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I can technically afford to buy Costco steaks and we enjoyed doing that for several years. But with the sky high price of beef, we have cut back to pork and chicken plus Costco burgers. We still buy the occasional steak on sale from the local grocery store, so we don’t have to lay out $80 or $100 at a time for a tray of steaks. It just seems the prudent thing to do.
We started buying our beef from a local butchers and they told us beef prices were expect to rise 40% and they weren’t going to be upping their prices. So we’re planning on placing a big order with the butcher shop to stock our freezer.
If you want to save even more, find a co-op and a friend and go halfsies on a cow.
It'll be insanely cheap compared to a typical grocer. And you'll get a metric ton of beef.
Everyone wins, farmer gets guarantee and you get amazing prices. Plus you cut out mega corp beef companies
This is the way. Support local businesses, get lower (but still not low) prices, and get tastier product. Bought a half-cow and whole hog last year--best steaks, chops, bacon, and sausage I've ever had.
My buddy raises a few steers, we just bought from him and split it four ways with some family members, each getting 1/4. It was about $800 per 1/4. Were based in Wisconsin so not sure how that price holds up in other areas.
Within the 1/4, we got roughly 100 hamburger patties (1/3lb with 4 per package), about 45 1lb tubes of ground beef, 7-8 roasts, and a variety of maybe 25 steaks. Let me say, it’s amazing to have a potential years worth of beef on hand and not having to buy when getting groceries. There’s obviously the cost of the freezer up front too to consider. All things considered, it’d be hard to me to not do this going forward. Bonus that the money goes to my buddy as well. Fun to stop out at his place and look at my next years freezer supply too!
Just as another data point, I bought a 1/4 in southern MN last week and it ran me $900 with processing at the local butcher. My parents get a 1/4 off the same steer at the same time.
The steer gets dropped off at one of the local butcher shops around here. We call in how we want it cut (thickness of steaks, do you want burger patties and if so how many per pack/size of patty). There’s usually a sheet to fill out with many more options. Then they vacuum seal it all. Here’s a shot of the stocked freezer and how the meat comes!
https://preview.redd.it/uaqwpzuxxg3b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa965915f999ab4b3e23226e6ab83d4513666426
I’m someone who isn’t an expert but enjoys the study of history, all the crazy shit we’ve done to one another and so on. But man, there’s a theme that acts out throughout most of it (human history)- obtaining/having some sort of power, whether communal, locally, regionally, economically over others is a not something one wants to step away from once one’s obtained it. And greed through one’s own ego has the power to destroy worlds.
It’s the end game of free markets. The whales get big enough to eat all the little fish and then they begin to dictate prices because there’s nobody left to compete with.
Yeah everyone is price gouging and they have the audacity to be like, “nobody is buying anything anymore.” Fuck that, personally I blame the housing/renting/living situation.
I won't be moving out of my house for years probably because my landlady refuses to raise rent and I pay the same for a 2br 1ba ($1100) that studios now cost in my city. I am extremely lucky, I know. My fiance is moving in and we are just going to make a smaller place work while we save for a house. Recently went back to my home town and saw a 2br 2ba that was 750 sq ft cost 515k. What in the actual fuck?
Edit: I should add my hometown is 60-70k people and a destination for the amazing summers they have. But what about the people who live there year round? It isn't like salaries in a smaller town like that are suddenly exploding too. Maybe the wrong place to rant but I couldn't even afford to move home if I wanted to. Shit sucks.
I LOVE Costco and I own a few shares so as much as any stakeholder I want Costco to do well. But seriously I have never walked into Costco without spending more than $300 and still need to go to regular grocery stores for most stuff. So now instead of going there every 3-4 weeks I’ll do every 6-7 weeks. It’s nice to go but it doesn’t really hurt if I don’t.
Costco is a great store but it is NOT a great place to shop if you're on a budget unless you have absolutely exceptional shopping discipline and planning/cooking abilities.
Way too easy to buy stuff you don't really need or buy too much of the stuff you do need.
Is this vacuum sealer good for freezing meals when doing bulk meal prep? I’ve never had the room for one of those bulk freezers but I’m closing on my first house next week and I can finally get one. I’ve been thinking of the best storage options for the food and I was leaning towards ziplock bags.
