Top 10 Problems with Supermarkets: Nothing Super About It

Ah yes, supermarkets, places of convenience. Or are they all that convenient? As everyone knows from my previous articles, I like to complain about most everything. Consider me a young, pessimistic Andy Rooney without his bushy eyebrows. Today, I tackle supermarkets, as only I can!

For some of the examples, I use a large, local supermarket chain called Redner's Markets. I use their recent sales flyer. I also use Weis/King's Supermarkets in some examples but not their flyer.

More for Less:

This has always bugged me. Why does it cost more to get less?

A good example of this is Hormel canned chili. Hormel Chili with Beans costs 10/$10 or $1 per can. Hormel Chili No Beans costs 2/$3 or $1.50 per can. It costs 50 cents more to not include the beans. It's not like they took chili with bans and removed them. The beans were never included! So without beans it should cost less (say 75 cents).

Another example is tea. I'll use Red Rose Tea Bags as an example. Original Premium 100ct. costs $1.99 but Premium Decaffeinated 48ct. costs $1.89. So it costs $3.78 for 96 tea bags, not even an even 100! I know decaffeinated tea requires a special process but not enough to cost more than twice the price of regular tea! For god sake, it has less caffeine! Would drug lords sell weed or cocaine for more if they gave buyers less or adding powder sugar to the mix? I think not!

Whole Vs. Sliced or Parts:

This is another annoying thing: the same food costs excessively more just because it's pre-cut.

I'll use ham as an example. Whole ham vs. deli-cut ham. A Cook's Semi-Boneless Half Ham costs $1.97 per pound. But, Alderfer Tavern Ham costs $4.67 per pound. And, even higher, Healthy Choice Virginia or Honey Ham costs $5.37 per pound. That's more than two and a half times the cost of a whole, uncut piece of ham.

Chicken is another example. Perdue Roasting Chicken is 97 cents per pound. Split Breasts or Roaster Wingettes are $1.77 per pound. So a whole, say 4 pound chicken, costs under $4 but breasts or wing cost $8 for the same weight of parts!

Save your money and buy your meat uncut!

Excessive Price Differences: