We once again look at various advertised offers that seemingly promise a good deal… at least until you do a little more investigation.
Example 1:
Last month on December 8, CVS advertised “lowest prices of the season” on 500 count bottles of CVS ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and aspirin — bottles were only $9.79.
There’s just one problem. Two weeks earlier, Consumer World’s “bargain of the week” featured a sale on some of the same CVS pills when they were only $5.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Thanks for nothing, CVS.
Example 2:
Plant-based burgers are all the rage now with the two leading brands, Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger, finding their way into chain restaurants and the meat counter at your favorite store. When MrConsumer saw that super discounter Aldi was now carrying Beyond Burger he got excited expecting to finally find them on sale at an affordable price.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Here they claim that their price for Beyond Burger is “budget-approved.” But a closer inspection of the ad reveals that for $4.49 you only get two burgers with the package weighing a total of only eight ounces. Even organic beef is cheaper — $4.49 for a full pound (in this large package).
Thanks for nothing, Aldi.
Example 3:
At one of the Kmart stores that was not going out of business at the time, they were having a clearance sale on some items.
Wow, what a deal. Thanks for nothing, Kmart.
To be fair, “budget-approved” doesn’t mean cheaper than all other alternatives.
8 oz for 4.49 for plant based meat is fair price at the moment.
When they can fully ramp up production to fulfill the masses that want it then the price can go down.
Even Beyond Meat had to say no to McDonald’s as they could not supply enough of the product.
The aspirin in the first example are two different types, so really can’t be compared. The aspirin for $9.79 is a ‘low dose’ enteric (which is always more expensive) & the aspirin for $5.00 is the 325mg ‘uncoated’, which is a really good price for a retail drug store. I generally buy my aspirin at the ‘dollar store’, it’s $1.00 for 140.
Edgar replies: Gert, I did not say all the items were $5 two weeks earlier, but the acetaminophen was. The bottles are identical.
“Budget approved?” What the hell does that mean?
To be fair, the Beyond Beef at Target and elsewhere normally appears to cost 5.99$ for 8-oz, so it is a deal for that particular product.
That Kmart clearance amount is hilarious. It must have cost more than a penny to lower the price by a penny.