Discount cards at the supermarket: good or bad?

[JVS]

I like them. I get one for every store I can.

[auntAgonist]

1. I save a lot of

money when I use my Kroger card. It's a good thing.

aA

[pitohui]

23. how can you save a lot of money at kroger?

jeez, even w. card that store is scary expensive

i had to shop there when evacuated and also when caring for a relative w. heart disease, it was enough to give ME heart disease

they are frickin extortionists!

[auntAgonist]

28. my experience is such that

I specifically shop for buy one get one free items. A lot of their regularly priced merchandise is expensive. You have to know what you are looking for.
I buy meat from a butcher just north of town.
I buy fresh produce from roadside vendors when I can.
I shop Kroger for specials.

extortionists? That's pretty harsh, but you have a right to your opinion of course.

aA
:hi:

[Ariana Celeste]

2. I use one at Marsh

I can hardly afford not to with as much as we like to eat. :D Plus I have to have the card to rent movies from Marsh- and since they are just a block away I'd rather rent from them then have to walk for a 20-30 minutes. :)

[azmouse]

3. I hate them and will never get one.

http://www.nocards.org/overview/index.shtml

[JVS]

12. Thanks for the link

[LynneSin]

17. I use to think like that

and then I realized that I would then be overcharged for boycotting

:shrug:

I figured I have bigger battles to fight than this one

[azmouse]

30. From nocards.org:

Q. If I stop using my supermarket club card, won't I have to pay a lot more for my groceries?

Yes, you absolutely will! And now you've gotten to the real point of this whole website -- you're staring straight down the barrel of their gun. I don't care how much your supermarket talks about sweetness and rewards, if you don't comply "voluntarily" this is their weapon and they'll turn it on you.

To make sure you see what a dirty, ugly, arm-twisting, threatening bully your supermarket really is, let me repeat it:

If you stop using your supermarket club card, you will have to pay a lot more for your groceries.

Consider the implications of that for a moment and you'll see why it is so crucial that we put an end to these programs.

We've got to stop supermarkets from manipulating us into surrendering one of our most intimate possessions -- the ability to make reasoned, non-coercive decisions about how and to whom to disclose intimate information about ourselves. How can supermarkets justify this vicious mistreatment of the very patrons who keep them in business? Is this any way to treat "loyal" customers?

[LynneSin]

33. Like I said - I have bigger battles to fight

:shrug:

I can't protest everything; although I wish I could. But money is tight and the savings are too much for me to turn my back on it. I mean, everything else is known about me so if the government wants to know that I use Skippy Peanut Butter or use OB Feminine Products then so be it.

[Gormy Cuss]

18. One of the most successful cons pulled on consumers in recent decades.

I have never seen a market basket survey that showed these cards saved money over old fashioned sales. The main reason is if one buys into the affinity plan and buys all the groceries etc. at that store, the store makes up the cost of the program through the inflated prices on items that don't have card discounts.

I can avoid the stores that use this gimmick and do.

[WCGreen]

22. Well I know that...

But there are things you can buy that are such a deal...

Like eight cans of campbell's soup for 2 bucks....

We go for that stuff and the Fresh meat...

We buy most of out staples at COSTCO...

We watch but still eat well and picky for about 225 month...

[azmouse]

29. For me it's a privacy issue.

I won't give the store the right to use my shopping information. I've also stopped using my debit card to pay for groceries because that is just another way they can track what you buy.
It's simply none of their business what is in my shopping cart.

[txwhitedove]

4. Kroger card excellent, and our store has a gas station for

extra savings. Unfortunately, Kroger donates Repub, but so does Wal-Mart. Most prices comparable and Kroger is a lot more fun with wine and cheese tasting and live music on weekend!

[Midlodemocrat]

8. I don't have a lot of choices here, but I do shop at Kroger

most of the time. I love the gas discount. Only $.10, but for my van that translates into a couple of dollars.

[underpants]

11. Yeah but they are a union shop

even here in Va.

I have a Kroger card.

[txwhitedove]

21. Good to know. Our Kroger is smart enough to carry dollar-store...

items, even a generic brand milk $1.00/gal, so it really can be a savings.

[warrens]

5. Good

You get the people too lazy to get a card or use it to subsidize your purchases. If they just ran sales on all those items, the sale prices would be 10 percent higher. It's a gimmick, but it's one that works for me.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. Good.

I also get United Mileage Plus miles for using mine. :)

[progmom]

7. I like paying more for groceries.

:patriot:

[Midlodemocrat]

9. You, ma'am, are a true patriot!

I bet you would NEVER inquire about a wine discount.

I salute you.

:patriot:

[progmom]

10. I roll my eyes in your general direction.

:patriot: :bounce: :patriot:

[Midlodemocrat]

14. .

