustard is worth the extra price. Current favorite : Vilux Dijon
>> Extra Forte. Highly recommended. Jungle Jim's has it for under $2, but
>> it is a fairly small jar.
>
> What part of the country do you live in?
>
> I think price gouging happens in areas where a high cost of living is
> expected. I am looking forward to next week when I'll be in North
> Dakota and am able to buy stuff that is not so overpriced!
>
> Karen
>

The savings you hope to find may be eaten up by freight costs, depending on
the origin of the products you're interested in.

"Nancy Young" > wrote:
> remember when the price was on the
> item itself? That, I don't miss

But you could use the price on the item as a rough kind of "product date",
back in the days when they didn't have product dates! ;-) If it was 29 cents
for that item, I must have bought it in 1983.

The other kind of product dating I have (though not on food items) is the
brand name. If it's from Peoples Drug, it had to be before year X, and if
it's from Hechingers, it must be before year Y. Peoples was acquired by CVS
and Hechingers declared bankruptcy.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

"wff_ng_7" > wrote in message
news:KoTog.20071$Yk.1067@trnddc06...
> "Nancy Young" > wrote:
>> remember when the price was on the
>> item itself? That, I don't miss
>
> But you could use the price on the item as a rough kind of "product date",
> back in the days when they didn't have product dates! ;-) If it was 29
> cents for that item, I must have bought it in 1983.
>
> The other kind of product dating I have (though not on food items) is the
> brand name. If it's from Peoples Drug, it had to be before year X, and if
> it's from Hechingers, it must be before year Y. Peoples was acquired by
> CVS and Hechingers declared bankruptcy.
>
> --
> ( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )
>

Until 3 years ago, my former mother in law used to use old plastic food
containers to give away leftovers when guests left her parties. Most people
threw the stuff away because the containers had an awful appearance, and
sometimes an equally gross color. The clue: In the manufacturers' addresses
on most of these containers, there were no zip codes. These containers were
ancient.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
> The savings you hope to find may be eaten up by freight costs, depending on
> the origin of the products you're interested in.

Well, I recall that California avocados cost the same in California as
they do in ND. I think California stores can get the premium price
because high prices are expected in high cost of living areas. (which
was my point)

I never understood why my Safeway charges a dollar for 2 lemons, when
the lemon tree outside the store is full of lemons, either. There's
lemons all over the neighborhood, fallen on the ground, and worse, yet,
they cost so much at the store...

Karen

"Karen" > wrote:
> I think price gouging happens in areas where a high cost of living is
> expected. I am looking forward to next week when I'll be in North
> Dakota and am able to buy stuff that is not so overpriced!

It's not just prices being higher where the cost of living is higher. That's
basically fair and is kind of the definition of cost of living. If your
costs of doing business are higher, you have to charge more.

The one that gets me is the pricing of gasoline around here in the
Washington, DC area. That price is not determined so much by the cost of
doing business, but the price the market will bear. It has to do with how
much disposable income a neighborhood might have, and how far out of the way
a person might drive for a lower cost. The big oil companies have this
refined to an art in this area. Wealthier areas in Montgomery County,
Maryland tend to have much higher gasoline prices than many poorer areas in
the city of Washington itself, although I'm certain the cost of doing
business is higher in those city neighborhoods. The weathier people have the
disposable income and relish the convenience, so they are not going to go
out of their way for cheap gas.

The owners of the gasoline retail outlets have complained about this pricing
strategy by the refiners (and it's imposed by the refiners, not the
retailers) for years. A retailer in one zone (as defined by the refiner)
might play a much different price than one a very short distance away, but
in a different zone. Do a google search on "zone pricing" and "gasoline" for
more info on this.

