[jahsome]

> No one price matches for protein bars because it's a commodity item with minimal price differences (and people often have a preferred brand anyway), but they probably do for $2k laptop.

This is the most "silicon valley" statement I've ever read on this website. Perhaps I'm just being obtuse and misunderstanding, but the assertion people don't price match groceries is so, so wrong. Many, many, many people have no choice. Far more than those regularly purchasing laptops.

[krackers]

>the assertion people don't price match groceries is so, so wrong. Many, many, many people have no choice

I guess I didn't quite say my point clearly, the time and physical cost to get to a grocery store puts up barriers against perfect price matching. You likely are not going to go out of your way to visit a grocery store for just a single item.

And I don't think online delivery will change anything here because shipping is a fixed cost, so price swings less than that will not change any buying habits.

[lijok]

> I guess I didn't quite say my point clearly, the time and physical cost to get to a grocery store puts up barriers against perfect price matching. You likely are not going to go out of your way to visit a grocery store for just a single item.

I think you’re a bit out of touch with the common man. People do this constantly, some to a comical degree, going so far as to make two loops on their shopping trip to return groceries they found cheaper at the next store.

[throwaway2037]

    > People do this constantly, some to a comical degree, going so far as to make two loops on their shopping trip to return groceries they found cheaper at the next store.

To go less far, it is pretty common for normies to have at least two supermarkets in their shopping list: one with lower prices and one with higher prices, but fancier goods.

[suddenlybananas]

I have never heard of someone returning groceries (unless it turned out to be moldy or something). Definitely not because they were cheaper elsewhere. Surely there would be food safety issues with accepting such returns.

[jahsome]

Step into any Walmart and look at the carts in the customer service section full of just-returned merchandise, waiting to be returned to the shelves. You might be surprised with what you see.

[lijok]

Perishables don’t get reshelved, they get binned

[bdangubic]

amazing reading this thread and realizing just how much HN is disconnected from the reality of majority of people in America. returning food and hitting multiple stores is like a daily thing for several people I know

[jahsome]

"It's just a banana hackers, how much could it cost?! $5?"

Though that joke is in desperate need of an inflationary update.

[lossyalgo]

You may be assuming a car-centric approach to shopping, where the distance between stores is large. In cities where shops are mixed into residential areas, people often walk because stores are usually within about 10 minutes, and there are multiple options with different selections and prices.

That makes it easy to rotate: stop by one store one day, another the next, often on the way home from work since you’re taking the subway or bus anyway. For example, I buy most of my groceries at one store, and then pick up certain items in bulk at other stores every 1-3 months when they carry the brand I want at a good price (unless my usual store has a sale). Most people I know do something similar, especially as groceries have gotten more expensive, particularly since COVID.

[GeoAtreides]

>, the time and physical cost to get to a grocery store puts up barriers against perfect price matching. You likely are not going to go out of your way to visit a grocery store for just a single item.

you have never been poor (enough) and it shows

[Tadpole9181]

I'm rather well off and I'll still pay attention to the price of my groceries. Especially luxuries like protein bars. If it's too much, I'll either only get them where they'll cheaper or just outright not buy it.

It's nuts that people genuinely believe statements like this.

[threethirtytwo]

It’s an aspect of the truth. Tons of people don’t price match and tons of people do.

Whats nuts about humans is the quickness of judgement and extremity of statements. Think about this, the man who said that is not actually nuts. And you calling him “nuts” is actually the more ludicrously unrealistic statement.

[krackers]

I also did err by making a blanket statement "no one price matches for protein bars", so GP was right to call it out.

I do understand and see that there are cases in which one's time preference could be such that it is sensible or necessary to price-match at that granularity even when buying a single unit. However even then there's still other constraints such as cost of transportation & reputation of vendor.

Even today you can often find protein bars or name-brand supplements on Amazon for a slightly lower price (including shipping) than supermarkets, but that comes with the risk of adulterated, expired, or tampered products that not everyone will accept for the sake of slightly lower prices.