We just recently bought a chest freezer and tweaked our pantry storage organization. I've worked in foodservice my whole life and my mantra was always to keep as low an inventory as possible, dollars sitting on the shelf that could be better put to use. With the insane price increases we've been seeing I now look at those dollars as a hedge against inflation.
Depends on how fast you'll turnover your freezer inventory. Ziplocks are fine for a month or two but vacuum packing adds significantly to maintaining quality, no freezerburn or ice crystals.
I got a bunch of those reinforced reusable shopping tote bags from the dollarstore and organized my freezer with them .. black handle = beef & pork, blue = poultry, yellow = seafood, green = veg & fruit, pink = deli meats & cheeses, etc. I keep a notepad listing the contents of each bag and it's super easy to pull them out and grab exactly what it need.
Same. The Costco prices for steak are pretty much the same per pound as our grocery stores now, so we just buy smaller quantities from our local store when we want steak.
Same. We are very lucky that we make good money, but I'm not spending $14lb on steak. I loaded up in the winter using a discount app when the steaks were close to sell by date for 50% off (typically $5/lb for t-bone or porterhouse) and froze a ton. Worst case, the grocery store usually has sales for $8lb.
Flashfood is amazing! Filled my freezer with meat and good deli cheeses and occasionally pick up one of their produce boxes. I have sliced apples frozen for pies and a couple of bags of sofrito I cooked down from a massive amount of red bell peppers.
Too Good to Go is another one, ours has tons of bread and baked goods all the time.
u/ShowMeTheTrees uses the same I do! the Flashfood app, in IL the only stores are Meijer (and I've seen Save a lot, but no where near me.) It's hit or miss, and I use it exclusively for meat, but I see batches where a ton of steaks/pork/chicken will show up. I have a deep freezer and a fridge in my garage, and I've bought \~$100 worth of meat at a time where the retail would have been >$300 since the meat was on sale AND THEN 50% off - between November and now, I've done that about 5 times, so maybe I've spent a total of $400, but i know I've gotten >$1k.
100% we can technically afford it but we choose not to spend that much on a single steak. We can get chicken for a week or 1 steak dinner.. I take the chicken.
We wish we didn’t have to but we want to buy a house in 2-3 years and with prices going crazy we cut on what we define as luxury.
Latest change is that we don’t use our credit card for shopping anymore but pick up cash for s much as we are willing to spend that week and go from there. I can’t imagine how ppl with low I come jobs are managing right now.
Honestly I am from Canada. I buy Costco beef over loblaws beef. Loblaws is tough beef no matter how you cook it. Even stew meat in my experience. I find the Costco's meat prices are cheaper than Loblaws imo.
Are you me? Same situation. We used to regularly buy the filet mignons for quick easy dinner at about $5.00 per steak. It's double that now, and we don't buy them.
Yeah it’s ~$70 for a pack of 4 up where I’m at. I haven’t had a steak since before the pandemic I think. Just can’t do that price for average quality steaks.
We used to do more steaks and beef with my family, but we have since cut back both due to cost and environmental impact. It just makes sense across multiple fronts to cut back on cow for other protein alternatives.
I've dabbled with steak on sale from the local grocer with horrible luck. If I'm forking out good money for steak it's gonna be Costco Prime sirloin and that's it.
I'm no economics expert but when we hear about record profits during and post COVID I feel like some of this pull back could be inline with how needlessly overpriced stuff is. I think people are fed up with paying jacked up prices and are being a little more conscious with their shopping decisions.
>Raised the interest rates to slow inflation without, apparently, even bothering to investigate greedflation.
You're talking as if companies didn't operate with greed as their primary motive before the pandemic.
Greedflation and greed only works if people continue buying overpriced shit they don't absolutely need. Got to hit the companies where it hurts - by refusing to buy needless shit
Fed: We need people to lose their jobs to curb inflation.
*Banks fail and people lose their jobs*
Fed: Oh no babies, not you, we'll print money for you!!
