How to know which store is cheaper overall?

[Kathleen04]

How can you get this type of information?..I know that they publish reports every year or so of which is the cheapest grocery store overall, etc. Does anyone know where to find this?

Thanks.

[NMDemDist2]

1. wow! i didn't know there was such a report

I'll be interested to see it, hope someone has a link for you (us)

[sbj405]

2. Don't know about the report, but I know some people keep price books

For items you purchase regularly documenting the price at various stores.
http://www.cheapcooking.com/pricebook.htm

[politicat]

3. I keep my receipts. I have a spike in my office and I compare them every

so often.

But I have to admit that with only three choices locally (Albertson's, King Sooper's and Safeway), and with two of those being either not union friendly or in other ways scary, I'm a single store type of girl. Primarily, we shop at Costco, and do so about once every 6 weeks.

There are no independent groceries within 15 miles (there are two - one in North Boulder and one in Longmont) and Whole Foods and Wild Oats are too rich for my blood when we can get most everything we really like from Costco.

Buying in bulk really helps with the savings. Now if I could only do the same thing for medicines....

[hvn_nbr_2]

4. A couple points about comparison pricing

Weekly sales, if stuff you want is on sale, can significantly affect which store is cheaper this week.

Check your receipts! For years I've been writing down the price of everything I put in my grocery cart, according to the shelf signs. Almost every time I go to a big chain supermarket, some scanned prices will be different from the price on the shelf, and more than 95% of the "errors" are in the store's favor.

Side note to Politicat: You mentioned Albertson's. The chain is being sold. According to the article in my local paper, the unions are reasonably happy about it because the chain that's buying most of them is more union-friendly than Albertson's.

[Digit]

5. Check policies within the store on incorrect scanned prices

Sometimes you get it for free if you bring it to their attention. They will most often try to give you the difference unless you press them...(I do).
The last time a food store did this, I had given them my discount card, and had ASKED if they had scanned it. They claimed they had, but in checking the receipt, I found the discounts had not taken affect. It amounted to over $6.00 which is no small change!
I had chosen things BASED on the discount, and if I had not been vigilant, would have lost that money.

[hvn_nbr_2]

6. Item free if it scans incorrectly

One chain in my area has that policy because they're under a court order, which resulted from lots of cases of bad scanning. But going back to the store for a refund is a pain; it basically means making two trips to the store for every one shopping trip. Since I get most of my groceries at Trader Joe's and only go to the supermarket about once a month, getting a refund means making a special trip. I guess I could stand in the store after checkout to check all the prices, but that would be a nuisance, not to mention the frozen stuff melting while I do it.

[politicat]

7. Cool.

It still won't change my shopping habits, though. The local Albertson's has allowed customers to abuse me (I was wearing a darwin fish shirt and this Fundy Freak (tm) started yelling at me in the middle of Produce to move to Iran.... :eyes: and they didn't do a thing about it) they allow the Boy Scouts to set up out front and do recruiting; lots of other things that make me not ever want to set foot in their store or give them a damn dime.