[threethirtytwo]

>I also did err by making a blanket statement "no one price matches for protein bars", so GP was right to call it out.

This was clearly an error. GP is right to call it out, but not right to characterize it as nuts. It's obvious what you meant.

[jahsome]

It's not that "nuts" to take the literal meaning of people's own words. Calling it "obvious" someone meant something rather than what they actually typed with their own fingers is pretty nuts though. It might be common for folks to misspeak (mistype), but that by no stretch of the imagination makes their actual meaning obvious. It's quite literally the opposite...

[threethirtytwo]

So you’re saying I’m nuts? Do you go to peoples faces and say that?

You’re not nuts. But you are trying to twist the logic to justify your own situation. The correct word to characterize this is “manipulative”.

Clearly, no one is nuts on this thread but some people are just dicks.

It’s completely normal for people to not be literal, and to also mistakenly say something.

[Tadpole9181]

They said "no one". Not even "most", let alone "half" or "some". Those are their words.

To live in a country where tens of millions of people have food insecurity, 50 million rely on food stamps, and the median income is 40,000 while the median rent is 1,700 (20,000/year) and claim no one has to watch their grocery bill to their own inconvenience would be utterly disconnected from the reality of the survival of half of their countrymen.

Anyway, the irony is not lost that you simultaneously advocate for the parent being interpreted non-literally, by intent, but my colloquial, common use of the word "nuts" is "unacceptable".

[threethirtytwo]

>To live in a country where tens of millions of people have food insecurity, 50 million rely on food stamps, and the median income is 40,000 while the median rent is 1,700 (20,000/year) and claim no one has to watch their grocery bill to their own inconvenience would be utterly disconnected from the reality of the survival of half of their countrymen.

Stop turning this into some kind of holier than thou angle. He knows, you know we all know.

>Anyway, the irony is not lost that you simultaneously advocate for the parent being interpreted non-literally, by intent, but my colloquial, common use of the word "nuts" is "unacceptable".

It is, because it's a targetted attack. Let me put it this way, would you say what you said to someones face? Your best friend? You mother? or father and call them nuts because they said something that was off? Would you go on some holier than thou lecture on the amount of people relying on food stamps? You would? Then please continue.

[Tadpole9181]

> it's a targetted attack

What are we, children? You're acting like I insulted their mother and called the police.

> would you say what you said to someones face?

Yes, of course I would. I have. "That's nuts" or "it's nuts" is such a basic, inoffensive phrase and has no bite.

I've also said "incredulous" and "absurd" and "crazy" and a myriad of other adjectives. I've also had my arguments called those things - correctly. Maybe we keep different types of company, but when I'm having an argument/debate with friends or family, they're not so delicate we can't call each other out when one of us is being ridiculous.

> Would you go on some holier than thou lecture on the amount of people relying on food stamps?

Damn, objective facts and counterpoints related directly to the conversation are holier than thou now? I guess I forgot that when people say things diametrically opposed to basic reality, we're all supposed to just ignore it and let it go.

After all, we wouldn't want to be seen as a loon by a random guy on the internet, offended on someone else's behalf over a one syllable word that wasn't even directed at any individual, but an idea.

I mean, heck, that actually sounds kinda nuts.

[krackers]

>or just outright not buy it

Yes, but that is different from going out of your way to purchase the protein bar at the lower price in the place you can find it. You are not going to drive to another supermarket for just the protein bar alone. So there is an intrinsic stickiness. You might hold off on the purchase if you're happening to visit the other store in the near future, but would you drive to a store you've never heard of before /just/ for a bar?

[jahsome]

> but would you drive to a store you've never heard of before /just/ for a bar

Some people have no choice. Checking other stores and planning multiple trips is exactly what they do, e.g. those on fixed income, coupon power-users, etc.

Outside our comfy bubble here, there are a LOT more folks in that camp than those buying luxury goods.