Amazon Prime -- Anyone use it?

[Kraken]

There is something profound in having an energy drink delivered because you won't walk to pick it up.

[Isgrimnur]

He needed it so he had the energy to walk to get his Cheetos.

[Kasey Chang]

I agree with the sentiment, but it's not for me. I don't do caffeine except for diet coke, and even I'm cutting down on that.

[Jeff V]

Amazon announced today it's buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. That might expand their pantry offerings a bit.

Amazon Cuts Whole Foods Prices as Much as 43% on First Day

All of those items are still more expensive than supermarket prices or Trader Joes.

[Carpet_pissr]

1. Everything I have seen recently that tries to do WF price comparo ultimately fails, but still comes up with "yep, WHOLE PAYCHECK" as a summary. Why? They compare non-organic prices (with Kroger, with Publix, with Trader Joes, with Fresh Market), with WF organic prices (when the competing store does not have an organic item to compare, which was very often in the ones I saw). That right there nullifies the comparison in my view. Organic prices IMO are ALWAYS more expensive than their non-organic counterpart, and usually much more so.

2. At least at my local stores, the quality of meat and fish and produce at Trader Joe's is typically a couple of levels below that of WF, especially the meat and fish. Not even in the same comparison range IMO. Like comparing a Porsche to a Mazda because they both have 4 wheels. I love TJ, but not for their meat or fish - definitely not their forte.

3. I have never used WF as a one stop grocery store, since if you buy anything that is not their brand, you can literally pay 25% more for the same item (than at Publix, for instance). The dilemma is that WF has a few categories of things that are "the best" (when comparing locally to my options) - best bread, best desserts (Fresh Market a close second, or tied maybe), best and best value for bulk whole bean coffee (of which I buy a metric shit ton on a regular basis). They occasionally have decent deals on fruit to get people to come in the store, but usually when they have those crazy sales (same for shrimp, or meat, for instance) they usually sell out fast.

[ImLawBoy]

1. Everything I have seen recently that tries to do WF price comparo ultimately fails, but still comes up with "yep, WHOLE PAYCHECK" as a summary. Why? They compare non-organic prices (with Kroger, with Publix, with Trader Joes, with Fresh Market), with WF organic prices (when the competing store does not have an organic item to compare, which was very often in the ones I saw). That right there nullifies the comparison in my view. Organic prices IMO are ALWAYS more expensive than their non-organic counterpart, and usually much more so.

But as a shopper, those are the two options you have. The non-organic something at $1.99/lb from typical grocer or the organic something at $3.99/lb from Whole Food. WF often doesn't even carry non-organic versions of many of their fruits, so if you're pricing out typical grocer vs. WF, you have to use that comparison, even if you're comparing conventional apples to organic apples.

3. I have never used WF as a one stop grocery store, since if you buy anything that is not their brand, you can literally pay 25% more for the same item (than at Publix, for instance). The dilemma is that WF has a few categories of things that are "the best" (when comparing locally to my options) - best bread, best desserts (Fresh Market a close second, or tied maybe), best and best value for bulk whole bean coffee (of which I buy a metric shit ton on a regular basis). They occasionally have decent deals on fruit to get people to come in the store, but usually when they have those crazy sales (same for shrimp, or meat, for instance) they usually sell out fast.

We used to do our regular shopping at WF, but we can't afford it feeding a family of 5. Now we use it mostly to get things that just aren't available elsewhere (or are markedly lower quality elsewhere). We go there maybe once every 6 weeks now, and it's typically to get some gluten free stuff.

[Sectoid]

I've never shopped at a Trader Joes in NJ mostly because the only one that is anywhere near me, is constantly a nightmare. I don't think there was a time that I have ever passed by it and the parking lot wasn't completely full or there were not cops or ambulances on scene. I have friends that swear by it and love their products. I've even picked up a few things from one of the stores in CA, but the one in Clifton, NJ is a vortex of crazy. Just this past weekend, a friend of mine was in an accident in that parking lot. Some dude plowed into the side of his car and then said it wasn't his fault.
So, I'll stick with Shoprite for my food shopping. Mostly because I can use the Shoprite from Home option and have someone else put my order together. All I have to do is show up and someone puts all the stuff in my trunk. I pay and I'm on my way. I've never had any complaints about their food or service and they are way less expensive than WFs or TJs.

[Carpet_pissr]

Yeah, I guess my main point was that if you are comparing organic apples to organic apples, the price differences are much smaller (still generally more expensive I think, except for their 365 house brand as mentioned), but USUALLY also higher quality at WF, anecdotally.