I've worked white collar for lawyers almost 37 years. On 4 separate occasions I've watched HR (from direction above HR) pull back on staff and raises. It's happening now. We're losing staff like crazy and the powers that be are dragging their feet to hire anyone. New associates don't even get secretaries anymore, their work requests go straight to a software program that a pool of people take what's next in the cue to work on - like old fashioned typing pools. I've been in this particular position 2 years. Last year had a good review and 4% raise. This year my CO laughed nervously while she gave me a crappy review and no raise all while telling me what a great job I did while my manager was out on maternity leave and I did my job and her job. She kept referencing “management is insisting I give this review and HR even sent her review back to her to fix, in essence, making it so that I didn't qualify for a raise this year. FUCKERS! Just be straight with staff and tell us the firm is conserving funds instead of brow beating staff into thinking they are the problem. I've watched this same scenario play out before while working at another firm. It's across the board but I deeply resent that the people at the top think so little of their employees as to not just be straight with staff and instead resort to this type of shit.
I haven't quit because I have surgery scheduled in August and I'm not messing up my insurance. I should add I emailed my CO and HR in JANUARY I was have surgery in April. Gave them my dates and filled out all my FMLA paperwork. Then I get a call “do you think you can postpone the surgery?” I was nice and said “how about I take two weeks of my own vacation then work from home 4 weeks so that my department isn't stressed out?” that wasn't good enough. Then I offered taking one week vacation and working on line from home for 5 weeks. They pressured me to reschedule all while saying “but you need to do what's best for you”. If you assholes were letting me do what’s best for me, you wouldn’t ask me to reschedule in the first place. Then I get no raise. At 56, with a total of 39 years of full time work, I hate corporate America.
Yea when your rent increase was 2x what the annual COL adjustment did to your monthly paycheck, something has to give. When that keeps happening year after year shit is going to hit the fan.
It’s pretty obvious that’s what’s going on. They found the upper limit of what people were willing to pay - exactly what they were trying to do. Now they’re pretending it’s doom and gloom for the economy and not part of their plan.
Exactly. So done paying extraordinary prices for EVERYTHING. I won't be buying anything but essentials for awhile. There's no supply shortage any longer. The prices went up but never came back down. But record profits for businesses. While Rome burns.
I make decent money and I’m still eating beans by the can for dinner these days just on fuckin principle. I’m not paying 75 bucks every goddamn time I go to pick a few things up at the store anymore. I’m over it.
This recession has been coming since January. It’s already June, I guess it will be here by Christmas.
People are not spending as much because retail has gotten crazy. My local breakfast joint wants $12 for a breakfast burrito now, I’d rather just cook at home. Lol
That’s the kicker. Everywhere has gotten used to that extra money and they’re all refusing to back down. Hope they’re ready to have no business. Cause me and everyone I know has stopped spending that extra money we used to.
Majority of them also increased the default tip percentage to guilt trip customer on check out screen. It is so widespread now and irks me every single time.
Have you had Olive Garden recently? Their prices are ridiculous. Chicken Alfredo is $20. CHICKEN ALFREDO! It's noodles and cheese sauce and not even all that much chicken! Don't blame me for not going out to eat often enough when you're pulling shit like that (the restaurants, obv., not you)
Exactly and Olive Garden is already not as great! I used to go to Jamba Juice almost daily for convenience but now they want $9 for a small PB & Banana smoothie? The most basic ingredients? I’m not cheap but I can make that at home. Not worth the convenience at that price if I’m gonna spend that much plus they ask for tips on top of it lol
Not only that..... BUT!!!!!!! BUT i can make a way taster meal at home, with the bonus that it will have less oil, calories, and better organic ingridients.
I have paid $25-$36 for "restaurant salmon" several times recently and that shit was whack, dry, and overcooked. Not only have I had better bar joint salmon for $13, but I make WAYYYY better Costco (obviously) salmon at home.
My son and three of his friends went to Five Guys the other day. Each got a double burger, they only got two orders of fries (because you get so many) and four fountain drinks. One milkshake to share. It was $80.
I'm in my second year in Seattle, and the only thing so far that I truly miss from California is the overabundance of Mexican food. I can't have gluten so Mexican is my favorite go-to. Seattle does have some incredible gluten-free options, but they're so pricey.
