The Jewel Sucker Punch

I rarely shop at Jewel. Sure, I run in for the occasional grocery or toiletry emergency, but for the most part I shop elsewhere. I happened to be at Village Crossing today, picking up a B-Day present for the Chow Poodle at Bed, Bath & Beyond (love those 20%discount coupons). There's a Jewel across the parking lot and I just needed a few things to make some cream of tomato soup for dinner, so I ran in for a quick purchase. I bought 2-28 oz cans of whole tomatoes, 4 shallots, a small container of Dean's whipping and a 4-pack of LaBrea Ciabatta rolls. Total price: $18.94. WTF? I thought they were just crowing about lowering their prices. No wonder I don't shop there. I could have gotten the same stuff across the street at Fresh Farms for probably half that amount or less. I don't think I'm the only one to notice, either. The Jewel was pretty empty (compared to how it's been in the past), while the Fresh Farms lot was full. I guess that's what I get for being efficient/lazy.

You're buying canned tomatoes in late August?

nr706 wrote:You're buying canned tomatoes in late August?

For a quick tomato soup, yes.

I feel your pain Steve,

sometimes I have to go to Jewel for a last minute, or forgotten item, and am always shocked by the price at the register for the paltry ammount of items purchsed.

I do shop at Jewel and Dominicks, among other places, but I am very careful about how I do it. For one, I use their loyalty cards and rarely buy anything that doesn't have a lower price with the card. I go through their Wednesday newspaper ads to mark true sale prices, and also check sale prices on mygrocerydeals.com. And I take advantage of the 10% off six in the liquor department. I am not a hugely avid coupon clipper but I do clip some and keep them with me when I shop. I have price points I will not go above, such as $1/lb for dry pasta. I will wait and watch for weeks to avoid getting suckered on the price of cheese or butter or coffee or some of the other things they vary widely from week to week.

Although I get the creepy crawlies every time I step into Jewel or Dominick's, I'm forced into it every so often. I find that things like sugar tend to be cheaper at these stores. Whole Foods stocks "up market" sugar that is quite expensive. I shop at Harvestime on Lawrence a lot. They have great prices on produce and most other things, but their prices on pantry staples are actually quite high. Also in Jewel's favor, I know they will have things like bar sugar, whereas places like Whole Foods and Harvestime likely won't.

Dominick's also have 6-in-1 tomatoes, which I like.

So, we tend to make a couple of trips per year to Jewel to stock up on a few things that they do well.

Slightly off-topic, but I've found that the Costco canned tomatoes (yes, the #10 cans) are really quite good and that at ~$3/can, I find myself completely unwilling to pay grocery store prices for canned tomatoes.

-Dan

I too stay away from Jewel, but I do like the LaBrea bread. I believe they start with frozen and bake in store. When I get it and its still warm, it never makes it home in one piece.

I could have gotten the same stuff across the street at Fresh Farms for probably half that amount or less.

I dislike Jewel also, but I find this hard to believe for similar canned/packaged products. If you were talking produce, fish or meats, I would agree.

I was among the shopping throngs at Fresh Farms across the street from you, Steve, while you were being overcharged. I now go to Jewel mostly for one thing--cheap seltzer, which the independents such as FF often sell for twice as much as Jewel and (sometimes) Dominick's do on their good sales.

I dislike Jewel also, but I find this hard to believe for similar canned/packaged products. If you were talking produce, fish or meats, I would agree.

While I have no strong feelings one way or another I concur that Fresh Farms pricing is pretty high for a lot of items. They're best on unique products, but, for example, dealing with dry cereal/granola and canned/jarred items, they're at or above Jewel pricing.

dansch wrote:Slightly off-topic, but I've found that the Costco canned tomatoes (yes, the #10 cans) are really quite good and that at ~$3/can, I find myself completely unwilling to pay grocery store prices for canned tomatoes.

-Dan

I agree about the Costco #10 cans. One can makes a large crockpot full of marinara. Excellent value.

Jen

rickster wrote:

I could have gotten the same stuff across the street at Fresh Farms for probably half that amount or less.

I dislike Jewel also, but I find this hard to believe for similar canned/packaged products. If you were talking produce, fish or meats, I would agree.

The 2 cans of tomatoes weren't so bad, but:

4 Shallots $5.50
4 Ciabatta Rolls $3.49
8 oz Whipping Cream $1.79

stevez wrote:4 Shallots $5.50

That's where you were suckered. Couldn't have gone with an onion, eh?

I strolled through a Jewel about 2 weeks ago during a TCF Bank encounter. I was just curious to check out their new "low" prices. All I can say is B.S.

Katie wrote:

stevez wrote:4 Shallots $5.50

That's where you were suckered. Couldn't have gone with an onion, eh?

Yes. There and the 50% upcharge for the whipping cream and the 75% upcharge for the rolls. The shallot price was unmarked until it was scanned at the checkout counter. At that point, I felt like I deserved to pay for being dumb enough to shop there in the first place.

Cogito wrote:I strolled through a Jewel about 2 weeks ago during a TCF Bank encounter. I was just curious to check out their new "low" prices. All I can say is B.S.

The awful part is that many prices at Jewel really are lower than before!

Perhaps, but it seemed like some of the prices were higher than before. Overall, it didn't seem like there was any improvement over their old ripoff prices. The deli items still seemed ridiculous.

Maybe everyone can get over Jewel's high prices with a shared tomato soup recipe.

Cogito wrote:I strolled through a Jewel about 2 weeks ago during a TCF Bank encounter. I was just curious to check out their new "low" prices. All I can say is B.S.

