You can't even trust the cost per ounce info in grocery stores anymore

[Jimbo]

I've noticed some of this too, and a bigger trend I've noticed lately is that buying bigger quantities isn't always cheaper anymore. Take Pepsi for example. At several of our local stores it is cheaper per ounce to buy the 1.25l bottles (and buy more of them) than it is to buy the 2 liter bottles when you break it down to a per ounce price. Also, Food Lion is bad about jacking up prices before Buy one get one free sales. They'll have a BOGO offer where you get the second one free, but raise the price for one to nearly the same price or higher than it would be to just buy two of the item at another store outright.

Another big trap people fall for are Dollar General and Dollar Tree. Typically their quantities are smaller, and priced higher per ounce than what you would see at Wal-Mart for example. I saw someone in line the last time I was in Dollar Tree with 6 items at $1.50 each. Four of them could've been had for less than $1 at Wal-Mart. The crazier thing is the Dollar Tree is in a shopping strip mall located in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Convenience ... I guess.
Personally, I'm not bouncing around stores to save .50 cents

 

[(((Garyd)))]

Well, they don't call it a pound anymore ....

Ice cream is that way too, use to be a half gallon, now its 1.5 quart or some say 48 oz

Is it real Ice-cream?

 

[Jimbo]

Is it real Ice-cream?

Is it Real Ice cream ???
Depends on what your talking about.

 

[(((Garyd)))]

Is it Real Ice cream ???
Depends on what your talking about.

Most don't have any milk in them

 

[Jimbo]

Most don't have any milk in them

REAL Ice Cream Does have Milk ... many of them are just Frozen desserts, pretending to be Ice Cream.

 

[(((Garyd)))]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/10/18/egg-prices-conspiracy-affordability-issue-01100411?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nname=playbook&nrid=0000015d-5413-d075-a77f-f773bc500000

Maybe There Was an Egg Cartel After All​

 

[telstar_1]

I would think that all the packaging would already be accounted for ... they weigh the container, subtract that from the scale, then add the product , so its weighing the Product only

I believe that per federal law the "net weight" of the given commodity, without regard to its packaging or the particular weight of that, must be clearly stated by the producer on the packaging. As in "Net wt. 2 lbs., 7 oz." So now the stores themselves commonly state a $ "per oz." or "per count" figure at the shelf whereas they never used to, supposedly to help people to comparison shop and/or to demonstrate that they are offering good prices. I would make the first assumption that they are simply taking the product label net weight and translating from that, as that would seem both the most logical as well as the easiest. If they're otherwise plopping the product onto a scale to arrive at a stated unit cost, then obviously that adds time & effort.

The ultimate question would be, if they are doing that, what really would it gain them? They'd get to show a very slightly lower unit price, but then presumably the competition between brands would still be even. I don't see how it can really much matter, but on principle there should be rules in this regard.

 

[telstar_1]

REAL Ice Cream Does have Milk ... many of them are just Frozen desserts, pretending to be Ice Cream.

For years the soft-serve places had to post signage stating that "We serve ice milk".

 

[Juan]

I believe that per federal law the "net weight" of the given commodity, without regard to its packaging or the particular weight of that, must be clearly stated by the producer on the packaging. As in "Net wt. 2 lbs., 7 oz." So now the stores themselves commonly state a $ "per oz." or "per count" figure at the shelf whereas they never used to, supposedly to help people to comparison shop and/or to demonstrate that they are offering good prices. I would make the first assumption that they are simply taking the product label net weight and translating from that, as that would seem both the most logical as well as the easiest. If they're otherwise plopping the product onto a scale to arrive at a stated unit cost, then obviously that adds time & effort.

The ultimate question would be, if they are doing that, what really would it gain them? They'd get to show a very slightly lower unit price, but then presumably the competition between brands would still be even. I don't see how it can really much matter, but on principle there should be rules in this regard.

It's probably just a programming error in the price labeling computer

 

[TRG]

I buy my coffee beans from a local small batch roaster. The scale they use has a large stainless steel bowl on top. They scoop the beans from large mylar bags containing the roast of your choice. After weighing the coffee the beans are poured into a bag or ground, your choice. I have a grinder and prefer grinding right before I brew.

 

[NYDutch]

Most don't have any milk in them

Ice cream must meet the follow standards:

Contain at least 10% milkfat (from real dairy/cream).
Weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon.
Contain at least 1.6 pounds of total solids per gallon and at least 20% total milk solids.
Contain no more than 100% overrun (the amount of air whipped into the mixture).

Products that don't meet those standards must still contain some milkfat and milk solids to be labeled a "frozen dairy dessert".

 

[dishstaller]

The larger discrepancies are likely from a data or sync issue. Digital tags don't cause the error, but they can spread one bad entry across a whole store or region instantly. The small cent differences are probably just rounding in the weight, the price data, or both.

It's simple math. You take the price and divide by the number of ounces and come up with the price per ounce. I find it hard to believe that Walmart's computers can't carry out simple division.

 

[meStevo]

It's simple math. You take the price and divide by the number of ounces and come up with the price per ounce. I find it hard to believe that Walmart's computers can't carry out simple division.

The division isn't the problem, the inputs are. On the Starbucks pods, $9.22 @ $3.35/oz works out to 2.75 oz, but the box is 1.94 oz. So either the system has the wrong weight on file, or the unit price is left over from an older price of about $6.50 that never got updated. Garbage in, garbage out. Walmart's had unit-pricing data problems before, too - in 2024 they paid $1.64M to settle with New Jersey after inspectors found 2,000+ instances of unit prices using the wrong unit of measure.

 

[dishstaller]

Garbage in, garbage out.

THAT is most likely the culprit.

in 2024 they paid $1.64M to settle with New Jersey after inspectors found 2,000+ instances of unit prices using the wrong unit of measure.

So....its intentional. The new fine needs to be a billion $...that would cause someone to fix the issue.

 

[Yespage]

Most don't have any milk in them

*nit pick* You want cream or more precisely FAT to make ice cream. Milk isn't heavy enough. When making my own, I use half and half.

 

[Yespage]

The division isn't the problem, the inputs are. On the Starbucks pods, $9.22 @ $3.35/oz works out to 2.75 oz, but the box is 1.94 oz. So either the system has the wrong weight on file, or the unit price is left over from an older price of about $6.50 that never got updated. Garbage in, garbage out. Walmart's had unit-pricing data problems before, too - in 2024 they paid $1.64M to settle with New Jersey after inspectors found 2,000+ instances of unit prices using the wrong unit of measure.

Wrong unit of measure? Having a hard time believing that or were they conflating solid and fluid ounces (stupid US measuring system).

The first two coffees aren't off on the same amount, so likely the unit price is linked to some previous price. Now I have to *bleeping* double check more math? Does anyone check anything anymore? Bad enough in the professional world having to QA/QC a third party's work. Don't want to have to do that in the grocery store now too! Not with the absurd measures that are used in the US. Is that unit price for blueberries in ounces or pints...

First world problems, but man... argh!!!

 

[TRG]

Wrong unit of measure? Having a hard time believing that or were they conflating solid and fluid ounces (stupid US measuring system).

Not with the absurd measures that are used in the US. Is that unit price for blueberries in ounces or pints...

You always have the option of moving to a country that uses a unit of measurement that better suits your needs.

 

[dishstaller]

Thought this might be a nice diversion, this same guy audited Publix's package weight....yes, I know this is different from the original post on this thread.....and it was accurate.


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