When you’re in the supermarket and see a big, loud “Lower Price” sticker covering up an everyday price and showing a discount of anywhere from $.20 to $5, you’d expect that the price being covered up would be the original, higher amount. That’s why some Aldi shoppers are confused about why the discounted price on the sticker is the same as the price it’s covering up. [More]
prices
Super Bowl Tickets Going For Record Prices In The Resale Market
By 1.26.16
If you’re planning on heading to California on Feb. 7 to catch the Super Bowl showdown between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers, be ready to have your bank account sacked. Tickets for the big game are currently selling for record-high prices.
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Everlane Presents Customers With Moral Dilemma By Letting Them Choose The Price On Certain Items
By 12.29.15
While we’re used to naming our own price for, say, a flight or a hotel using aservice like Priceline or Hotwire, it’s not every day that a clothing retailer gives customers the chance to choose what they’ll pay for apparel. Online-only retailer Everlane is giving shoppers the opportunity to pick from a few price tags for certain items in order to move overstock, but there is one small catch. [More]
Analysts Say McDonald’s All-Day Breakfast Could Drive Up Egg Prices, Exacerbate Shortage
By 9.2.15
Before McDonald’s big announcement on Tuesday that it would roll out all-day breakfast across the country starting next month, we wondered if the fast food giant would scrap its plans because of egg shortages caused by the recent avian flu outbreak and the high egg prices that have resulted from it. While we now know that the Golden Arches wasn’t put off by the possibility of dishing out more cash for eggs, its new venture could further aggravate the egg-supply issues plaguing other businesses. [More]
Analyst: Best Buy’s Prices Now Much Closer To Amazon’s
By 9.1.15
When looking for the best deal on electronics consumers used to flock to a little chain called Best Buy, but over time Amazon – with the growing convenience of shopping from home, speedy deliveries and discounts – has crowded into the electronic store’s customer pool. Now, after years of playing catchup, it appears that Best Buy has closed the pricing gap with its online rival. [More]
Starbucks Increases Prices $0.05 To $0.20 For Many Drinks… Again
By 7.7.15
Does your wallet feel a bit lighter after paying for your morning cup of Starbucks coffee? It just might (unless, of course, you used the company’s order-ahead mobile app or any other form of payment besides cash), and that’s because the coffee chain has once again raised its prices for many drinks. [More]
Dept. Of Justice Investigating Alleged Collusion By Airlines To Keep Ticket Prices High
By 7.1.15
Just weeks after a legislator voiced concern that a shrinking airline industry has perpetuated potential anti-competitive behavior aimed at keeping the price of airfare high, the Department of Justice revealed it is looking into the possibility of collusion between airlines.
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Customer Sues Whole Foods Over Alleged Overcharging In NYC
By 6.26.15
New York City officials accused Whole Foods of overcharging customers in the “the worst case of mislabeling” investigators have seen, a man filed a lawsuit against the upscale food purveyor. He’s seeking damages because he claims he bought several mispriced packages at the stores over the last three years. [More]
Target Agrees To Pay $3.9M To Settle False-Advertising Lawsuit
By 2.11.15
It seems some of that infamously fuzzy Target math finally caught up with the retailer, as the company has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle a false-advertising lawsuit brought by prosecutors in California. [More]
Chipotle Hiking Prices For First Time In Three Years Because It’s Just So Popular
By 4.17.14
Chipotle knows you like it, there’s no need to be coy. And because its popularity is growing, the company seems pretty confident customers will still come back for tacos and burritos once it raises prices for the first time in three years. And you all helped it feel that way, so good job…? [More]
Other Airlines Apparently Uninterested In Joining Any Of United’s Fare-Hiking Games
By 1.17.13
Every year the airlines seem to go through the same little fare-hiking dance, multiple times and with varying results. This time it’s United Airlines, which is trying to raise prices on domestic routes ranging from $4 to $20 roundtrip. The only fly in its pricing ointment is that it doesn’t look like the other airlines are going to follow suit. [More]
Get Ready For $4-A-Gallon Gas
By 1.21.11
With the economy kinda sorta picking up, and consumers in China, India and Brazil buying cars in droves, gas prices are expected to keep going up, and may hit $4 a gallon by early spring, when Americans finish scraping the ice off of their windshields and begin planning road trips. And unlike 2008, when gas last broke the $4 barrier, only to later drop to lower prices, $4 may be a new baseline, followed by $5 gas as early as next year. [More]
How Do Airlines Compare On Fees?
By 9.27.10
It’s hard to keep track of all the extra fees airlines have invented to pad a ticket purchase, especially since they keep introducing new ones; USA TODAY says revenue from added fees have jumped nearly 16% from a year ago. The newspaper reviewed fees from 13 airlines in the U.S. and compiled this handy reference chart of current fee schedules, to make comparison shopping a little bit easier. As expected, Southwest continues to be one of the best values. [More]
Starbucks' Prices Going Up
By 9.27.10
Citing a 13-year high in the price of its coffee beans, plus “significant volatility” in other ingredients like dairy, Starbucks last week said it plans to raise prices on certain “labor-intensive and larger-sized” beverages. The small tall coffee will remain at its current price for now, says the company. I wonder if those truncated menus the company introduced a few weeks ago were really about hiding the least expensive option from consumers, especially since it isn’t being included in the price hike? [More]
Advice For Holiday Travelers This Year: Buy Your Tickets Now
By 9.20.10
CNN’s Travel Companion suggests you start looking for Thanksgiving and Christmas tickets now, because airlines have cut capacity over last year, and the peak travel times for those two holidays are shorter this year than usual. The article also provide some tips for getting a good price: shop for single seats; aim for Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday flights; and if you can, try to fly on an actual holiday. [More]
Why Haven't Broadband Prices Dropped?
By 9.20.10
Ten years ago, 5% of the country had access to broadband Internet. Now over 95% of the country has access. In other technology markets, notes the authors of a new study, prices tend to drop significantly once a technology matures–but with broadband, prices since 2004 have dropped by less than 10% in most markets, if at all. So what’s going on? [More]
Brand Name Drug Prices Rise Significantly In Past Year
By 8.25.10
Here’s yet another reason to go for generic drugs when you can: drug makers keep raising prices on brand name products. If you group generics and brand names together, drug prices rose by 3.4% in 2009, according to an industry report. However, if you look at just brand name drugs as the AARP did in a new report, the average price hike was 8.3%. An earlier AARP report from May points out that if you look at specialty drugs “widely used by people in Medicare” then the hike jumps to 9.2%. [More]
Man Convinces JCPenney To Honor Online Price
By 8.16.10
Gerry and his wife tried to buy a pair of sneakers that the JCPenney website had listed on sale. While other products were marked “online only,” this particular pair of sneakers was marked “also in stores,” so the couple assumed that the price would be the same. Naturally, the store’s employees refused to see the logic of this argument. [More]
