Were getting the short end at grocery stores
 

This weeks food circular back home.

https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...FC_ME_1006.pdf

Just left Winn Dixe without buying a thing
just shaking my head.

No argument from me. When I visit friends in Georgia I'm always amazed at the prices in THEIR Publix stores. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I shop Aldis and Wal-mart. Only go to Publix or Winn Dixie if they have a good meat sale. Otherwise I get meat at Sams Club. I can't imagine what a cart full of groceries must cost at Publix or WD. We went to WD to get a bag of some type of snack ( chips, etc). They were more than double the cost from Aldis.....didn’t buy them. Some people prefer the real grocery store atmosphere of Publix and WD. It's great that we have options.

Groceries are cheaper. What about weather? Crime? Golf? Lifestyle? If you don’t care about lifestyle choices and only care about cheap groceries, don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.

:bigbow::bigbow:

So, what's your saying get gouged here or there. So, there not any have your cake and eat it too?:1rotfl:

When I lived in Orlando, I worked for the biggest law firm in Florida. One of the assistants found out the counterparts in the Miami Office were making 20% more than we were making. My answer was then move to Miami. There are good and bad things about everywhere. Pick the ones you can live with or without and go from there.

I haven't lived anywhere that had weekly BOGO deals, so they're a big plus for me on pantry staples and non-perishables. Half off brings prices below Walmart. I don't buy enough in bulk to justify the $45 annual fee at Sam's Club and am not driving 18 miles round trip to Aldis.

When I lived in Hawaii, I'd get agro every time I went grocery shopping. Yes yes, transportation costs, but it was still ridiculously spendy. San Francisco was expensive as well. Northern MN offered double coupons but that was a hassle to organize.

Long way around to say that, all things considered, I'm very satisfied with the choices and prices for groceries here.

FWIW, here's a cost of living comparison for TV vs one of the cities I picked at random from the linked flyer, Turners Falls, MA.

Cost of Living Comparison: compare The Villages, Florida to Turners Falls, Massachusetts

How do your taxes here compare to "back home"?

No mention of taxes in Turner Falls compared to TV.

Taxes
 

Over 12,000 to under 2,300. TV is a bargain.

People saying, "don't let the door hit you on the way out" and other snide remarks don't really add anything or answer the questions.

If taxes, utilities, wages are lower here... then why are groceries higher.

Are there some monopolistic forces at play or is it simply economy of scale?

A reply from someone with real knowledge would be appreciated.

Long ago someone said the area is monopolistically controlled, but I forget the details.

I always find it interesting that Publix is the most expensive of all the supermarkets in the region, but are the most successful. They have the most customers and most sales. I guess a lot of people put service, selection, and cleanliness of the store above price.

I don't know for sure, but it could be that real estate and rentals are more expensive in The Villages. I don't know if the same with the Publix and Winn Dixie stores 50 miles from here but it could also be that those stores pay higher wages and have better employee benefits than others. I know Publix does.

But I think that it's more likely what the market will bear. Every retailer tries to set their prices at a level that will give them the highest return on their investment at the same time retaining a good customer base. In other words, they will price things as high as they can until people start shopping elsewhere. Stores in areas with higher income levels will charge more for the same products than stores in low income areas.


I don't understand how there is any kind of monopoly going on here. We have a choice of several grocery stores to choose from.

Someone said the monopolistic practices were at the distributor level.

Wish I could find that post.


Yes, Publix treats it's employees well.

Real knowledge here? :a040:

I am not sure why people think that the price of groceries should be higher due to the amenities we get here. The food prices benefit the grocery stores not the developer. When you see the prices in other states and other parts of this state it would be hard to believe that they are not gouging us a bit. :boom:

Publix - Weekly Ad - Ocala

I continue to be amazed at how intolerant some posters are of someone's observation on different subjects. Why the necessity of demeaning the person for making an accurate observation? It discourages folks from posting informative information. Food is more expensive here. It does not mean that the person should go back to the place where they were referencing. What would be a good response was someone explaining why it is more expensive. Explaining that Publix is cleaner and pays employees better may not be the correct answer since we likely do not know wages and cleanliness of the original posters area.

I agree...why should someone be demeaned for an accurate assessment of food prices? I also have noted that dentists are more expensive as are veterinarians. i am sure I will be flamed for this observation...and I don't see what that has to do with taxes, amenities etc. My auto insuranc is higher here as well and when I questioed Geico I was told it was because of the high number of accidents and the number of uninsured motorists. We will see what flaming I get....

Turner Falls MA? You're comparing Turner Falls MA to the Villages? Did you even google Turner Falls MA? Population of less than 5000 compared to, what, 116k? Have you ever been to western MA? Sometimes I wonder about the participants on this site.