[LawBeefaroni]

There's a huge Whole Foods that just opened blocks from us. How big? 31,000 square feet. It's several times larger than the old one and the old one is being turned into a Target.

It has a beer bar and a separate wine bar. It has a video game arcade and a juice bar.

Anyway, the wife already shops Whole Foods much to my dismay. Anything they do to bring down any prices is fine by my bank account.


We also have a Trader Joe's, Jewell (x2), Aldi, all within walking distance. For meat, however, I go to the stand alone butcher. Whole Foods meat is nearly the same price and half as good. TJs meat is half the price but also half as good. Aldi is good for stew and tacos.

[Carpet_pissr]

I've never shopped at a Trader Joes in NJ mostly because the only one that is anywhere near me, is constantly a nightmare. I don't think there was a time that I have ever passed by it and the parking lot wasn't completely full or there were not cops or ambulances on scene. I have friends that swear by it and love their products. I've even picked up a few things from one of the stores in CA, but the one in Clifton, NJ is a vortex of crazy. Just this past weekend, a friend of mine was in an accident in that parking lot. Some dude plowed into the side of his car and then said it wasn't his fault.
So, I'll stick with Shoprite for my food shopping. Mostly because I can use the Shoprite from Home option and have someone else put my order together. All I have to do is show up and someone puts all the stuff in my trunk. I pay and I'm on my way. I've never had any complaints about their food or service and they are way less expensive than WFs or TJs.

TJ is also, for me, kind of a specialty place (though comes much closer to being able to go through a full grocery list than I would consider at WF). Though I will say they have more "the best of" stuff that I buy, than WF:

ANYthing frozen (which is their specialty, obviously). This is something that has always amazed me, that no other store seems to be able to replicate. The QUALITY of some of their frozen items, such that you would be hard pressed to know it was frozen. Impressive.
Coffee (close second to WF in terms of quality and price for whole bean)
Wine
Staples (condiments, flour, milk, eggs, etc).
Some desserts are amazing
Great, cheap cereal and granola

Bread (both "fresh baked" and bagged, shelf bread) and meat/fish is consistently terrible and not fresh. Produce is the same.

[LordMortis]

There's a huge Whole Foods that just opened blocks from us. How big? 31,000 square feet. It's several times larger than the old one and the old one it being turned into a Target.

It has a beer bar and a separate wine bar. It has a video game arcade and a juice bar.

Anyway, the wife already shops Whole Foods much to my dismay. Anything they do to bring down any prices is fine by my bank account.


We also have a Trader Joe's, Jewell (x2), Aldi, all within walking distance. For meat, however, I go to the stand alone butcher. Whole Foods meat is nearly the same price and half as good. TJs meat is half the price but also half as good. Aldi is good for stew and tacos.

I think I would shop at butcher if I had one near me. I have a couple of party stores that purport to be butchers but, not so much... I love me some Aldi, who claim to organic tag on all of their produce *shrug*. All I know is there (not so organic) milk tastes better and is cheaper than anywhere else at the same time. Their eggs are smaller but cheaper. And they sell chocolate covered peanut butter cookies like you get from the girl scouts for less than a buck and a half and those cookies will eventually give diabetes because they are nigh on possible to resist buying.

No Trader Joes near me. If I had one I would probably buy cheese there. I love their cheese section.

I've never walked out Whole Foods with anything.

[LawBeefaroni]

No Trader Joes near me. If I had one I would probably buy cheese there. I love their cheese section.

Their base cheddar is the best cheese value going.

[Carpet_pissr]

My wife shops and loves Aldi, though the nearest one to us is much father than TJ, Publix, Fresh Market, WF, etc. Still, she says it's worth it since they are SO cheap and good quality, for the prices). And she brings home some yummy stuff from there every time she goes, so apparently they are doing something right. Seems to be an even cheaper option on most things than even TJ, but much smaller. I need to go one of these days myself to check it out. Apparently I have strong feelings about groceries based on my recent posts!

[Carpet_pissr]

No Trader Joes near me. If I had one I would probably buy cheese there. I love their cheese section.

Their base cheddar is the best cheese value going.

It's not cheap, but also check out their bag of 4 cheese blend. It's all white cheese, and is DELICIOUS. I tend to not like bagged cheese, but this stuff tastes fresh. Best bagged cheese I've ever had. Also one of the items that is most often sold out at my local TJ.

