When perishable items are close to their sell-by dates, retailers mark them down to get them off the shelves faster. When this happens, everyone wins: customers get cheaper meat, and the store still makes money from the product. That’s how this is supposed to work in theory, at least.

Allison found this very enthusiastic package of beef for sale at Cash Wise, a Midwestern grocery chain.

If it weren’t for all of those exclamation points, maybe it wouldn’t be so funny that the price isn’t reduced at all.

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