The first problem is the one Debbie just pointed out. It smacks of false advertising but to be fair is probably more likely due either to clerical error or to unit price labels lagging product downsizing . It’s when the package quantity on the shelf’s unit price label does not match the quantity of the package. The specific case I noticed at Copps today is for a bag of Kettle Cooked cracked pepper flavor potato chips. The shelf’s unit price label indicates 16 ounces and, as you’d expect, the unit price (price per ounce) on the label is based on a 16 ounce package size. But the label is for a 14 ounce bag! The unit price is wrong! It gives the impression that the chips are less expensive than they really are.

The second problem is more common. I often see a lack of consistency in the units used for unit pricing. This is more a case of sloppiness than inaccurate labeling, but it still renders the unit price worthless. The example I noticed at Copps today involved three different size choices for bags of Kit Kat candy bars. Each bag choice not only had a different number of candy bars, but the candy bars themselves were different sizes. Two of the bags had a unit price based on price per “package” (”package” meaning candy bar, not the whole bag) but the candy bars were not the same size! To make things even more confusing, the third bag had a unit price based on ounces. So, bag size A has a per-candy-bar unit price for a big candy bar, bag size B has a per-candy-bar unit price for a smaller candy bar, and bag size C has a cost per ounce unit price. If the units aren’t the same, why bother with unit prices at all?

Also I usually visit three or four stores in a week to pick up loss leaders. Sometimes the store you shop least has unexpected bargains at much better prices than anywhere else.

I always watch the register – the folks who set the (often daily) cost changes don’t necessarily get all their changes migrated to the field. I don’t think there’s (generally) any lying involved – just minor system failures that require us – the consumer – to be more vigilant.

Of course, the psychology is such that many people buy 3 at a time, giving the store more profit through volume.

But your example is much worse!

I’ve found that doing all your shopping at one store is a really bad idea. Know your stores — most of them are consistently lower on some items and higher than others. The Food Lion here is almost always 10-20 % higher on coffee, orange juice and ice cream than the Giant, but is often cheaper on a number of other items. Even Wal-Mart (which is allowed to include a supermarket section here) — it has great prices on a lot of things (the package of hot dogs that is $5 or more elsewhere is under $3, as just one example), but you do *not* want to buy tuna fish there except on their rare “roll-back’s.” With a little knowledge and planning, you can beat the system!