My grocery bill is usually about 25% higher here but just as bad is the fact that the fruits, vegetables and meats are not as high quality either so we loose two ways.

Wow, I'm surprised anyone has the nerve to even make an observation like this - given the snarky responses. I can't imagine what some of these posters would be like if conversing in person. Do they jump on the other person because they mention that the cost of groceries seem high here? Where is the give and take with these folks? Where is the open-minded discussion?

Sure glad most people here in The Villages are not the "my way or the highway" types that frequent these boards. Instead of a normal discussion, here it's "don't let the door hit you" or "stop whining".

And, my two cents about the groceries. The produce here is horrible. Clementines were mouldy inside less than 24 hours from purchase and out of a couple dozen heads of lettuce, I could not find even ONE that was not brown in parts. This was this week at Sumter Winn Dixie. Looking forward to trying the new Aldis and Wal-Mart.

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But I think her point was that yes, groceries are higher than somewhere else, but there are many other things that are lower/better than that same somewhere else. She's not saying you should pay more for groceries. She's not saying that's why you pay more for groceries. She's just saying pick your poison. I'll take the higher grocery prices in view of the fact that I love the rest of it that I didn't have back wherever.

It is difficult to compare prices with any precision in one state /region. etc to another because is a moving target.

However we ( my wife and I) don't live there we live here and here is our only concern as to taxes, fees, food prices, etc

In our view the responsibility rests with us as consumers. My wife has always carefully charted out what is available at every store clothing, grocery etc. Its pains taking work and it requires continual observation and going to more than one store to shop.

Personal Best Regards:

We shop sales. Generally we shop Aldi for fresh veggies and salads, Publix for BOGOs, Winn Dixie for frozen vegetarian products, and Walmart for staples. We buy the gas cards from Publix. The sales papers and knowing the stores determines the day to day purchases.

How about that state income tax? That taking a bit out of you too? If living in the North is so great, why did you move here?

Gee and Hannaford owns Winn Dixie



Weekly Flyer | Hannaford

It's very difficult to have a discussion on this forum without idiots taking pot shots at you. So many have gone to limiting or no posts because of it. So the quality of any topic suffers.

Grocery prices are much higher here in the Villages. I believe about 25% higher. And the quality of most fresh items is terrible. As an experiment I took my Publics grocery receipt and went to my former store web site which has an online shopping list tool which allows specific store selection for item availability and one weeks list was 18% and the following week was 23% less. A bit of a challenge to compare because sale items were different, and we all select sale items when we are actually in the store. That is why I believe the real difference is closer to 25%. And I can guarantee the quality of fresh items is significantly better in my former store.

Doesn't mean other things are more or less or I want to move for better groceries, just does create a question as to why. In my case it's not possible it's wages or real estate. Maybe transportation? Maybe competition? But it sure makes you wonder.

With all these smart villagers, some must have been in the grocery business. Tell us the reason, the local secrets.

The op is correct and people that bash should save that anger for the political forum. Up north you get much better sales... i.e. polly-o mozzarella for $1.99, once in a while.

Welcome to life on internet forums. ToTV is not unique.

Florida is a peninsula. That means everything must be brought into the state by truck, boat or by train. That costs more money because of the distance involved. The cost is past on to the buyer. It's a little like living on an island. We don't grow much in Florida. We do have cattle and sugar cane. We don't manufacture much here. We once had oranges but that's not what it once was. Floridas big thing is tourists and retirees. If the prices are aimed at The Villages only, then I think that might be because of what The Villages charges any store on its property to do business. Again, that gets passed on.

What?

Say what?! :oops:

So how are goods brought into states...that are not a 'peninsula?'

Florida does have cattle but from what I understand, there are few cattle processed into food here. Have read that many are sent elsewhere for fattening and processing.

Trucks, boats, trains. :D

Sometimes [emoji574]



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Florida, like Cape Cod, is mostly seasonal residents and tourists. Therefore, the overhead is higher in off season verses income.

I really don't find TV prices higher than the rest of Florida, or "back home"

As for Turners Falls, it is an old mill town with high unemployment, run down houses, looked like most on welfare. We did a foliage trip and stopped at the grocery store mentioned by OP. Old, run down, and dirty.
To compare it to Publix, night and day. Even restroom was filthy.

:agree:

:BigApplause:

Groceries are the same for us no matter what. Course I’m the one still shopping online that nobody believes I buy 80% of my groceries.

I get free shipping, any sales on that day, and even coupons are applied. Groceries on my doorstep in a matter of hours or 2 day ship. Either way I know exactly what I’m paying and the app tells me if I can buy it cheaper somewhere else.

I don’t have to fight the crowds stand in lines and basically have more time in my life to enjoy. When we are out and about, We shop Trader Joe’s, and Costco. Off campus grocery’s are cheaper.