:rofl:

:loveya:

[auntAgonist]

13. I'll send YOU my list then

:rofl:

:hi:

aA

[Taverner]

15. Sure - why not?

If they are compiling data on what I buy in order to carry that stock in similar places I shop - go for it!

[hunter]

16. Do I have to use my own name and phone number?

I'm just curious.

:evilgrin:

[pitohui]

25. no you can use any name and phone number you like

however if you use your real address, then sometimes you will get coupons in the mail for free stuff

[hunter]

32. Ah, fake name, homeless shelter address. Got it.

;)

[Suich]

26. I got mine from a neighbor.

It's real small and fits on my key ring. I have no idea what name or phone number it's under...I could care less! To answer your question, you can put whatever name, address and phone # you want.

[devilgrrl]

19. My crazy friends signed up with a fake name...

we use (area code) SEX-FUCK as the number, it's good at all the chain supermarkets in my area.

[pitohui]

20. bad

it's better to not have to fumble w. a card than to fumble w. a card

i shop at 3 grocery stores -- the 2 that don't require cards to get the discounts are also, and prob. not by chance, the two with the best prices, they are rouse's and walmart's food center

unfortunately the third store is sav-a-center (the former a&p) which has TERRIBLE prices without the card and only barely acceptable prices w. card, i would never go there except it is the one closest to my house

it is indisputable around here that the bookkeeping costs of maintaining those cards has led to much higher prices at the store that uses the cards

they are just horrible, get your privacy violated and pay more to boot

now walmart is walmart, cheap but no selection

but rouses is a WONDERFUL store -- w. wine tastings, cooking lessons, beer tastings, shrimp guy selling shrimp off the boat every weekend, even live music on occasion -- yet they can still not have loyalty cards and keep a clean store w. fair prices

so why is that, i ask you?

the stupid cards suck

[Midlodemocrat]

24. Here, my grocery store cards are little ones on my keychain.

and I don't really mind giving my name and information. Most of the stores track your purchases and if you spend a certain amount of $ in a certain time period, you can get free turkey, ham, etc. I LOVE getting those because it helps out the food pantry at my church.

[pitohui]

27. yes i have those awful peeling keychains too

even petsmart is doing it, frankly, to me it's a nuisance but i can't throw away money

yes, occasionally sav-a-center gives us a free turkey for spending $25 (alcohol not included) but i hate to say it, but i'm so poor that i eat the turkey myself!

[Midlodemocrat]

31. You shouldn't hate to say it.

That's why I like the discounts...helping folks who need a little helping hand at the moment.

[nosillies]

34. My local store, Publix, eschews cards.

They say their prices are always low. But not as low as Wal-Mart!

I use my CVS card all the time. I get awesome rewards (like $5 off coupons all the time) and they don't take any personal info from you.

[Heddi]

35. Fred Meyer has a card, but not connected to discounts

You don't get "special deals" if you're a card holder. Instead, you get your card scanned during your transaction. They add up all the points you've spent during a pre-determined amount of time (I think it's every quarter, or something) and then you get coupons for 10% of what you spent during that quarter. And they're good coupons---in addition to the coupons that equal 10% of what you spent, they give you others like $3 off any produce purchase of $5 or more, $3 off any meat purchase of $5 or more, and $3 off any dairy purchase of $ or more.

But the store prices aren't tied to the card--you get their sale prices regardless of whether you have a card or not.

Seeing as Fred Meyer (in my opinion) is the least expensive in our area and has a much better selection (has a really great organic/natural food/vegetarian section) than any other store in town, I figured "what the hell". I buy the same groceries I would have whether I had the card or not---I just get a bonus every 3 months and can save a bunch of money on the things I"d normally buy anyway (meat, dariy, produce


I have found, though, that stores that tie direct savings/sales in with their cards have higher prices on non-discounted food anyway. Safeway is one of tem. Yeah, you can get a loaf of bread for $.30 with their card, but you're going to pay $2 more for a 12 pack of beer, or .80 on a dozen eggs.....so the savings are neglegable and I've found that 99% of the time, the "savings" are of no use to anyone--they're so random that you can't save a bunch of money for a 'normal' shopping trip--at least for our family as well.

Oh and those 10 for $10 deals---what a rip off. They're selling the idea of "Wow! That's cheap!I can get a bunch" when the sad truth is, most of those items go for BELOW $1 on non-sale days...so you end up spending MORE when you think you're getting something for CHEAP!

[JVS]

36. I once got a lb of ground turkey breast at $10 for 10 (actually $3 for 3)

and it was cheaper than I had ever seen it. But I do think that you have to look at the deal and say "is this really a good deal?"