--
( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

"Karen" > wrote in
oups.com:

>
> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
>> The savings you hope to find may be eaten up by freight costs,
>> depending on the origin of the products you're interested in.
>
> Well, I recall that California avocados cost the same in California as
> they do in ND. I think California stores can get the premium price
> because high prices are expected in high cost of living areas. (which
> was my point)
>
> I never understood why my Safeway charges a dollar for 2 lemons, when
> the lemon tree outside the store is full of lemons, either. There's
> lemons all over the neighborhood, fallen on the ground, and worse,
> yet, they cost so much at the store...
>
> Karen


My uncle had an avocado and banana tree in his back yard. We'd land a
rope over a branch and then yank down the fruit! Heavy rain!

Andy

Oh pshaw, on Thu 29 Jun 2006 09:09:56a, Marcella Peek meant to say...

> In article 9>,
> Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Joking aside, at 61 I remember things as you do, like going to the
>> corner store as a child to pick up a loaf of bread for 29 cents, a jar
>> of mustard for 12 cents, etc.
>
> True, but how much did you earn (or your parents earn) when you were a
> child v. how much you earn now?
>
> Do the math on income then v. income now and then compare that to prices
> then and now and lets see what the real difference is.
>
> marcella
>

You're right, of course, but it's still sticker shock.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

"Karen" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
>> The savings you hope to find may be eaten up by freight costs, depending
>> on
>> the origin of the products you're interested in.
>
> Well, I recall that California avocados cost the same in California as
> they do in ND. I think California stores can get the premium price
> because high prices are expected in high cost of living areas. (which
> was my point)
>
> I never understood why my Safeway charges a dollar for 2 lemons, when
> the lemon tree outside the store is full of lemons, either. There's
> lemons all over the neighborhood, fallen on the ground, and worse, yet,
> they cost so much at the store...
>
> Karen
>

In Montauk, Long Island, commercial fishermen arrive with all sorts of nice
fish. I once commented to a fish market person how great it was to be able
to get fish that was just a few hours old. He explained that this was not
the case. Most of the fish is shipped 2 hours to the Fulton Fish Market in
NYC. He then buys his fish from there, through a distributor or whatever. He
said it was healthier for him (and other retailers) to respect this
distribution arrangement because he really liked his kneecaps intact.

Some things can't be explained in pure business terms.

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
8.19...
> Oh pshaw, on Thu 29 Jun 2006 09:09:56a, Marcella Peek meant to say...
>
>> In article 9>,
>> Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Joking aside, at 61 I remember things as you do, like going to the
>>> corner store as a child to pick up a loaf of bread for 29 cents, a jar
>>> of mustard for 12 cents, etc.
>>
>> True, but how much did you earn (or your parents earn) when you were a
>> child v. how much you earn now?
>>
>> Do the math on income then v. income now and then compare that to prices
>> then and now and lets see what the real difference is.
>>
>> marcella
>>
>
> You're right, of course, but it's still sticker shock.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬

Wait and see what happens if there's a shortage of farm laborers due to our
politicians' hallucinogenic policy ideas. Heh. $6.00 lettuce.

Nancy Young wrote:


>
> How else are you supposed to get the best sized product for
> the money? All the time I see things for sale, the 10 oz size
> for $1, but you'll see the 20 oz size is less than $2. Just pulling
> numbers out of thin air, but you know what I'm getting at.
>
> nancy
>
>

But it's important to have the choice. There are people, fixed budgets
or low income who can manage to spend the $1 but would have to give
something else up to pay for the $2 size. Single people who don't use
much of a product before its expiration date are in this category, too.

gloria p

Mordechai Housman wrote:
> When I was in retail, during the mid-to-late eighties, an almost-elderly
> customer came into the store and asked the price of a certain item. When
> I told him that it cost $23.00 (American), he sputtered, aghast.
>
> "But fifty years ago they were only five dollars!"
>
> I was amused. I asked him how much bus fare had cost fifty years ago.
>
> "Five cents," he said.
>
> "And now they're how much?"
>
> "One dollar." (That's more or less how much it was back then, if I
> remember correctly.)
>
> "So that means that bus fare is now twenty times more than it was fifty
> years ago. So this item increased to only five times as much, and some
> other things, such as the bus fare, have increased TWENTY times. So how
> can you complain?"
>
> It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price had
> increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
> encountered a price increase in fifty years.
>


I see your point, but it's painful to remember that what we paid for our
last car was more than we paid for our first house. And our current
house is worth 20X what we paid for the first. Salaries certainly
haven't kept pace.

gloria p

"Puester" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote:

>> How else are you supposed to get the best sized product for
>> the money? All the time I see things for sale, the 10 oz size
>> for $1, but you'll see the 20 oz size is less than $2. Just pulling
>> numbers out of thin air, but you know what I'm getting at.

