When you buy something on sale but find it even cheaper elsewhere
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (44537)
Staten Island, New York
March 22, 2021 1:14pm CST
Sunday, hubby and I went to three different stores for grocery shopping.
We bought Friendship sour cream at the Russian grocery store for $1.99. It usually sells there for $2.49, so that was a good discounted price. When we got to the first supermarket we noticed that it was on sale there for $1.77.
We bought matzo ball mix and potato latkes mix at the first supermarket, both of which were on sale, but when we got to the second supermarket I noticed the exact same ones were even cheaper there. I think at least 50 cents cheaper.
Bummer! I hate when that happens. And I hate overpaying but at least we still saved some money originally.
At the Russian grocery store while we were checking out I kept an eye on everything the girl was scanning/ringing up and good thing I did that before we paid because some of the stuff was incorrect.
Yellow onions (69 cents/pound) were rung up as (sweet) vidalia onions ($1.29/pound) and green bell pepper ($1.99/pound) was rung up as Cubanelle pepper ($2.99/pound). I pointed that out to the girl.
For the onions, she went back to the shelf to check the product code, voided what she originally did, and did it correctly the second time around. For the pepper, she stayed at the register, did not void what she did, but just modified the price per pound, which gave me a correct and lower total.
She also made a mistake with the chebolita onion, ringing it up as scallion. They do look similar. And if you are not familiar with chebolita onion I guess you may think it's a scallion. Maybe that's what happened. Or perhaps she just didn't know the correct code. I was gonna say that she made another mistake but since scallion is cheaper I decided not to bother.
I got a feeling that perhaps she was not happy about me pointing stuff out to her and her having to correct it, but I wasn't going to let it slide. I shouldn't have to overpay for something, no matter how big or small the amount may be, especially when the cashier is making mistakes.
9 people like this
10 responses
@cmoneyspinner (9219)
• Austin, Texas
26 Mar 21
Well first of all, I'm a loyal shopper. I only shop for grocery at 2 stores. I pretty much know the prices of everything so I know when I'm getting a bargain. In fact, the only reason I shop at these 2 stores is because when I have gone to the other stores in my area, they couldn't beat their prices. I don't get too perturbed when I find a product at a lower price because, overall, I'm a satisfied customer at both stores. Their prices are reasonable when they are not on sale. So when they put something on On Sale, I feel like I'm in Candyland. 
I'm pretty sure folks who work at one of the stores - cashiers, the produce people, the managers, etc. - know me because I'm there so often. The customer service is good. At the other store, I usually go through the self-checkout lane.
I'm pretty sure folks who work at one of the stores - cashiers, the produce people, the managers, etc. - know me because I'm there so often. The customer service is good. At the other store, I usually go through the self-checkout lane.1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9219)
• Austin, Texas
26 Mar 21
@lovebuglena - Local to my area but also part of a major chain. One of the stores is in Texas and Mexico.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 21
Are these two stores local to your area or are they chains?
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (89882)
• Arvada, Colorado
25 Mar 21
Yes that is frustrating to find it cheaper after you already bought it
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Mar 21
At least what we bought was on sale. However, I looked at the receipt and noticed that the potato latkes mix we bought was not on sale. The price didn't seem expensive though.
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10145)
• United States
22 Mar 21
I've gotten in the habit of checking prices on things through the grocery stores' apps for just that reason. Sometimes it's worth it to pay a bit more for something just for the convenience.
I don't blame you for not wanting to overpay for your produce just because it was rung up incorrectly. It might be just a small amount, but why pay almost twice as much for onions as you should? Those little amounts all add up over time! 
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Mar 21
We have circulars that we get once a week for different stores. I sometimes look through them before going shopping. Not all items that are on sale in the store are in the circulars though. Still, I wish I had looked through them before yesterday's shopping. Would have saved us even more money. And I love saving.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 21
I almost always use the self-checkout lanes, so any mistakes that are made are mistakes on my part. I hate going through the regular checkout lines because the cashiers are so freaking slow. If they went any slower, they'd be going in reverse.
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
24 Mar 21
Sometimes the cashiers are way too fast and you can't keep up with what they are scanning. And you only spot mistakes after you've paid.
I hate it when cashiers start scanning your stuff as you are unloading the cart. You can't see what they are doing when that happens. Very frustrating. Sometimes I prefer to go to the register that has someone checking out, rather than an empty one, just to avoid that happening.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121582)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Mar 21
@lovebuglena I prefer a fast cashier, but maybe they all work up north where you live, because I can tell you there aren't any fast cashiers anywhere down here in the south. They all just want to gab and chit-chat with the customers. Apparently, they can't talk and scan at the same time, so it takes forever to get through a checkout line. I hate it. I want to get in and get out as fast as I can.
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
24 Mar 21
@moffittjc I've seen some at my local supermarket. Super fast scanning. One of them was doing that when I was checking out. I couldn't keep up.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (178568)
• United States
23 Mar 21
It's good that you watch what the cashier is ringing up.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
23 Mar 21
Yeah. Sometimes I don't notice a mistake till after we paid, especially when the cashier is going too fast with the scanning. Glad that I spoke up though.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (38721)
• United States
22 Mar 21
You really have to be careful of people when they scan, I learned the hard way.
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Mar 21
Definitely. I wonder how many people end up overpaying for stuff because they do not check what the cashier is doing.
@kaylachan (69714)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
22 Mar 21
She probably hates you, and will complain when she has a chance. However, I agree. You could wind up over paying if you're not watching. Some stores have a monitor so the customers can see prices and make sure they aren't over paying.
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Mar 21
That is the case in this store. There is a big screen at the register where you can see everything that is scanned/rung up.
@lovebuglena (44537)
• Staten Island, New York
23 Mar 21
It was a bummer to find the stuff we bought even cheaper elsewhere.
