price matching groceries

[Ohioguy]

I was buying up a bunch of snack size slim jim boxes at Wal-Mart the
other day for $2.99 each (box of 16) for Halloween, when I thought I
would go over to the local Kroger and give them some of my business. It
was also partly because the strawberries at Wal-Mart were not in good
shape, and I knew I'd probably be able to get better ones at Kroger.

Anyway, Kroger had the same box of slim jims for $4.29 - 43% more.
They also had some pepperoni flavored ones. I went up to the service
counter and asked what their price matching policy is, and was told "We
don't ever match competitor prices".

Wow. I didn't expect that. Most places I've given business to, when
told that their prices are much higher than other local stores, will
price match to help keep you as a regular shopper.

Up until recently, I've done most of our grocery shopping at Kroger.
However, I've noticed that their prices seem to range from 10% to 45%
more on a variety of items.

In your experience, will most stores price match local competition,
or do they just brush you off like Kroger did when I pointed out how
high their prices were?

[Malcom "Mal" Reynolds]

In article <4eb0083c$0$17650$882e...@usenet-news.net>, Ohioguy <no...@none.net>
wrote:

If the major grocery chains did price matching, they would advertise it very
prominently

[SMS]

On 11/1/2011 7:54 AM, Ohioguy wrote:
> I was buying up a bunch of snack size slim jim boxes at Wal-Mart the
> other day for $2.99 each (box of 16) for Halloween, when I thought I
> would go over to the local Kroger and give them some of my business. It
> was also partly because the strawberries at Wal-Mart were not in good
> shape, and I knew I'd probably be able to get better ones at Kroger.
>
> Anyway, Kroger had the same box of slim jims for $4.29 - 43% more. They
> also had some pepperoni flavored ones. I went up to the service counter
> and asked what their price matching policy is, and was told "We don't
> ever match competitor prices".
>
> Wow. I didn't expect that. Most places I've given business to, when told
> that their prices are much higher than other local stores, will price
> match to help keep you as a regular shopper.

I've never heard of a grocery store that does price matching. There are
so many loss leaders at grocery stores that it would not work.

A lot of non-grocery stores will match advertised prices, but of course
this is not all that useful since you have to have an ad that shows the
prices at the other store.

Target and Walmart do price matching and they do not exclude groceries,
so you could get regular supermarket ads and have Target and Walmart
match them, but they would be of limited value at Walmart since their
prices are almost always lower than standalone supermarket prices. At
Target it might help since Target's grocery prices are very high.

[h]

"SMS" <scharf...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:4eb167ae$0$1697$742e...@news.sonic.net...

> I've never heard of a grocery store that does price matching. There are so
> many loss leaders at grocery stores that it would not work.
>
> A lot of non-grocery stores will match advertised prices, but of course
> this is not all that useful since you have to have an ad that shows the
> prices at the other store.
>
> Target and Walmart do price matching and they do not exclude groceries, so
> you could get regular supermarket ads and have Target and Walmart match
> them, but they would be of limited value at Walmart since their prices are
> almost always lower than standalone supermarket prices. At Target it might
> help since Target's grocery prices are very high.
>

I make custom clothing and sell it on my website and I am ceaselessly amazed
when someone emails me saying, "So and so sells the exact same thing for
half your price. Will you match it?" Answer is no way. Most of the time I am
familiar with the other artisan's products and they are NO WHERE near my
quality, nor are they made to the client's measurements and specifications.
Most of my "Handmade in the USA" competitors I know for a fact have their
stuff made off-shore with inferior materials in generic sizes and colors.
Plus, I draft all my own patterns from my own designs, so there isn't anyone
else who sells "the exact same thing".

Bottom line, unless a store promises a price match guarantee don't expect
one.

[Michael Black]

Of course, it's silly when people expect you to price match. The concept
is about identical items, so if you were going to buy that calculator at
Store A, but see it at Store B for a lower price, Store A would rather
lose the slight difference than lose the sale completely, so they'll price
match.

It can't apply to things unless they are identical, because a vague "this
calculator is sort of like taht calculator" doesn't mean it is the same
one, and if it's different, the price can be different. SOmething you
make can't be matched, because nobody else is making it. Even a 'sort of
like this" cant' qualify, since you have no idea of the other person's
costs and such.

Of course, some stores seem to latch onto this, I gather buying products
that aren't quite the same as sold to other stores, so not only is it not
so easy to compare, but they can get out of price matching since "well
this calculator isn't exactly like that one".

Michael

[frie...@zoocrewphoto.com]

Most stores cannot afford to match Walmart. They pay higher wages, pay
for more employees to offer service, and they don't get the same deals
that walmart does. I work in a grocery store, and we do not price
match.

I do shop at Walmart every 4-6 weeks. There are some things there
where the prices are much better. But the service is usually horrible,
the lines long, and the general atmosphere there is horrible. I also
do not buy any meat, seafood, produce, deli, or bakery items. That's
the sacrifice we accept for the lower prices.