> But it's important to have the choice. There are people, fixed budgets or
> low income who can manage to spend the $1 but would have to give something
> else up to pay for the $2 size. Single people who don't use much of a
> product before its expiration date are in this category, too.

Oh, I'm not saying anything about that. I fall into that category all
the time, too. No sense buying a large size of something just because
it's cheaper by the pound if you can never use half of it. Only
commenting on being able to compare the unit price of different
sizes.

nancy

"Puester" > wrote in message
...

>> It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price had
>> increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
>> encountered a price increase in fifty years.

>
> I see your point, but it's painful to remember that what we paid for our
> last car was more than we paid for our first house.

Yeah, but that's different from what most people here like to do: Blame the
manufacturer, as if they were agents of the devil when they shrink a package
or raise a price. Talk about immature...

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
> "Puester" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>> It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price had
>>> increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
>>> encountered a price increase in fifty years.
>
>> I see your point, but it's painful to remember that what we paid for our
>> last car was more than we paid for our first house.
>
> Yeah, but that's different from what most people here like to do: Blame the
> manufacturer, as if they were agents of the devil when they shrink a package
> or raise a price. Talk about immature...
>
>


I suppose it's easier to blame the manufacturer rather than the
government for govt. deficit borrowing/spending on a pointless war that
is fueling a galloping inflation that will make the 70's look like
child's play.

Just wait till fuel prices will trickle down to affect the price of
every consumer product, both for transportation and raw materials for
petroleum-based products.

Has anyone noticed that every manufactured product on the shelves today
is "Made in China"? Now that they have a grip on our markets, they will
do as they please with the prices--we won't have any choices.

gloria p

"Puester" > wrote in message
...
> JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
>> "Puester" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>> It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price
>>>> had increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
>>>> encountered a price increase in fifty years.
>>
>>> I see your point, but it's painful to remember that what we paid for our
>>> last car was more than we paid for our first house.
>>
>> Yeah, but that's different from what most people here like to do: Blame
>> the manufacturer, as if they were agents of the devil when they shrink a
>> package or raise a price. Talk about immature...
>
>
> I suppose it's easier to blame the manufacturer rather than the government
> for govt. deficit borrowing/spending on a pointless war that is fueling a
> galloping inflation that will make the 70's look like child's play.
>
> Just wait till fuel prices will trickle down to affect the price of every
> consumer product, both for transportation and raw materials for
> petroleum-based products.
>
> Has anyone noticed that every manufactured product on the shelves today is
> "Made in China"? Now that they have a grip on our markets, they will do
> as they please with the prices--we won't have any choices.
>
> gloria p

Business of the futu Men's dress shirts, made correctly, in THIS country.
I showed my son some beauties from Lands End, when they still had them made
here. Now, he's ****ed off because it's so hard to find anything like them
in stores.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

>
> Business of the futu Men's dress shirts, made correctly, in THIS country.
> I showed my son some beauties from Lands End, when they still had them made
> here. Now, he's ****ed off because it's so hard to find anything like them
> in stores.
>
>


Yes, but they are now owned by Sears. How long do you suppose it will
take for the quality to go down and the prices to rise? And, unlike
LLBean, they charge for shipping (free with LLB credit card) and sales tax.

FWIW, Lands End is one of my favorite companies. My husband says we
should have a pipeline direct from their warehouse to our front porch.

