Grocery store today

[Bettie]

and we bought apples. I thought, 1.29 a pound isn't bad....they were 1.29 each (in tiny print under the price, it said each).

I don't mind paying more, but FFS, just be honest about it!

Bananas were priced as "each" as well. This is new and a lot of people won't notice right away.

[hlthe2b]

1. I can't imagine buying by the apple unless it was some really amazing new variety...

I've never purchased bananas except by the pound. Were these organic?

[Bettie]

6. Nope, basic bananas...the organic ones were in a different area

so, yeah, by the pound.

So, the .29 listed was for each, last week they were .53 a pound, now .78 based on weighing them after we got home.

Again, I get the price increase, I don't like them trying to trick consumers. Just own the increase, don't try to hide it.

[lame54]

2. Where were you?

[Bettie]

7. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Hy Vee and Target are both now selling as each.

[Rebl2]

22. Sounds

like price gouging to me.

[Hornedfrog2000]

27. Im from cr too

[Bettie]

31. We live over in Benton County

but, CR is the closest place for groceries that don't cost twice what things do in town!

[lapfog_1]

29. by the banana is standard here in central valley california

I buy like 2 instead of the usual 6 or 8 banana bunch.

But I only eat like 2 in the days before all they are good for is banana bread.

[AnnaLee]

51. Next time buy three

And try this. Choose fairly unblemished (not brused) bananas with green tips. Remove one leaving a third of the stem on the stem side of the banana. Be careful not to make any openings in the banana skin. Wrap this banana in saran (cling) wrap snuggly without openings. Put in the refrigerator for a week or more.

When you remove the banana, the skin will have turned brown. The banana inside, though, will be as good as the two you ate when you first bought them.

I, an extremely old, lady just discovered this last year. Yea, Internet. I did not believe it would work. I do not like mushy ripe bananas. Now, I don't hesitate to buy a few more bananas than I will eat before the too ripe stage. I just wrap them and use them as I wish (within a couple of weeks).

[marble falls]

43. Worked in Marion and lived in Coggon. Cedar Rapids was a liviable town and I'd go back if my wife ...

... weren't such a snowphobe. I loved the smell of General roasting oats and I remember when someone pulled the "cork" in the houseboat bay and ran the river Wapsi dry overnight back in '91. Very good times, and very good friends. How many smaller cities in the US has a tavern Dvorak used to have a drink at when he was staying in town for a while? And the Amana colonies. I loved that part of Iowa.

[Irish_Dem]

3. I saw the same thing today in grocery store produce dept.

Prices are higher and you have to look closely at the pricing signs.

[NewHendoLib]

4. That's often been the price at Trader Joe for years

depending on the variety. Honey Crisp are pretty pricey.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

39. bananas at TJ's have been by each for a long time. nt

[Frasier Balzov]

5. Soon: Grapes (each).

[markodochartaigh]

17. Grapes (each).

*stems not included

[rubbersole]

21. Then Cheerios.

Guess we shouldn't be giving them ideas...

[womanofthehills]

32. No one should ever buy cheerios - most glyphosate contaminated food

High levels of glyphosate and chlormequat chloride . - only buy organic oats - however- some organic has glyphosate too as it’s often grown in adjoining fields.


“Cheerios Lawsuit Says Cereals Contain Dangerous Levels of Chemical Pesticide”

Comments
Necaise v. General Mills, Inc.
FILED: FEBRUARY 23, 2024 ◆§ 3:24-CV-00367
• Read Complaint
General Mills faces a class action lawsuit that alleges Cheerios contain “dangerous levels” of the chemical pesticide chlormequat chloride. https://www.classaction.org/news/cheerios-lawsuit-says-cereals-contain-dangerous-levels-of-chemical-pesticide

And - then there is Roundup (0ats are often desicated - sprayed with Roundup right before harvest for uniform drying and avoiding mold) Gross!!