Last time I was there, I looked for their lower prices, too. As best I can figure, the prices were primarily lowered on food that's already cheap & low quality. (Armour, Hormel, Hot Pockets, etc.).

One pays for convenience. A traditional convenience store (7-11 and such) would cost more than Jewel or Dominick's. A 24-hour Jewel or Dominick's (which offers more convenience than just the hours, with everything from magazines to flowers to pharmacy to hair color) will cost more than a store that is only open 8am-10pm and doesn't carry everything. Sometimes, one's time and one's gasoline are worth saving, even at a slightly higher price point for the groceries.

That said, I only shop at Jewel, and even less-often, at Dominick's, for bargain items, for things not carried at the multi-ethnic stores (Fresh Farms, Garden Fresh, et al), or in emergencies (late at night or en route to an event when time is critical). Mostly I'm at the cool ethnic stores that make my heart race because I know I won't live long enough to try everything. But Jewel has its place.

Darren72 wrote:I find that things like sugar tend to be cheaper at these stores. Whole Foods stocks "up market" sugar that is quite expensive.

I usually stock up on sugar when it's on sale, but I find that Shop & Save, Garden Fresh and even Meijer are lower on pantry staples than Jewel or Dominick's.

With both Jewel and Dominick's cutting back on 24-hour stores, I have less reason to visit them than ever.

hi
my guess is steve grabed the organic shallots

just to comment
jewel and dominicks are high/low stores
that means there everyday price is higher and their sales prices can be very good
for the reasons you avoid these stores others go there for the deep deals without having to buy in bulk like sams and costco try to do
all stores have their niche from the box stores like target and wallmart costco
to the retail chains and and independents and small groups like butera and super low
then there is the spill in factor from other markets like meijer and trader joes
the bargin chain to beat them all is aldi off brands but still quality products (all canned goods are grade a fancy just like dole and delmonte)
then you have the drug stores and speciality stores like 7/11 and jj peppers
and gas stations
so at the end of the day chicago has some of the best rated grocery chains in the country (jewel and meijer) and acess to most any food grown anywhere as well as many opportunites to buy food grown locally
food for less one of krogers brands also has some great priceing

what i have been seeing is some of the great deals that are out there with food and most things
due to the economy
sales numbers are down
companies looking to drive sales
are going to have their deepest deals extended and in some cases deeper than ever
the rich companies and buy marketshare and knock out their competition
it seems to be an ongoing cycle in the grocery business
made even worse by the economy (imo)

if prices matter to you
all you have to do is plan
and you can save an easy 30 % off of grocery prices
and have access to some of the greatest choices of foods and locations

not to leave out places like whole foods and the organic places

good and bad cheap and expensive
we have it all
and it is everywhere

don't you think?

I used to shop Jewel. Now it is Joe Caputo, Woodmans and ALDI.

One thing about Jewel is that if they ring up an amount higher than the shelf posted price then they will refund that item's cost and then give you the item for free. They do not advertise this policy but they do it. I HAVE DONE THIS TWICE.

Also in Illinois if you see an ad for a purchase of beer or wine and then they give 2-3 other items for a penny EACH(Jewel does this OCCASIONALLY) all you have to do is tell Jewel(or any other Illinois store) that you do not drink alcohol and they will give you the penny items for a penny! THIS IS NOT A JEWEL POLICY BUT IT IS A STATE LAW.

Hi Katie- I shop mostly the same way you do. I had never heard of my grocery deal before though. I look at Jill Cataldo's website most weeks, and she does a weekly column on her site, that lists most of the bargains at Dominick's, Jewel, Target, Walmart, Hilander's, Walgreen's, and CVS. Jill does workshops at many Chicago area libraries about how to save money at the grocery store, and most of the workshops are free.

It kills me that people tell me all the time that they can't afford to shop at Dominick's or Jewel because it is too expensive, and they shop at Aldi's or Walmart because it is cheaper. If you wait until you need it, and can't deal with coupons,something is more likely to be cheaper at Aldi's. If you wait until something is on sale at Dominick's or Jewel, it is usually cheaper there than it is at Aldi's. I was at Aldi's several days ago with someone who usually does not set foot inside Jewel or Dominick's because she perceives Aldi's to be much cheaper. All I bought at Aldi's was a container of margarine for 99 cents, because I can get milk on sale at Dominick's right now for $1.77 a gallon, which is about 60 cents cheaper rhan Aldi's. My friend looked at the ground beef at Aldi's, and it was approximately twice as much as what I can get it for at Dominick's right now.

Aldi's does have some really good deals on produce occasionally. This week they have fresh pineapple for 99 cents, and I believe it is Dole. I have bought it there before. I bought a bag of onions at Aldi's on sale last spring though, and I had to throw away half of them a week after I purchased them. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- As far as I know it is a company policy for both Dominick's and Jewel to give you the item for free if a higher price is scanned than what is on the shelf tag. In Evanston, there is a city ordinance that all stores have to do this. I have had problems with Whole Foods in Evanston concerning this. Their customer service people do not always realize that this is a city ordinance, and they will tell you that they are only obligated the amount overcharged. BTW- You are only given the first item for free at Dominick's or Jewel. If you get five cans of tomatoes, they only give you the purchase price for the first can. For the additional cans, you are only refunded the amount overcharged. I always check my receipt before I leave the store if I am buying more than one item. The one thing I don't like about Dominick's though, is that their customer service department closes at 10:00pm, and the cashier has to refund your money. When I was in Dominick's at 10:00pm a few weeks ago, by the time I made it up to the register, none of the regular registers were open, and they had one person in charge of self checkout, and that was the only person working the front of the store. Hope this helps, Nancy