Won't your son order online? Their return policy is wonderful.

gloria p

"wff_ng_7" > wrote in message
news:hwSog.11864$Wh.4221@trnddc04...
> "Nancy Young" > wrote:

>
> The thing that bothers me about Safeway's unit pricing is it is often
> quite unhelpful, or just plain wrong. In the unhelpful category is pricing
> one brand at so many cents per ounce, and another brand at so many cents a
> pound, such that one has to multiply or divide by 16 to compare. In the
> plain wrong category are unit prices that outright don't match the price
> divided by the weight. Another plain wrong unit price is where the
> container size on the shelf label does not match that of the actual
> product. Say for example the can of sardines is listed at 3.75 ounces on
> the shelf label, but 3.0 ounces on the can itself.
>
> I'd complain about it, but I guess there are just too many battles in life
> to take on every one of them. I just concentrate on the price rung up
> matching the shelf price in supermarkets.

One of my pet peeves is when the prices on the shelves are so close together
that you can't read the whole tag. This is common in the spice section, but
I've seen it other places, too. If I can't see the price on the shelf, maybe
the bottles ought to be priced, like back in the "old days."

Donna <--- feeling a little crotchety today

"Mordechai Housman" > wrote in message
news:HiSog.13123$6d1.10770@trndny09...
> When I was in retail, during the mid-to-late eighties, an almost-elderly
> customer came into the store and asked the price of a certain item. When I
> told him that it cost $23.00 (American), he sputtered, aghast.
>
> "But fifty years ago they were only five dollars!"
>
> I was amused. I asked him how much bus fare had cost fifty years ago.
>
> "Five cents," he said.
>
> "And now they're how much?"
>
> "One dollar." (That's more or less how much it was back then, if I
> remember correctly.)
>
> "So that means that bus fare is now twenty times more than it was fifty
> years ago. So this item increased to only five times as much, and some
> other things, such as the bus fare, have increased TWENTY times. So how
> can you complain?"
>
> It boggled my mind that someone could actually complain that a price had
> increased in fifty years, as if this were the very first time he'd
> encountered a price increase in fifty years.

DH used to work for a somewhat large business owned by and old and somewhat
eccentric man who never paid for anything himself. He had assistants who did
all his shopping and paid his bill. If you had the misfortune of going out
to dinner with him, you'd find that when dinner was over, he'd simply get up
and walk out, without a thought to who would pay.

If one of his assistants was there, presumably they'd take care of it, and
if it was one of his regular places, they'd put it on his tab which would be
handled later. But if he invited you out and there were no assistants and no
regular tab, you paid the bill, never mind that he said he was taking you
out for dinner.

This guy, literally, did not know what a loaf of bread cost. Or anything
else. He never carried cash, and I don't know if he had a credit card, but
it's a pretty sure thing he never used it himself.

Maybe he was the guy who walked into your store that day.

Donna

"JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote in message
news
>>
>
> In Montauk, Long Island, commercial fishermen arrive with all sorts of
> nice fish. I once commented to a fish market person how great it was to be
> able to get fish that was just a few hours old. He explained that this was
> not the case. Most of the fish is shipped 2 hours to the Fulton Fish
> Market in NYC. He then buys his fish from there, through a distributor or
> whatever. He said it was healthier for him (and other retailers) to
> respect this distribution arrangement because he really liked his kneecaps
> intact.
>
> Some things can't be explained in pure business terms.

Yup. And some can. Accountability for one. You buy all the fish from the
same distributor, and there's a problem, you go to the one distributor and
complain.

You buy from a multitude of fishing boats, it makes it difficult to trace
the problem back to the source.

Of course, kneecaps are important, too. It just helps to have another reason
for a backup.