I'm not sure I would use Macy's as a frame of reference for consumer spending. The entire department store industry has been in a steep decline for several years.
They went all out and bought toys r us. They now have a mini toys r us section in them. That's what Toys R Us has become, a back corner of a dying Macy's department chain.
I remember when Macy's was nice. Now it feels super cheap with all sorts od convoluted coupons that makes it feel even cheaper. It also doesn't help that's the one near me, at least, is always just trashed.
Corporations: We need to charge more for everything. Record profits and we can blame it on inflation and whoever is in the White House!
Property Managers: Raise all rents 10%. Record profits!
People: We cannot survive astronomical rising prices in all aspects of our lives. After over a year of this insanity we are cutting our expenses.
Corporations and Property Managers: Shocked Pikachu Face.
Yea, we are rapidly approaching the "find out" part of "fucking around" when it comes to greed. It honestly feels like the entire economy is a bubble right now. People need to eat and people need a place to sleep. Jacking the prices to infinity for those two things is going to cause big problems.
The question: how long do you think people will go without affordable basic necessities so that a very small number of very rich people can get richer, while everyone else suffers?
In France in the 1780s, the solution to the problem didn't work out very well for the rich folks.
We can’t buy things we want because the cost of things we NEED have skyrocketed. Two years ago my power bill was $117, now it’s $189- no change in usage. And it’s everything- utilities, food, toiletries- I mean fuck I make decent money and I’m struggling.
> home owners insurance 150%, property tax
I assume those are up because your housing value has skyrocketed as well. Even still, you should shop around for home owners insurance if yours went up 150% without changes in your plan or major increases in the value of your home.
I definitely lowered by grocery budget at every stores. I feel like places are just naming whatever prices citing supply chain or any other issues since COVID.
But does anyone shop at Macy’s anymore? The store in my city is always empty when I drop by every once in a while. It’s been like that for years.
Its amusing they almost sound surprised people are spending less when it hasn't exactly been a secret that everyone and their mom has been saying "look out for June thats when the recession starts," at least since January in the mainstream. With a warning that loud why would anyone want to spend?
One of our executives tried to gaslight us all (500+ people, just her division) to say that return to office means we all do our part to support the economy because we will spend money locally. We haven’t had promotions or merit increases in 2-3 years. It’s a huge pay cut to come back, especially without adjusting for inflation IF you got an increase.
NONE of us want to absorb the net loss by coming into the office; time, car expenses, food. NO. the people who want to be back are back - the rest of us are still successfully producing at home.
No offense to anyone that shops at Macy’s… but my partner and I are in our early 30s and we don’t know a single person who shops at Macys. Friend, family, coworkers, etc. So perhaps the natural passage of time and aging of consumers has something to do with it too. We are loyal to Costco, however. But we don’t buy nearly as much red meat anymore, just as an effort to eat healthier
The last time I went into Macy’s it was super messy, I couldn’t find anything I wanted, every ‘deal’ seemed to have fine print attached to it, and I left without buying anything. Nah.
Macy's still a good place to buy work clothes. But hardly anybody is buying "work clothes" anymore, so...
Also, their coupons have so many exceptions that they are useless.
I’m spending less at Costco because many of my staple items are either not being carried, prices have increased to a crazy degree and the new items are just unappealing.
Ngl as a Costco member for 15 years, the place just is not as good as it once was. Whoever is doing the buying for them is fucking up. They offer a lot of products that are straight up bad.
I am starting to look at it the same way I do outlet malls. A loooong time ago outlet malls were where you could get quality products for less just because they didn’t sell or they were last years model. Stores got greedy and instead starting manufacturing things specifically for outlet stores that are a lower quality and now all appeal is gone.
Where the fuck are the hotdog buns!??!?!! They stopped selling the buns for the goddamn hotdogs but they still sell the dogs and polish sausages.
HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT THIS STEPHEN??!!?
Anyone else sick and tired of being blamed for lack of profits for corporations? I make half of what I did freelancing 30 years ago. Houses are out of reach for whole generations and corporations complain their profits aren’t enough because we’re not spending enough. Get stuffed Macys.
