Supermarket Scams - Avoid These Tricks

Being the frugal person that I am, I am constantly challenging myself with discovering new ways to save money on my family's food budget. I already clip coupons, use the supermarket loyalty cards, shop only with a list and look for the weekly specials in the Sunday newspaper.

I also read the frugal websites and penny pinching books to find out more tips to save money. Supermarkets are cunningly sneaky in the ways they set up the store with traps to get you to spend more money than you expected. It's important to watch out for these scams when you're in the store.

Lately, stores have taken to making us do math equations in order to determine the correct prices. Many items in the stores have the label of "3 for $4", "4 for $5" or something similar in different quantities or prices. It's not always so easy to figure out the prices, especially if you have your kids with you. I always bring a calculator or use the calculator on my cell phone to make sure I know the correct prices.

My local supermarket, Shop Rite, has many weekly specials in which you must buy a certain quantity in order to receive the sale price. The sales circular or shelf label will say "2 for $1.50 must buy 2, $1.00 regular price". Unfortunately, the "must buy 2" qualifier is in small print and I don't always see it right away. But I know to look for this now so I don't get stuck with the higher price for buying only one item.

I won't buy an item if there is no shelf label near the item which says the cost. I am very suspicious of items with no labels. There is a reason why the item doesn't have a label. It could be that the item is less expensive than the other brands and the store prefers that I buy a more expensive version. Or maybe this item is vastly more expensive than the other items on the shelf and they want me to make the decision to buy it without knowing the price. If I think the price might be lower, I'll take the item and scan it first to double check.

A steadfast rule of mine is to never, ever buy an item that is displayed at the end of an aisle, unless I know the price of it and I was planning to buy it because it's on sale or I have a coupon. Many manufacturers pay a premium to the store to display their brands on the ends of the aisles. Although the displays may look enticing and colorful, the prices are not usually shown. This is a trap to get you to buy something that's not on your list.

I hope I've helped you become aware of the supermarket scams that stores are using. With supermarket profit margins so thin, every extra item you buy adds to their bottom line.