Donna

D.Currie wrote:

>
> One of my pet peeves is when the prices on the shelves are so close together
> that you can't read the whole tag. This is common in the spice section, but
> I've seen it other places, too. If I can't see the price on the shelf, maybe
> the bottles ought to be priced, like back in the "old days."
>


That would also be a quick remedy for when the shelf price and he
computer/register price don't agree. Of course, the register price is
always higher, especially when stores have their 10 items for $10 sales
and the computer shows the original higher price for many of the items.

gloria p

"D.Currie" > wrote in message
...
>
> "JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote in message
> news >
>>>
>>
>> In Montauk, Long Island, commercial fishermen arrive with all sorts of
>> nice fish. I once commented to a fish market person how great it was to
>> be able to get fish that was just a few hours old. He explained that this
>> was not the case. Most of the fish is shipped 2 hours to the Fulton Fish
>> Market in NYC. He then buys his fish from there, through a distributor or
>> whatever. He said it was healthier for him (and other retailers) to
>> respect this distribution arrangement because he really liked his
>> kneecaps intact.
>>
>> Some things can't be explained in pure business terms.
>
> Yup. And some can. Accountability for one. You buy all the fish from the
> same distributor, and there's a problem, you go to the one distributor and
> complain.
>
> You buy from a multitude of fishing boats, it makes it difficult to trace
> the problem back to the source.
>
> Of course, kneecaps are important, too. It just helps to have another
> reason for a backup.
>
> Donna
>

What's the distributor gonna do? Apologize and give him some free fish?
Probably the same as the fisherman would do, except that there's less likely
to BE a problem with fish that's just hours old, instead of two or three
days old.

barry in indy wrote:
> Another sign of the times: Hellmann's mayo is now 30 ounces, down
> from 32 (at least here in Indianapolis). They must think we are
> all morons. I'll never forget the response I got from Edy's when
> I complained about their 1.75 quart "half gallons": They said
> they wanted their customers to see a "familiar price."

tell me about it!

I was horrified to see that a pound of mushrooms now contains 12 oz, a
half pound contains 6. The ones in the boxes, that is. I alternate
between boxed and loose, depending on sale price.

My problem is that my stroganoff recipe, for example, uses a pound of
mushrooms, s what good are those sizes gonna be? It's like the old
recipes that call for a 16 oz can of veggies, which now contains 14.5
ounces. It's gonna mess up my dinner!

I'd much rather they raised the price from $2.99 a pound to $3.29 or
3.49 and kept the box a pound. I don't need 3/4 lb of mushrooms, and I
don't wanna have to buy a pound and a half, either!!

"Wayne Boatwright" wrote:

> Joking aside, at 61 I remember things as you do, like going to the corner
> store as a child to pick up a loaf of bread for 29 cents, a jar of mustard
> for 12 cents, etc.
>
> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬

In my early married days, we could (carefully) do a week's grocery shopping
for $10 or thereabouts. I remember that T-bone steak prices rose to $1 per
pound and housewives everywhere in our area boycotted the meat departments!
(and gas was 29 cents a gallon, too). But --- I was making $30 a week at
my job, DH's salary wasn't much better and we paid $55 a month for quite a
nice apartment. Times change and everything's relative.

Dora

Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
>>
> Just had this conversation with my 13 year old today.....he asked how much
> gas cost when I started driving.....I remember right after I got my license,
> I took my paycheck and filled my dad's 67 Buick LaSabre......57 cents a
> gallon.
>
> Damn I feel old.
> -ginny
>
>

Nah, you're just a kid. I vividly remember driving from college in
Boston to my now-husband's family's house in CT and seeing gas wars on
the Berlin Turnpike where prices got down to 21 cents, circa 1964.

And in high school we used to take my parents' silver 58 Dodge (with the
big tailfins, of course) to the A&W drive in and actually move the gas
gauge needle for $1 worth of gas. IIRC, burgers were 25 cents or less,
onion rings 15 cents, and a 12 oz. rootbeer 15 cents. Those were the
days. Of course anyone who made $5K a year was RICH!

gloria p

On Thu, 29 Jun 2006 21:16:06 -1200, Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:

> Just had this conversation with my 13 year old today.....he asked how much
> gas cost when I started driving.....I remember right after I got my license,
> I took my paycheck and filled my dad's 67 Buick LaSabre......57 cents a
> gallon.
>
> Damn I feel old.
> -ginny

It 28¢ when I was 15-16 and it shot up to 32¢ when I moved to
california.... that's the price of living in CA.

feeling older
--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.