The most glyphosate-contaminated products were:
Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch (833 ppb)
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Maple Brown Sugar (566 ppb)
Nature Valley Granola Cups, Almond Butter (529 ppb)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios (400 ppb)
Nature Valley Baked Oat Bites (389 ppb)
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Oats and Honey (320 ppb)
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Peanut Butter (312 ppb)
Nature Valley Granola Cups, Peanut Butter Chocolate (297 ppb)
Nature Valley Fruit & Nut Chewy Trail Mix Granola Bars, Dark Chocolate Cherry (275 ppb)
Nature. https://www.consumernotice.org/environmental/pesticides/glyphosate-in-food/

[senseandsensibility]

8. Yeah, I pay three dollars a pound

for a kind of apple that was first recommended here on DU a few years ago. It comes in a bin and they are tiny and sweet. They're called rocket apples. Anyway, the price has stayed the same for years. Hope it doesn't go up. I agree with you about misleading labeling.

[forgotmylogin]

9. Apples tend to be 1/3 to 1/2 pound each.

I've always just considered that produce fluctuates and sometimes is just expensive due to season.

Honeycrisps are popular. My local grocery in the STL metro area has Honeycrisps (which tend to be large) at $2.49/lb (so probably 2-3 for that price) or $4.39 for a 2lb bag where you might get 4 or 5 - a dollar and change for a single apple if they're large. Bulk prices are always better, but sometimes you don't need that many apples at once.

$1.29 each probably is about right for seasonal and unique varieties. My store also has 5lb bag of Cosmic Crisp (my favorite - which is a smaller apple with 6-9 in a bag) for $5.99.

YMMV, especially in big cities and on the coasts.

[Lifeafter70]

10. If you were a Trader Joes, it's been like that for 20 years

Bananas were 19 cents each for over 20 years. Went up to 23 cents each last year. Try comparing six large Bananas cost each verses by pound . (regular price)
You might be surprised.

[58Sunliner]

12. You were at TJ's? I did the same once.

[Emile]

13. Who said money doesn't grow on trees?

[a kennedy]

14. and why were tall kitchen garbage bags damn near 10.00 a box!!!!!

I was gonna buy the hefty brand and decided to forget it, I’ll just use the store brands….amount 7.00 for 30 bags!!!!! WTH???

[appleannie1]

16. I saw that yesterday.

I bought one of those composters that you put on your kitchen counter and put all your scraps in it. It heats and stirs and a couple hours later you have dry compost that looks like fluffy dirt. I hardly have any garbage now and what I do have I can wrap in paper like we used to do before plastic bags. Screw them all with their raised prices.

[Buddyzbuddy]

23. I think the stores raise the price on named brands to

coerce you into buying the the store brand which I'm guessing has a higher profit margin. I could be wrong?

[BOSSHOG]

38. I found 13 gallon trash bags

At Dollar General 10 for one dollar.

[FSogol]

45. Trash bags at the hardware store (even the big box store type) are half the price of the grocery stores.

Of course, you'd be stuck with a whole year supply.

Cleaning chemicals are cheaper there too.

[appleannie1]

15. About 2 yrs ago I bought a head of cabbage that way.

There was a huge box of heads of cabbage and the sign simply said "$.69. I thought 'boy, that's a steal' and bought a huge head. When I got home and looked at the receipt, it was almost $5.00. When I went to the store the next time, I asked about it. The produce guy said "it mean per pound". I simply said "Well damn it. Say that on the sign". I must not have been the only one that complained because they took a magic marker and marked the sign after that.

[LisaM]

19. On the bright side, it's almost impossible to use up cabbage.

I like purple cabbage but whenever I buy one (and I put it in everything I can, from stir fry to salad to soup) it is still there looking at me every time I open the vegetable drawer.

[womanofthehills]

34. Great idea for cabbage

Super easy sauerkraut - for great probiotics

Grate it
Put it in a jar
Cover with salted water
Loosely cover jar
Leave out on counter for a week
Refrigerate it - good for 6 months

I have chickens and cabbage is one of their most favorite foods.

[Figarosmom]

18. Bring a

Permanent marker with you and write EACH real big on the signs next time. I'd do it. I remember when the grocery I go to had in very small print that family size potato chips were 1.50 (but only if you bought 3 in very small print) otherwise they were 2.99 each. So I used the pen I always have to check off my list with and wrote real big only if you buy 3.

[Buddyzbuddy]

20. Wow, thank you for the alert.

Egg price update from So. Cal. On Thurs. I paid
$13+ for 1 doz. Lg.

