Safeway sued for price gouging toilet paper

[storewanderer]

https://thecounter.org/covid-19-alberts ... let-paper/

Did not see anything like this in the NorCal Stores I shop in- the prices on toilet paper are the same prices as before the pandemic. Fewer promotions, yes, but regular prices are the same as before.

As for the other high prices on sanitizer, those craft sanitizers from the "alternate" sources had far higher costs than the "old" sanitizers the stores used to sell. So there is no prior basis for comparison on that stuff. Same situation on the masks that now sell for multiples more than similar but not same exact brand of masks did before.

However the Safeway NorCal meat department is another story entirely... definitely some funny stuff going on there with the 23.59/lb Rib Eye Steaks, 8.99/lb ground 96% lean beef, and the 4.95/lb pork shoulder. Surprised there has not been more attention on that. Would love to see their shrink numbers.

[Super S]

There are other things they gouge on. Such as the regular price of milk which is a dollar a gallon more than Fred Meyer (which is closer to what WinCo charges) and many other items.

Safeway lost me as a regular customer when they implemented the club card. While I stop in about once or sometimes twice a year, I can't believe how high their regular prices are compared to the competition. Some people like apps, cards, coupons, and gimmicks. I do not.

[BillyGr]

https://thecounter.org/covid-19-alberts ... let-paper/

Did not see anything like this in the NorCal Stores I shop in- the prices on toilet paper are the same prices as before the pandemic. Fewer promotions, yes, but regular prices are the same as before.

As for the other high prices on sanitizer, those craft sanitizers from the "alternate" sources had far higher costs than the "old" sanitizers the stores used to sell. So there is no prior basis for comparison on that stuff. Same situation on the masks that now sell for multiples more than similar but not same exact brand of masks did before.

However the Safeway NorCal meat department is another story entirely... definitely some funny stuff going on there with the 23.59/lb Rib Eye Steaks, 8.99/lb ground 96% lean beef, and the 4.95/lb pork shoulder. Surprised there has not been more attention on that. Would love to see their shrink numbers.

I suspect those issues are most of what is being seen. Things like those that always bought toilet paper during a sale seeing the "regular" price and thinking it was raised since they never paid attention to the regular price before. Or those similar but different items that aren't made the same and thus aren't priced the same either.

Do those stores do special markdowns on the meats when they need to get rid of them? I know our stores here will, either repricing them with a better price or just putting on a $x off this package sticker to get people to buy them. Seems better to sell them for less than not get anything for them if they go bad sitting there.

[storewanderer]

What I don't understand is they keep screwing around with their meat pricing in NorCal, even mid week.

New increases today hit the pork category:
Boneless Pork Loin Chops (regular pack) 7.47/lb (thin cut) 7.97/lb (Value Pack) 6.97/lb... who is going to pay these prices?
Top Sirloin Steak was odd, some packs were marked at 15.11/lb and others marked at 15.91/lb but all with a 9.99/lb sale price (for Top Sirloin Steak??)
Some steaks are now labeled as "Rib Steak" and are 21.something per pound which is a little lower than those 23.59/lb Ribeye Steaks
Boneless Ribeye Steaks were available, at 25.31/lb
Also had some 93% lean ground beef today: 8.59/lb
Beef Back Ribs were available at 7.99/lb -- for back ribs?
Beef Short Ribs are on sale at 5.00/lb with a regular price posted of 8.99/lb
London Broil was like 12.38/lb or some weird price

Prices are nowhere near these levels at Raleys, Whole Foods, or Save Mart.

[TW-Upstate NY]

Boneless Pork Loin Chops (regular pack) 7.47/lb (thin cut) 7.97/lb (Value Pack) 6.97/lb... who is going to pay these prices?
Prices are nowhere near these levels at Raleys, Whole Foods, or Save Mart.

Last week, one of the chains around here had some type of pork chops for $1.89/lb. How the heck do people live out there? I get a modest pension and I can actually pay my bills with it and not dip into savings. True, the house is paid for and all that but even so I don't know how you west coast folks do it.

[SamSpade]

Last week, one of the chains around here had some type of pork chops for $1.89/lb. How the heck do people live out there? I get a modest pension and I can actually pay my bills with it and not dip into savings. True, the house is paid for and all that but even so I don't know how you west coast folks do it.

I would suspect that many older folks in San Francisco Bay Area make good use of the local food pantry, senior center(s), Meals on Wheels to supplement what they buy on their own. It is still strange to me that the USA has such a problem with hunger, but we still do.

Off Topic

I believe the Bay Area (or at least some cities) also have a version of 'rent control' that allows rent increases to be modest. So if you're an older renter and can remain where you've lived, you may have a relatively affordable fixed housing expense.

MoW is a pretty large, well established operation here in metro Portland. I feel bad that folks have been unable to visit their dining rooms for some time. They also operate a non-profit, full service restaurant in Vancouver, Wash. "The Diner" that is open to anyone with affordable traditional diner service.
The Diner - Vancouver: Our Mission

[Bagels]

Here in SoCal, I noticed Albertsons was clearly price gouging throughout the store. $2.49 for a single green bell pepper? $5.99 for a dozen (store brand) eggs? I think customers caught on, too — they’ve had some incredible sale prices the past two weeks, likely out of desperation.

[storewanderer]

Here in SoCal, I noticed Albertsons was clearly price gouging throughout the store. $2.49 for a single green bell pepper? $5.99 for a dozen (store brand) eggs? I think customers caught on, too — they’ve had some incredible sale prices the past two weeks, likely out of desperation.

All the NorCal operators went to 1.98 or less for dozen eggs after something came out about price fixing on eggs a few weeks ago. Funny that Wal Mart near me in Reno went from .90 a dozen to 1.12 a dozen during this whole thing, and Smiths egg pricing here in Reno really didn't do much either (each location seems to have a different price- lowest at .99 and highest at 1.39). Safeway in Nevada has also stayed at 1.39 this whole time but the Tahoe Stores (30 minutes away) were at 3.49+ back in May.

In talking to some people lately I am hearing beef pricing has gone up considerably and certain stores are either selling below cost or doing "creative buying" to get cost down. Whatever that means. With restaurants opening back up there is more competition for beef supply now so that has caused prices to spike big time the past couple of weeks which may explain Safeway's very erratic pricing in NorCal on beef- but you can't get a margin if nobody will pay your prices. I guess some people will pay them but man how can anyone justify $20/lb+ for a standard old supermarket steak (yes it is USDA Choice at least).

[Alpha8472]

Safeway had trouble selling their single rolls of Kleenex Mexico toilet paper. They just started putting them in giant plastic bags. It is now $5 for one big bag of 15.

[storewanderer]

The Kleenex Mexico Toilet Paper seems to be something they want to get rid of, but different stores are doing it differently. I saw one store with 3 for $1. I saw one store with a posted sale price of .79 then someone put those little 50% off Orange Stickers on the thousands of rolls they had. Another store had them priced at .35. Another store had them 2 for $1.

If the rolls weren't so small it would probably make sense to store use all of it for the store restrooms.