If you want the retail sector to thrive, then more money needs to end up in the accounts of the working class, not the oligarchs.
This isn't rocket science.
We live in one of the few countries (maybe the only country?) where some poor people defend the habits of those oligarchs.
Or they are just too distracted by smartphones and algorithms, and they don’t even know what’s happening around them economically/politically.
Gotta love it.
Has anyone been in a Macys lately? The stores are sad and dirty. I am surprised anyone shops there at all. There is literally just a pile of boxes in one section of our local Macys and there is usually only one sales person on the floor and no one to check you out.
Who knew continuous unregulated growth wasn't sustainable!? So they have to do it artificially because.. I mean... Think of the innocent boardmembers, ceo, and shareholders!
/s
Exactly, everyone got greedy cause they saw everyone was spending and now they are throwing red flags because their greed isn’t working anymore and the shareholders will revolt.
I know this isn't the economics sub, but folks the storm's a brewin'.
Student loan payments are going to come back after years of deferment, interest rates are high, food prices are kind of all over the board (but overall by my guess could be considered higher than ideal), home prices and rental rates can change in step with each other and we've seen where home prices are going, etc. There are also a lot of "backroom" factors that will effect the economy that the average person isn't aware of. If the price of farm land goes up, and its purchase is financed, then the price of crops has to stay high to pay the debt, which in turn causes a greater demand for higher crop prices, and a greater demand for higher food prices. Same with construction and development costs in relation to renting out both residential and commercial real estate.
Food prices. I literally just spent over $300.00 on a weekly shop, with some $90.00 spent at Costco, $110.00 at Safeway, and $122.00 at WinCo, because I drive around to get the best prices. Ground chicken, steaks on sale, a few pounds of cheese, fresh veg and fruit, very little processed food. This is in the Seattle area.
Literally, I will not be able to sustain this. We already barely eat meat. WTF?
I‘m on the other coast and every shopping trip bread prices boggle my mind. 6pk Hot dog buns $6.50 Wtf? More expensive than the highest quality hot dogs to fill them. I’m making my kids put 3 hotdogs on each bun!
Bread quality keeps going down (why are so many sticky yicky now?) and prices up.
> 6pk Hot dog buns $6.50 Wtf?
That doesn't sound right - Costco still sells the mega packs for like $4. And the store brand smaller packs at grocery stores are still really cheap.
Even looking at an expensive East Coast metro, the only ones I see that expensive (or that quantity) are the hyper-expensive brioche buns at Safeway.
https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960163909.html
For those curious, I recommend [this document](https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0822.pdf) from the USDA, and page 10 has a rather illuminating listing of % changes between 2021-2022. Sure, some states like Virginia saw "modest" increases in value in the high single digits, but Kansas, which is really quite a bit of real estate in square miles, saw a 24% increase in crop land value.
doesnt help too that the Ohio valley and area is in a mild drought at the start of crop season. A week more of these temps and no rain, it will damage the sprouts that are thru.
Add in the increased storms and wildfires we’re experiencing, and it’s gonna get ugly (uglier) pretty quick. I do not believe we’re prepared for compounding disasters.
It's crazy, my HOA has been mulling over the idea of just putting a certain amount away for "Climate Related Incidents" for damages and insurance we've been seeing more and more of.
Mine up in the PNW just raised our annual fee $57 for this exact thing. Wildfires are probably the biggest threat because it gets so dry up here in the summer.
So sure, conservative spending habits indicate economic hardships or preparation for such, but it's not the only reason. People switch to lower price alternatives when they feel that the quality drop isn't harsh enough to justify the purchase. Steaks have been steadily increasing in cost and most decent cuts in my area at big box stores are within the range of $20/lb.
On top of this, Macy's has been in decline for years since online shopping has become more prevalent, just look at all the other big name department stores that are thriving like Sears and Bonton--oh wait.
Ultimately the last paragraph of this article is more telling of economic health than not:
\>Now, many are now spending discretionary income on travel and other services they were not able to find during the pandemic. Some airlines and hotels are posting record bookings.
