Primo Water deposit scam

[pronto]

This really isn't a scam, more of a case of caveat emptor. But it
deserves a heads up and an alert to your friendly neighborhood grocer.

When you buy large Primo water bottles at HEB or wherever else they
are sold, you pay a $7 deposit on the bottle. Every time you return
to the store with your empty bottle, you push it into a bin that is
part of the Primo water display, it spits out a voucher, and you
redeem that voucher at checkout for the bottle deposit on a new bottle
of Primo water. Fair enough.

BUT on the day you decide to stop using their product, you may as well
tear that voucher up. You will never get your cash back on that
bottle--not from HEB and not from Primo. On that day, you will take a
closer look at the huge bottle display and notice a small disclaimer
about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide telling you that no cash will be
forthcoming. "You own the bottle." That is a direct quote.

So wonderful. I now own a large plastic bottle for $7.00 that no
doubt cost the company about 50 cents to make. And it's up to me to
recycle it or dump it in a landfill somewhere.

Don't worry, I got my $7 worth by going back to HEB and letting them
know how many customers they were likely to be pissing off with this
product's lousy marketing strategy. Maybe if enough people complain,
they will get wise and pull the product off the floor--the way they
unceremoniously dumped their previous water supplier, who at least had
the common sense and ethics not to stick customers with an expensive
final bottle.

Buyer beware!

[Sqwertz]

pronto wrote:

> So wonderful. I now own a large plastic bottle for $7.00 that no
> doubt cost the company about 50 cents to make. And it's up to me to
> recycle it or dump it in a landfill somewhere.

You put it in the corner of your bedroom and throw in all your spare
change. About 20 years later you give it to your kid as a graduation
present on one condition: They have to pick it up.

The bottle costs much more than $.50 to make plus handling. Is the bottle
new or "refurbished"?

> Don't worry, I got my $7 worth by going back to HEB and letting them
> know how many customers they were likely to be pissing off with this
> product's lousy marketing strategy. Maybe if enough people complain,
> they will get wise and pull the product off the floor--the way they
> unceremoniously dumped their previous water supplier, who at least had
> the common sense and ethics not to stick customers with an expensive
> final bottle.

I don't think it's that big of a deal. Did you expect to rent the bottle
for a year (or however long) for free?

Some people would pay $7 just for the bottle alone. It would work great
for growing magic mushrooms (ObFood).

-sw

[pronto]

> Some people would pay $7 just for the bottle alone.  It would work great
> for growing magic mushrooms (ObFood).
>
> -sw

Good idea. Get your seven bucks ready and I'll tell you where to pick
it up.

[Sqwertz]

pronto wrote:
>> Some people would pay $7 just for the bottle alone. It would work great
>> for growing magic mushrooms (ObFood).
>

> Good idea. Get your seven bucks ready and I'll tell you where to pick
> it up.

I probably have close to $7 in pocket change. But I'll just get it from
HEB, where I already stop 4-5 times a week.

Can anybody spare a spore?

-sw

[Sqwertz]

On Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:17:33 -0700 (PDT), pronto wrote:

> BUT on the day you decide to stop using their product, you may as well
> tear that voucher up. You will never get your cash back on that
> bottle--not from HEB and not from Primo. On that day, you will take a
> closer look at the huge bottle display and notice a small disclaimer
> about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide telling you that no cash will be
> forthcoming. "You own the bottle." That is a direct quote.
>
> So wonderful. I now own a large plastic bottle for $7.00 that no
> doubt cost the company about 50 cents to make

.....

> Buyer beware!

This seems pretty clear to me:

"THIS IS NOT A DEPOSIT PROGRAM. NO CASH GIVEN FOR RETURNED BOTTLES.
RECYCLE CREDIT CAN ONLY BE USED FOR PURCHASE OF A PRIMO WATER BOTTLE AT
THE CHECKSTAND. YOU OWN THE BOTTLE."

34" long and 2/3" high.

(I'm still trying to figure out "4 inches long and 2 inches wide" [sic]

-sw

[pronto]

> This seems pretty clear to me:
>
> "THIS IS NOT A DEPOSIT PROGRAM.  NO CASH GIVEN FOR RETURNED BOTTLES.
> RECYCLE CREDIT CAN ONLY BE USED FOR PURCHASE OF A PRIMO WATER BOTTLE AT
> THE CHECKSTAND.  YOU OWN THE BOTTLE."
>
> 34" long and 2/3" high.
>
> (I'm still trying to figure out "4 inches long and 2 inches wide" [sic]
>
> -sw

I didn't bring a ruler into the store with me. But the fact that you
did is telling.

The point is, someone making this purchase for the first time is
unlikely to notice this. I already acknowledged the information is
there. It's just really easy to miss.

I guess I would pay more attention to detail if I was in the habit of
carrying rulers on shopping trips.

[Sqwertz]

On Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:24:53 -0700 (PDT), pronto wrote:

>> This seems pretty clear to me:
>>
>> "THIS IS NOT A DEPOSIT PROGRAM. �NO CASH GIVEN FOR RETURNED BOTTLES.
>> RECYCLE CREDIT CAN ONLY BE USED FOR PURCHASE OF A PRIMO WATER BOTTLE AT
>> THE CHECKSTAND. �YOU OWN THE BOTTLE."
>>
>> 34" long and 2/3" high.
>>
>> (I'm still trying to figure out "4 inches long and 2 inches wide" [sic]
>>
>> -sw
>
> I didn't bring a ruler into the store with me. But the fact that you
> did is telling.