[Chemical Bill]

24. It's March...

The apples are probably from the southern hemisphere, but it's possible they are from last fall. Either way the price shouldn't be affected by the current situation. Sounds like price gouging to me.

[canetoad]

25. I thought I'd seen

All the ways of price gouging.

Are these apple, sold individually, subject to being a certain weight, or are you meant to estimate?

[woodsprite]

26. In our stores you have to be careful

The larger prettier produce is priced per item, while the smaller stuff is priced per pound or bag. I found out the hard way buying 5 lbs of Honeycrisp for dessert!

[moniss]

28. Many items I've recently priced have been sky high.

Some very common things have become hard to get even from the manufacturer's web site. Fruit of the Loom men's plain white briefs are one of the most common things in the world and yet stock in the larger sizes is spotty and FOTL customer service is referring people to Walmart online instead of buying direct from FOTL. Problem is that WM will take the order but then respond later on that shipment will "be delayed". FOTL announced some time back that they are leaving the "wholesale" market in 2026 but have apparently decided "to hell with retail" as well. Apparently Buffett has decided to strip the company back. They can expect to keep losing market share with moves like this.

I had a need for a couple of twin size flat cotton sheets. I don't need a set just the sheets. Anything of any quality is pricing around $40-$50 per sheet and color or pattern availability is again spotty. You can go cheaper and pay about $10 or less and have better availability but the sheets have horrible reviews with most people saying they had holes starting after a few months of washing.
The kind of sheets where when they are brand new you can hold them up and see through them.

So it appears that for some soft goods the off-shore textile supply chain is perhaps caught in the limbo of whether the importers want to bring the product in and try to pass on the tariffs to the US consumer or just wait for demand to help overcome price reluctance.

In any event there are domestic producers pricing a twin cotton flat sheet at prices between $50 to around $100. For a flat piece of cloth that's been hemmed.

I was at the grocer yesterday and plain old chuck roast was $10.99/lb.

[Prairie Gates]

30. I saw a gallon of organic milk (Horizon) for $12.00

I mean, what?

[marble falls]

42. They only charge what the market will bear. No point offering for $12.00 what will sell only for $5.00.

[cldebloat]

33. Deceptive Pricing at the Grocery Store Needs to Stop

That kind of pricing feels intentionally misleading. Most people are used to produce being priced per pound, so switching to "each" in tiny print seems deceptive. It’s frustrating when stores use tactics like this, especially when grocery prices are already high. Transparency should be the standard, not the exception.

[LisaM]

37. State by state, they eliminated requirements to have food labelled.

When I first moved to Washington from Michigan, Michigan still required that all food have price on it. I was against the change, but of course it went through. Stores and Republicans liked this. I do not like it, never will.

[marble falls]

40. It's not deceptive if we pay attention.

[Bettie]

49. I noticed, my DH

not so much.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

44. Welcome to DU

[Retrograde]

35. Pricing styles may be a regional thing

When I lived in New York a long time ago, fruits (and tomatoes) were usually sold in packs of 3 or however many. Here in CA they're usually sold by the pound, although this is not a hard and fast rule - last week when I went shopping the apples were sold by the pound and the avocados by the piece.

[Ms. Toad]

36. Produce can be sold by either.

Apples - more frequently by pound. Peppers - more frequently per pepper. Cabbage (mentioned in the thread - about 50-50). Parsley/cilantro - usually per bunch.

Always look at the sign closely. If it's per piece, choose the biggest/heaviest one. If it's per pound, just buy the quantity you want.

As long as they are marking it on the sign, it's not dishonest.

[marble falls]

41. We must have both been brought up right. In my family the boys got home economics taught by both parents ...

... and grocery shopping was done by the men mostly, on Saturday morning.

[William769]

48. Did you get some Trix?

Cause you know Trix are for kids!

[bif]

50. TJs pulled a fast one lately

Scones use to come 5 in a bag. Now there are 4 per bag at the same price. That's pretty shitty.

[Sky Jewels]

52. Shrinkflation really picked up during the pandemic.

It is going strong now. I used to buy paper yard debris compost bags in packets of 10, I believe. Now it's packets of 5.

[maxsolomon]

53. Did you go to Trader Joes?

That's how all their fruit is priced.