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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Beware Walmart's Prices for the Holidays

Since I am frugal, I scope out prices even if I have no intention of buying that day. Of course, I am in the stores for purchasing other items instead of visiting for a price check. Parsimonious me will go just to price check, but I was not doing so this week. As I visited three stores this week and purchased sale items from each, I was horrified.

SAVE? Ummm, No!
The little WM "magazine" type ad showed up in the mail. It even had two staples in the spine.  "Save on everything you need."

Compare these prices
No, not really. Specifically, I am talking about items on the grocery side of our Super Center. Domino's sugar was $4.12. At two other stores in town, sugar was $3.68. That is only one of about a dozen examples I found. If this were just the economy, I would expect to find prices like this at other stores. Nope! The local chain and the national chain both have lower prices on many items.

Sugar in the five-pound bag went from $0.64/lb this summer to $0.82/lb currently. When it goes on sale for less than $0.64/lb, I will be stocking up. But, I had emptied the sugar bowl and the cannister by shaking both upside down over my bowl of oats. Finally, I used Confectioner's Sugar.

Turkey-sized oven bags, listed as a roll-back price, don't even have the price listed. However, they are the same price as bags in the other two stores I mentioned. Turkey bags are one of my few luxuries. And, I had a coupon when I bought them elsewhere!

Comparison shopping
You may not have time to do this, but a cruise-through another grocery store other than Walmart might help you decide where to buy some of your groceries. My town is small, so I can afford the time and gas to do this.

Now that you have this heads-up, maybe you can avoid SOME of your Walmart shopping.  "Save Money. Live better." I don't think you can save as much at Walmart as you think. I know you can save more than their ads imply.

I hate Walmart
Okay, I need their savings. But, I do hate their policies. I shop there as little as I can. That is why I am current on prices of items I use. Since the holidays are eminent, I made the commitment to find out about things I will use specifically this season.

Your turn
Does anyone know if their toy sales ads are as deceptive as the grocery ads?

2 comments:

  1. I think Walmart is deceptive in many ways. I go only about twice a year...I notice they ostentatiously match the good produce deals at other groceries with large displays. Except for Cabot cheddar, their grocery prices are far above what I generally pay--though I usually buy on sale.

    I also have noticed that items are not in alignment with shelf prices. So if you're not careful, you might pick up the higher priced items.

    I could go on...

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  2. Frugal Scholar, I agree. We have to be on our toes to catch mistakes in pricing. I am not shy about the fact I am watching prices as they are scanned. Yes, I will wait for a price-check. Most of the time, I am right when I dispute a price.

    I don't do the price-match deal. It does not seem right to me. Occassionally, I will but only if the other store is out and I need the item right now...not often. Rarely do I buy anything that is NOT on sale. I prefer a coupon then to make the item free or almost free.

    Feel free to go on. I write notoriously long replies!

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.