What price do you pay for gallon of milk?

Tom_H · Apr 7, 2006

It works in some weird way here that I don't really get. Depending on the brand and the fat content, most 1 gal. containers avg. a bit under $4/gal. However, every groc chain there is here offers its own brand for less. Here's the strange part. No matter what the chain, that store brand will have a little sign that says "WIC authorized" and one gallon will be around $2.49, but you can get two gallons for a total of $3.49. If you get a third gal., it's at the $2.49 and a fourth gal. will be at the extra $1, and so on. In some stores the jugs come in pairs, connected by a stiff piece of plastic, but in most stores they are not attached. I think it is some kind of government subsidy or something, welfare for everybody whether rich or poor.

Bird · Apr 7, 2006

Tom, WIC (Women, Infants, Children) is a pretty old program. You can read about it, I don't know a lot about it, but I always just thought of it as being much like food stamps.

hunterridgefarm · Apr 7, 2006

1 gallon of milk usually cost me $25-$30.00. My wife can never go into a store and get JUST a gallon of milk. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Same thing with Sam's Club, seems it cost me $100.00 just to walk in the door /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Tom_H · Apr 8, 2006

Thanks Bird,

I didn't know it, but I guess I've been getting welfare benefits when I buy milk. I don't need or want the government's welfare so I'd just as soon not get it. I'd rather pay the full price of the milk and NOT pay the portion of my taxes that go to support it. Seems that'd be simpler, but then after all, it is the GOVERNMENT that we're talking about. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Bird · Apr 8, 2006

( I guess I've been getting welfare benefits when I buy milk )

Nope, Tom, you're paying the regular price. Items that are WIC approved or authorized are just that; something people in that program can buy at that price. But you don't the get the welfare benefits unless you have proof you're in that program.

Tom_H · Apr 9, 2006

Hmmm, this is rather puzzling. Those extra low prices are posted as part of the "WIC approved" sticker-around here anyway. Do the rest of you have this WIC business posted on certain store brand milk items? (I wonder if we have it because our regular milk prices are higher than avg. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing this when I travel to other states. Maybe I just didn't notice.)

Another unusual thing is that other items will often have these disingenuous stickers like: "Reg. Price: $1.59, Special 2/$2.00" Still, if you buy just one, it comes up on the scanner as $1.00. I asked a manager about that once. He said, "Well, it's just a gimmick. If we say two for two dollars, we have to give you one for one dollar." I asked him why the milk was different. His reply, "Well, that's a totally different thing. Since that's a WIC item, we have to do the first gallon at the $2.49 and the second for $1.00 (or whatever the price was at that time), because of the government rules." So anyway, this is still a rather confusing thing. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

MikePA · Apr 9, 2006

Another unusual thing is that other items will often have these disingenuous stickers like: "Reg. Price: $1.59, Special 2/$2.00" Still, if you buy just one, it comes up on the scanner as $1.00. 
What's disingenuous about this? They dropped the price to $1 each, saving you 59 cents. What did you expect them to charge you if you bought just one?

Bird · Apr 9, 2006

( Do the rest of you have this WIC business posted on certain store brand milk items? )

Yes, we do. I haven't checked into all the rules for WIC because I know I wouldn't qualify /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif but it's supposed to be a program to ensure adequate nutrition for low income people. The same rules apply to some other food products, but we'll just use milk as an example. They're saying that the store brand milk provides enough (or maybe I should say "equal") nutrition as the higher priced name brands, so it's approved while the higher priced ones are not. One thing I'm not sure of is if a person on WIC wants the name brand, do they have to pay full price or only the difference in price between the store brand and the higher priced brand.

And I'm not even sure the "brand" makes a difference; just the specific type of food. You can go here and read about which types of milk are approved and not approved.

AndyM · Apr 9, 2006

Another unusual thing is that other items will often have these disingenuous stickers like: "Reg. Price: $1.59, Special 2/$2.00" Still, if you buy just one, it comes up on the scanner as $1.00. 
 What's disingenuous about this? They dropped the price to $1 each, saving you 59 cents. What did you expect them to charge you if you bought just one? 

I've seen stores around here that make you buy two to get the discount. If you buy one, you pay regular price. In those cases, 2 = $2.00, but one = $1.59. I've seen it with my own eyes! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Tom_H · Apr 10, 2006

Rather than saying, "Regular price: $1.59. Sale price: $1.00" the ad is intentionally misleading in that there is an intent to make the consumer believe that (s)he must purchase two in order to receive the discount, when that is actually not the case. The manager I spoke with pretty much admitted that. Often there are signs with things such as a can of peas: "Reg. price: $0.73, Special: 7/$4.00". I have no trouble doing the mental math to figure out the price per one, but I'm sure there are quite a few people who would just as soon they say, "Reg. price: $0.73, Sale: $0.57 ea."

Disingenuous means "not genuine, lacking in candor, giving a false appearance of simple frankness, calculating". IMO, this describes such ads quite accurately.