[LawBeefaroni]

Seems to be an even cheaper option on most things than even TJ, but much smaller. I need to go one of these days myself to check it out. Apparently I have strong feelings about groceries based on my recent posts!

They have a lot of his gems in the durable goods too.


Fwiw, Aldi owns TJ.

[LordMortis]

My wife shops and loves Aldi, though the nearest one to us is much father than TJ, Publix, Fresh Market, WF, etc. Still, she says it's worth it since they are SO cheap and good quality, for the prices). And she brings home some yummy stuff from there every time she goes, so apparently they are doing something right. Seems to be an even cheaper option on most things than even TJ, but much smaller. I need to go one of these days myself to check it out. Apparently I have strong feelings about groceries based on my recent posts!

Don't buy anything in bulk until you've tried it. Some of their stuff is amazing at super cheap prices. Some of their stuff is pretty bad at super cheap pricing.

Examples: Their instant oatmeal is terrible compared to Quaker. Their cheap frozen pizzas are pretty bad compared Jeno's or Totino's and don't really save any money. They shredded cheddar isn't very good, even if the price point is great.

However, for chips and canned goods and eggs and milk and some frozen staples, they are awesome. And they have a sort crap aisle that almost always has something you can make use of at a super cheap price. If I were someone who like to own things, I would get crap from that aisle all of the time.

Fwiw, Aldi owns TJ.

I did not know that. We have Aldi everywhere around my house but TJ's are all in the finer neighborhoods, aka nowhere near me.

[Jeff V]

TJs also has cheap spices (most are $2 for a jar that's double or triple the price at the supermarkets) and their Boatswain brand of beer is by far a leader in their price point. They have an IPA, "American IPA" and Double IPA selling for $5/6 and lager and pilsner for $4/6. Soup stock is also priced better than elsewhere, and if you're ever compelled to visit the floral department at a grocer, they have the best quality for the cheapest prices.

Unfortunately, now I live about 40 minutes from the nearest TJs. Local variety isn't a feature where I live -- there are 2 Jewels and Super Target in the general area, a Meijer about 20 minutes away. There's also a supermercado in town that I haven't been to yet. I did discover a turkey/chicken farm close by that sell freshly whacked fowl (and, it seems, eggs); not sure what the prices are compared with other stores. There's also a meat store in town, haven't been there either. For produce, I prefer Fresh Market or Cermak Market, both with great prices and ample selection. "Organic" is mostly a weasel word and there is no guarantee that the product is any better than one not claiming to be but I'll pick it if the price difference is minimal (within about 10%, which is rare but happens).

[LawBeefaroni]

My wife shops and loves Aldi, though the nearest one to us is much father than TJ, Publix, Fresh Market, WF, etc. Still, she says it's worth it since they are SO cheap and good quality, for the prices). And she brings home some yummy stuff from there every time she goes, so apparently they are doing something right. Seems to be an even cheaper option on most things than even TJ, but much smaller. I need to go one of these days myself to check it out. Apparently I have strong feelings about groceries based on my recent posts!

Don't buy anything in bulk until you've tried it. Some of their stuff is amazing at super cheap prices. Some of their stuff is pretty bad at super cheap pricing.

Examples: Their instant oatmeal is terrible compared to Quaker. Their cheap frozen pizzas are pretty bad compared Jeno's or Totino's and don't really save any money. They shredded cheddar isn't very good, even if the price point is great.

However, for chips and canned goods and eggs and milk and some frozen staples, they are awesome. And they have a sort crap aisle that almost always has something you can make use of at a super cheap price. If I were someone who like to own things, I would get crap from that aisle all of the time.

Fwiw, Aldi owns TJ.

I did not know that. We have Aldi everywhere around my house but TJ's are all in the finer neighborhoods, aka nowhere near me.

Should clarify. An Aldi brother owns TJ. There are two companies, North and South. South own Aldi and North owns TJ. Think of it as Addidas and Puma.

[Carpet_pissr]

We are getting a Lowe's (Low's?) nearby as well, will be interesting to see how they compare with TJ and WF. Now that I think about it, my location could be some kind of grocery store testing ground! It's like a magnet for grocers for whatever reason, especially in the last 4-5 years.

[Kasey Chang]

I've tried shopping at Trader Joe's, but parking is generally crazy around the store I used to live close to (there is NEVER enough parking, and cars are often lined out outside on the street just waiting to get in that they have to hire a guard to help with traffic control! And the second one that I saw didn't even have any parking (it's in a shopping mall) I get their flyers, and they're cute, but their stuff are pretty darn exotic when Safeway is much easier to get into.

