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Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Do any of your stores give you a HEAD'S UP about items they are going to stop carrying by marking them CLOSEOUT?
RosieG

Do any of your stores give you a HEAD'S UP about items they are going to stop carrying by marking them CLOSEOUT?

Or do they never let you know what they plan to discontinue and one day you show up and want to buy it and it's gone. Label is gone. Something else is in its place?

Posted - September 5, 2019
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Responses


  • 10750
    There are many reasons why items "disappear" from shelves.

    * Item is recalled (health safety issue)
    * Manufacturer no longer makes item (no longer profitable, can no longer get materials to make item, supplier issues).
    * Package change (manufactures change packaging so they look fresh in customers eyes.  People get used to the "same-ol' same-ol'", which can make a product "invisible").
    * Item has gone through a pack-change (number of items shipped in a case) and store didn't get the new stock number from their warehouse.
    * Item did not generate enough sales company wide to warrant shelf space (shelf space is very expensive).
    * Manufacturer goes out of business.
    * Store changes suppliers and the new supply cant get said item (unauthorized, or any of above reasons).

    ... just to name  a few.

    Ideally, stores want to sell all product at regular price (weekly sales prices are a whole other story).  When a product is marked down (for whatever reason) the store loses money (shrink).  So, if a store knows that a certain product will be disco'd (for whatever reason), the ideal situation is to run out of product at the warehouse and then to sell thru the product at store level at regular price (no shrink).  Marking down an item is a last ditch effort to move merchandise.
    Stores rarely give customers "heads up" on disco'd product.  Corporate (of large chain stores) may send their stores lists of products that will be disco'd in a few weeks in advance so they can merchandise the product for better sell-thru at regular price, or send it back to the manufacture for cost (no profit).  Again, the ideal situation is to sell thru the product at store level at full price.
      September 5, 2019 5:46 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    Thank you for your thoughtful and informative reply. Stores play games all the time. You have to pay attention 24/7 or you will get shafted. Example? A one-lb. package of carrots sells fr $1. A 2-lb package sells for $2.50. Now normally larger is cheaper per unit but obviously you can buy two 1 lb. packages and save 50 cents. No big deal but multiply that by all the things you buy and it can add up bigly. Read everything thoroughly. Never assume anything. They will cheat you any way they can. Used to be a can of coffee was 1 lb. Years ago they switched it. Same size container but the contents weigh 12 oz. Ice cream too. Used to be you could buy a 1/2 gallon size (two quarts). Now that "half gallon" is 1.5 quarts. Cereal packaging or chips are half full though the packaging is way large and extremely deceptive. I know. You can't pack them too tightly or they will get crushed. Right. So you open the huge box and see that it is only half full or maybe if you're lucky 2/3 full. Bah and humbug! But you're stuck. If you are always on guard and pay attention you can outfox them. I accept the challenge each time we go to the market. I show Jim some of my discoveries and well he is kinda proud of me. But lots of folks just dash into the store and grab whatever they need without reading or figuring out anything. I think stores adore those people a lot! Thank you for your reply Shuhak. I always get a little hyper when we go to the market anticipating what I'm going to find there. It's a game for me and luckily mostly I "win"! :) This post was edited by RosieG at September 6, 2019 12:12 PM MDT
      September 6, 2019 2:11 AM MDT
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  • 10750

    Downsizing product is a manufacture ploy to boost their profits.  Stores have no control over this.  P&G started the downsizing fad (Pampers), other companies jumped on board when they saw that it increased their bottom line 

