Fresh Market - A Tale of Woe
 

I recently received an e mail from Fresh Market announcing a Prime Beef Sale (25% off) from Friday 3/18 -Sunday 3/20. I Paid little attention at the time of purchase to the pricing of the 4 Ribeye Steaks which cost me $65.97 after their 25% discount. After returning home I realized that each steak weighed exactly 10 ounces. They were each priced at $21.99 ea., not $21.99 per pound. Since 10 ounces is only .625 pounds, the actual price per pound of these Ribeye Steaks was $2.19/oz multiplied by 16 for an outrageous price per pound of $35.18.

I then went to the Fresh Market website (It'''s Prime Time | USDA Prime Beef | The Fresh Market) and discovered that their advertised price per pound for Prime Ribeye Steaks on the same day was in fact $24.74 / lb.

So, the bottom line is that instead of giving me a 25% discount on their advertised price for this item ($24.74/ lb.) they gave me a 25% discount on the identical item priced at $35.18 / lb. Accordingly, if I had purchased the same four 10 ounce Steaks at their advertised price of $24.74 my total cost would have been $61.85 less 25% or a net total of $46.39 versus the $65.97 price I was actually charged me for the same exact item. A quick subtractions suggests I was overcharged $19.58 based on the actual advertised price for the same item on their website.

Not only is this deceptive, in my opinion, it represents price gouging by offering a discount on a drastically overpriced item ($35.18/lb.) when compared to their own advertised pricing of ($24.74/lb.) for the same item.

Yes, I reported this to FM in writing and was essentially told, tough cookies.

I am posting this as a public service in the hope that others won't be deceived by similar future offers from Fresh Market. PS, I no longer shop there!

What did the label on the package say price per pound or just the item price?

That would tell me if the price was deceptive.

Well, while it's partially your fault for not paying attention, I get quite irritated when retailers pull stuff like that. To the point that if I catch them, I'll never return. Ever. I keep an eye occasionally on FMs prices, and I've never found their "deals" to be all that great. Perhaps their quality makes up for it, or maybe it's just their marketing.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll be doubly wary now.

Check the math:

$65.97/40 oz = $1.65 per ounce, not $2.19
$1.65 x 16 = $26.40 per pound, which is $3.59 less per pound than their current price of $29.99 per pound for Prime ribeye.

Sadly this is far too common. Some items go on sale so many times that the sale price is the normal price. BOGO buy one get one becomes the regular price. Add to that shrinking package size. A pound of coffee has been 13 oz for years. Sellers know were they to sell a 16oz TRUE POUND coffee most buyers do not do the math and it seems to be more than a 13oz package. TOILET PAPER-the rolls are not only narrower but the core is now larger than it used to be.

Reported to FM in writing? My opinion in this case I expect you may have gotten better results going back and talking to the store manager. I don't know but suspect your letter went to some corporate clerk. Overwhelmed by similar letters they do not even read your letter let alone check it out-send out form letter number three.

21.99/10 oz = $2.19/oz
2.19x16= $34.18/ lb
That’s how it’s done in the school I went to!

Read Post No. 4. It appears that the OP did the math, but not correctly.

I'm confused. Your post says that you got 4, 10-ounce steaks for $65.97. That is 40 ounces, for $1.65 per ounce. What am I missing?

Each 10 oz steak was 21.99. Don’t know where your results came from but it appears you might have over thought the problem.

I'm just doing the math. If you paid $21.99 each for 4 steaks, then it would have been $87.96, not $65.97. It sounds like, if you paid $65.97 for 4 steaks, they gave you a 25 percent discount from the $21.99 price per steak. Unless you only bought 3 steaks.

was that the pre-sale price or what you paid after the discount?

Last time we bought steaks they smelled like road kill. Wouldn’t take them back next day. Won’t go there again . Over priced.

Imagine what they are doing to us in restaurants.
I heard that Fresh Market does the same with their Hamburg Tuesdays

Yep.

$65.97 is $26.38/lb. If this was a 25% discount then the full price would be $35.17/lb or $21.99 for a 10oz steak which is exactly what the OP reported.

The OP seems to have received a 25% discount off the regular price of $35.17/lb.

The website shows a price of $19.99 for a 10 oz steak ($32.00/lb) which seems to be consistent with a price of $35.17/lb earlier in the month.

Crimes against Seniors