Whole Foods... generally the same reaction: some nice stuff, but expensive as heck. I'm never convinced of the superiority of "organic" foods (but let's not get into that) so I have no compulsion to shop at Whole Foods. Besides, I current reside next to many markets of groceries... I live in Chinatown now.

[stessier]

We are getting a Lowe's (Low's?) nearby as well, will be interesting to see how they compare with TJ and WF. Now that I think about it, my location could be some kind of grocery store testing ground! It's like a magnet for grocers for whatever reason, especially in the last 4-5 years.

We just got a Lowe's. My wife does all the shopping and likes the layout and appearance, but says the prices are generally cheaper elsewhere. She does most of her shopping at Publix supplemented with trips to Aldi's and Sam's Club.

We also have Food Lion, Bi-Lo, Ingles, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco, Fresh Market, and Walmart. They are building a Lidl's and it should be done in Q4.

[Jeff V]

We have Lowe's here. Good prices on lumber and toilets.

[Punisher]

We have Lowe's here. Good prices on lumber and toilets.

Yeah..This... I'm confused at the above posts....

[stessier]

Poor use of apostrophe on my part.

Lowes Grocery

[Sectoid]

Poor use of apostrophe on my part.

Lowes Grocery

They seriously couldn't pick another name?

[Z-Corn]

No Trader Joes near me. If I had one I would probably buy cheese there. I love their cheese section.

Their base cheddar is the best cheese value going.

It's not cheap, but also check out their bag of 4 cheese blend. It's all white cheese, and is DELICIOUS. I tend to not like bagged cheese, but this stuff tastes fresh. Best bagged cheese I've ever had. Also one of the items that is most often sold out at my local TJ.

Trader Joe's has a triple-cream brie, from France, that I am COMPELLED to purchase every time I visit. It's like $7 a pound and sooo good.

[DOS=HIGH]

Poor use of apostrophe on my part.

Lowes Grocery

They seriously couldn't pick another name?

Yes, they should of known 50 years ago that another company would become a national chain store with the same name.

[Isgrimnur]

should of

*have or 've

[LawBeefaroni]

should of

*have or 've

You should not of done that.

[Isgrimnur]

*twitch*

[LordMortis]

I think you mean:

y'shouldn'a dun'it

[Carpet_pissr]

You really shadn't has done it. Poor form.

[LawBeefaroni]

I could care less about something so trivial.

[LordMortis]

got me there.

[Sectoid]

Poor use of apostrophe on my part.

Lowes Grocery

They seriously couldn't pick another name?

Yes, they should of known 50 years ago that another company would become a national chain store with the same name.

Lowe's Hardware founded 1946.
Lowes Foods founded 1954.
Both founded in North Carolina.

Loew's Inc. (Theaters) founded in 1904, NYC.

So, YES, they couldn't have thought of another name?

[stessier]

So, YES, they couldn't have thought of another name?

Um, no?

Lowes Foods started in 1954 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with a single store opened by Jim Lowe (former co-owner of Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, and son of its founder).

[Isgrimnur]

Whole Foods Announces It Balancing Out Lower Prices On Most Items By Jacking Cost Of Pita Chips Way Up

[Sectoid]

So, YES, they couldn't have thought of another name?

Um, no?

Lowes Foods started in 1954 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with a single store opened by Jim Lowe (former co-owner of Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, and son of its founder).

I still say they had 60+ years to figure out a new name. If it was founded by the son of the guy who founded Lowe's Hardware, they should have thought that there would be confusion down the road. Lowes Foods should be Lower Foods. Thus, clearing the way for Lowest Warp Drive Repair, which will be founded by the grandson.

[Moliere]

Get those taxpayer checkbooks out. Amazon is looking for a second HQ.

Amazon said on Thursday that it was searching for a second headquarters in North America, a huge new development that would cost as much as $5 billion to build and run, and would house as many as 50,000 employees.

The announcement is likely to set off jockeying among several major cities, and is the latest step in the rapid expansion for the online retail giant. It recently completed its biggest acquisition, of the high-end grocery chain Whole Foods, and has embarked on a major hiring drive, adding tens of thousands of new employees.

The company, which is based in Seattle, listed a series of requirements for the new location, including a metropolitan area that has a population greater than one million, “a stable and business-friendly environment,” and a location that was able to attract and retain workers. The company is calling the development HQ2.

[Isgrimnur]

I'm sure Texas will make the short list, assuming we never pass that bathroom bill.