    Some companies will raise prices on products to put them on sale.  For instance, a tube of toothpaste had regular price of .99, but the "sale" price is 10/$10.  Bib tags are deceptive as well.  People assume when they see a bib tag below a product that the product is on sale.  Close examination will reveal that this is not always the case.  End Caps are another ploy.  Just because a product is on an end cap (or in a shipper) does not mean its on sale.  
    Over 70% of customers "grab and go".  Time is a valuable commodity to people and stores know this.   Store schematics are designed to "manipulate" people into buying more than they came in for.  (why do you think milk is always located at the back of a store?)  By placing certain items near other items (tie-ins), teh store can boost sales and still get their customers in and out quickly. 
    Then there's the subliminal messages stores use.  Ever smelled bread cooking inside a store?  How about BBQ chicken?  Makes one hungry for them.  Ever seen racks of "hot, fresh" french bread by the checkout?  Stores also have employees make announcements (around lunch and dinner time) saying how succulent a certain product is.  Advertisements on the in-store radio" are at a slightly higher volume than the "canned-music".  
    Deception (illusion) is used to sell everything from chewing gum to houses.  The human brain is wired to "assume" things (that way it can process things faster).  To the brain, bigger always means more.  A taller tree is bigger than a shorter one.  A bigger rock has more mass than a smaller one.  A bigger freeway will move cars faster than a 2-lane road.  Sounds good, but if one thinks about it these aren't necessarily true.  Companies spend billions of dollars each year deceiving people so they will buy their product ... and its perfectly legal.  The name of a product; the shape and color of packaging; advertising (words on the product) ... these (and more) are used to "deceive" (persuade) the consumer to buy.

    Some people think they they are smarter than stores.  They think they can spot their "tricks".  Trust me, even the most savviest shopper isn't immune to the "tricks of the trade".  I know a lot of them and yet I still fall for them.

      September 6, 2019 12:50 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    I don't think I'm smarter than the stores. I just pay attention more than most. I have seen things I thought were mislabeled and called attention to it. Dozens of times in many stores over the years. When I see outdated products in the dairy section or elsewhere I point it out because "mystery" shoppers go around checking out all kinds of things and if a store keeps selling outdated stuff it does not bode well for them. If a package of filet mignon is labeled ground beef and the price reflects the ground beef I point that out. Either someone is trying to cheat the store or someone is being sloppy and not paying attention. If I see prices that puzzle me I drag an employee over and point it out and ask what's up? I have been thanked often for doing this. It is my nature to ask questions when I don't understand something. If I were smarter I wouldn't have to ask. But I'm not so I ask. The store is REQUIRED to sell you a product at whatever the shelf price reads. If that product is placed haphazardly the store will lose money. But also it will make money if the product itself is mislabeled. Being as curious as I am every trip to the store is an adventure. I have no idea what I will find there. Thank you for your thoughtful reply Shuhak. I am a Foodie. I love to cook. I love to shop for food. It's one of my greatest pleasures. I am more astute about many things involving food and cooking than those who hate to cook and prefer junk food to eating healthy. It comes with the territory.
      September 7, 2019 2:40 AM MDT
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  • 10750
    Mistakes abound in stores.  Rarely are they trying to cheat customers.  A wrong button pushed on the labeler is all it takes to make salmon say hamburger; or a baguette say its a honey roll. 
    Hanging shelf tags is a job in itself.   We had from midnight to 8am to have every tag hung and price verified, as well as make sure that every display was signed and price verified. On a "normal" tuesday night we had around 10-12,000 tags.  However, at the first of the month that number grew to around 20,000 (or more).  And of course, someone always called in "sick" and there was never anyone to replace them with.  So getting 10,000+ tags hung and verified in 8 hours was quite a task.  Yes, there were mistakes.  Nobody's perfect.  Since the prices were entered by corporate the previous week, some of the tags were wrong when we printed them.  Reading small print on tags in the middle of the night is tedious, and by 4 am the stock/UPC numbers start to "merge".  Inevitably, some tags got hung in the wrong place (such as Tide detergent under Pepsi cola).  With 20,000 tags there wasn't time to go back and verify each tag (store wide), so some were found by customers (better they found them than the "price police" from corporate).

    I wasn't referring to you personally.  My point was that stores have a lot of "tricks" and it's hard for anyone to know them all.
      September 7, 2019 10:37 AM MDT
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  • 113301
    Wow! I had no idea there were that many to change so quickly at one time! Thank you for your very informative reply Shuhak. Nothing like hearing from the person on the battlefield! :)
      September 7, 2019 10:45 AM MDT
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