You never know when Monty Hall is going to come up and tell you
he'll give you $500 for a ruler. Or whenever you and you friends
are at the bar arguing about dick sizes.

> The point is, someone making this purchase for the first time is
> unlikely to notice this. I already acknowledged the information is
> there. It's just really easy to miss.

It's only one of 4 things written on the display. I didn't miss it
at all. Its right at eye level and not hard to miss.

> I guess I would pay more attention to detail if I was in the habit of
> carrying rulers on shopping trips.

You might trip over it. It's best you leave it at home so you don't
hurt yourself.

ObFood: Hong Kong Market at Parmer and Metric? Tell me more.
Lunch today will be "chicken and fish fried rice". Yes - it's the
stinky fish rice. I'll be using a meaty salted, dried grouper this
time.

-sw

[Omelet]

In article <49ck44ly...@sqwertz.com>,
Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.composted> wrote:

> You never know when Monty Hall is going to come up and tell you
> he'll give you $500 for a ruler. Or whenever you and you friends
> are at the bar arguing about dick sizes.

<rofl>
That presents a mental picture that's going to haunt me all week!

Thanks a bunch Steve! <sigh>
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.

recfood...@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: recfoodrecip...@yahoogroups.com

[the wharf rat]

In article <49ck44ly...@sqwertz.com>,
Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.composted> wrote:
>

>You never know when Monty Hall is going to come up and tell you
>he'll give you $500 for a ruler. Or whenever you and you friends
>are at the bar arguing about dick sizes.
>

I always carry a tape measure for that. It's too hard to carry
a yardstick around with me just to prove a point.

ObFood, rocky mountain oysters ick I dislike meat but I *really*
dislike organ meats... Liver... Sweetbreads... </cue Living Dead>
Brrrrrraiiiinsssssss.

BTW, I always use vinegar on water deposits.

[Omelet]

In article <h4291a$oeh$1...@reader1.panix.com>,

Ok, that got my vote for funniest post of the week. :-)

[the wharf rat]

In article <fnoc65d3k5uqdvnqc...@4ax.com>,
Peter Principle <petes...@SNIPITgmail.com> wrote:
>
>Or anyone who can guesstimate basic units of measurement. Or

If people are so good at guessing why won't they believe it's
28 inches? That's why I have to carry a tape measure.

ObFood: Anyone need a good 8" chef's knife? They're too small for
me. I know they're 8" because I always have a tape measure handy.

p.s. - sale trade or if you're real nice you can just have one lol

[bdw...@gmail.com]

If you mail them a voucher, they will send you a check for $1.

[Sqwertz]

On 2/19/2016 4:25 PM, bdw...@gmail.com wrote:
> If you mail them a voucher, they will send you a check for $1.
>

I have been stuffing my fat little fucking face again with food I
'borrowed' from:

https://www.austinfoodbank.org/news/honoring-steve-wertz-volunteer-quarter


OK I admit it, I am eating my way through Texas.

Make me a zip code, or two.

[harn...@gmail.com]

Just had the same experience - The best way to cause them to change this unfair policy is to go after their vendors .... i.e. Tell Walmart Food Lion Lowes or wherever you bought their product - what happened - They won't want Primo water taint accepting their business.

[17GA...@student.comancheisd.net]

Primo water can you can actually save you a lot of money if you don't buy new containers. There are safe water dispensers you use to fill up your container for about 25 cents a gallon, or glacier water dispensers for about 30 cents a gallon.

[jfh...@gmail.com]

Here's a unique way to cash in. Take 1 bottle in put it in the bottle bank take the ticket to self check out buy 4 or ever how many by scanning the single ticket the number of times you have bottles. Now you have just purchased water in 5 gal bottles. Keep the empties take the ticket you Bought these bottles with and buy 5 more keepin the bottles. After you've accumulated a large number of bottles use Craig's list sell em for $2 each. Their yours and I sold 85 this way. People take em in and exchange them for full bottles and save 5 bucks and you make 2. It works every time.

[bampfylde...@gmail.com]

<<Take 1 bottle in put it in the bottle bank take the ticket to self check out buy 4 or ever how many by scanning the single ticket the number of times you have bottles. Now you have just purchased water in 5 gal bottles. Keep the empties take the ticket you Bought these bottles with and buy 5 more keepin the bottles.>>

I would have thought each bottle-credit ticket would have a serialized barcode to avoid such theft, no? ...Because, from a legal perspective, what you’re doing is technically “petty theft” in stealing those bottles by only paying for their contents. A word of caution: you claim to have sold 85 of those bottles so far. ($7 x 85= $595) ...which is a Class A Misdemeanor in TX...
[Theft is a class A misdemeanor in Texas if the value of the property or services stolen is $500 or more but less than $1,500. ( § 31.03(e)(3).) The punishment for a class A misdemeanor in Texas is a sentence of confinement in jail for a term of no more than one year, a fine of not more than $4,000, or both.]

[papi...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 10:17:33 AM UTC-5, pronto wrote:
> This really isn't a scam, more of a case of caveat emptor.

https://primowater.com/empty-bottle-credit/