Caregiver, beware! Sometimes a sale is not a sale.
This edition of Avadian Musings focuses on consumer value of paper towels, cherries, walnuts, and milk.
Paper Towels – Same Price, Less Product
Like any other merchant who wants to move product, Costco offers sales on its paper products like Bounty paper towels and Charmin toilet paper. However, while it and its manufacturers and suppliers eagerly let us know that we’re getting more (such as toilet paper rolls that are 4.5 inches wide instead of 4 inches), why don’t we ever learn when we’re getting less for the same price.
An example, the Bounty paper towels pictured below were both purchased within 4 months, earlier this year. The second purchase shows that we’re getting 7 fewer sheets per roll or 96 fewer sheets in a 12-pack.
Essentially, we’re LOSING ONE ENTIRE ROLL!
Recently, CNN Money reported that P&G, the makers of these products, will be raising their prices.
Cherries – More Money and Worth Every Penny
A month ago, I went to Costco and they had strawberry cherries. They were the most expensive price, at $2 to $3 more per pound than I had seen this season. They looked delicious. But I tend to be wary, as looks don’t always translate into taste. Consider the gargantuan California peach vs. the smaller Georgia peach. I found the latter to be bursting with juicier flavor than the former.
So, I walked away from the cherries.
While shopping, I kept thinking about how delicious they appeared. During a momentary hot flash, I returned to the refrigerated produce room and wondered: Are these strawberry cherries a Yakima, Washington gimmick?
They looked really good!
I decided to pay the $6 or $7 a pound for these delectable-looking treats.
WOAH! They were DELICIOUS!
Pictured here (unwashed) in my late-June Facebook post.
Have you heard of strawberry cherries? I hadn't. They're delectable treats from Yakima Washington – sweet 'n big. Found…
Posted by Brenda Avadian on Saturday, June 30, 2018
Less Money and NOT Worth It
Late in the season, the heavily discounted ($1.50 a pound) Northeast cherries were definitely not worth it. They were soft in texture, quick to break down, and certainly not very cherry-flavored. The lowest price of the season also reflected the lowest quality. Into the morning oatmeal they go with either raisins or honey to sweeten them!
Walnuts – What Does “Packed-on Date” Really Mean?
There’s a small Middle Eastern store I love to shop at because the grapes are most flavorful when in season. I believe the grapes are grown in Fresno. The Persian bread saves me a 100+ mile round trip to Los Angeles. The raisins are fresh (during and shortly after the California grape season) and they offer dried mulberries. I prefer the brand of tahini they sell and their flavorful toasted sesame seeds.
When their walnuts are newly stocked and plentiful, they are exquisite. Once, even though their packed-on date was within two weeks, I questioned the quality of walnuts. They appeared mixed – some appearing dried out among the fresher pieces. I still bought them. I ended up painstakingly separating the fresh morsels from the older-tasting pieces that I added to my oatmeal. I wondered if they combined last year’s unsold supply with this year’s.
What does “Packed-on Date” really mean?
Milk – Why Such a Wide Price Difference?
I was born and raised in the Dairy State – Wisconsin. That means I need my milk and cheese. But why is it, I pay $4.50 for a half-gallon of organic whole milk when I can get a bit less than a whole gallon for about the same price Trader Joe’s charges for a non-organic quart at $1.29?
Organic vs. regular – really, a 43% price difference?