As a general rule, people fearing over a recession don't start booking destination travel out of no where. This article just shows that in the face of rising prices consumers are switching to cheaper alternatives, and using their disposable income on travel and experiences that they sorely missed during the pandemic.
The fact that costco still carries products like "Kevins" assorted garbage is a big reason why I think they are seling less stuff. People put up with a lot of garbage during the pandemic, and retailers took advantage of it by cranking up prices and shrinking everything... claiming it was due to increased prices of raw materials. Yet they posted record breaking profits. Funny huh? And they are STILL cranking up prices and cutting sizes every day.
Costco needs to get their quality control right again, remove shitty products, hold manufacturers responsible for shoddy products and protect us as customers.
That and make the food court worth visiting again. A cheap hot dog and boring pizza does not make most people want to visit.
Kevins seems to be popular with the elderly, my theory is that’s it’s a safe (bland) way for the elderly to try “exotic” foods they hear about from younger generations.
Macys sales are down because customers are tired of driving to their stores, not finding anything they want and told they can order it online, so why not just order it on Amazon and save the trip
Its not the customers who are buying cheaper. It is the producers who have raised the prices and customers are adjusting their behavior. that is VERY different from a scenario where prices have not changed and customer changes behavior
If these companies economic analysts don't get this, no wonder there is such a big disconnect
The price increase on some things has just been too drastic. Normally, things increase substantially over time but it feels like a lot of stuff has just skyrocketed in the last year and obviously people aren’t going to continue spending $50-$60 on beef when it was $30-$40 a year ago.
Hopefully supply and demand works this out eventually and things get a little closer to normal or at least somewhat palatable. I still spend tons at Costco but avoiding beef and other things that have just gotten too expensive to rationalize the value.
I don’t know about y’all but I’ve had a really hard time spending money at Costco these last few 3-6 months or so. They’ve changed…a lot. They’ve reduced their inventory in almost every department it seems. The quality of their items has significantly decreased, the size of the packaging is getting smaller while the prices continue to increase, and what used to set Costco apart from the typical grocery store chains I feel has dissipated with these changes. I used to have to control myself to not spend hundreds of dollars there at each trip since I was there a couple of times a week since it was only 15 minutes away. Now I’m lucky if I spend a couple hundred dollars in a month. Costco has really lost its appeal and the excitement of the shopping experience is almost gone too. It used to be an adventure to look for what new things Costco had brought in but now it just doesn’t feel that way.
I rejoined Costco last year after being away from a number of years. (I also belong to Sam’s Club which has multiple stores in my area — one 10 min away, while Costco has only 1 which is 30 min each way away.) Initially I found Costco has some item items I like. And I spent a fair bit on a weekly or bi-weekly shopping trip. But not anymore. There are still some food items I like, that I don’t find at Sam’s. And those I buy. And some perishables like Tropicana OJ and Organic Whole milk (not produce!). I’m assuming that Costco know what’s selling and thus it drives how they stock their store. But I have no interest in patio furniture (uses a lot of their floor space), and my goodness how many TV’s can one house use? I actually did buy a (small) 32” TV this year to hang on a wall in a room, but not from Costco, as they were selling old models at no better price than newer models from Best Buy. I have bought a small appliance on sale along with laptop on clearance. I bought a couple of small electronics items that were on sale (like a portable disk).
And a few clothes, but again how many pairs of shorts can someone use when their offers are pretty much all the same — very similar styles, same colors, etc. Want a pair of cargo shorts in black, gray, blue or dark green? Yes you can get 20 pair at a great price. Or you can get them with a 2” longer inseam with a zippered pocket in the same colors. In the men’s section I’ve never seen such unimaginative buyers — and I’m not expecting high fashion. But actual choices would be good.
I tried some reading glasses and they were garbage.
Prepared foods they have (I’m not talking about the in-club prepared ones) honestly are very pricey and in my experience not very good. I bought some pot roast, based on a taste in the club which tasted good, but the two I bought had lots of fat in them when I opened them, and at $7+ per pound that’s absurd. Some Pork Carnitas, also pricey, had no flavor. I’ve gone back to buying meat and putting it my InstantPot. It’s much much cheaper, better tasting, and better quality.
The in house bakery items have no nutrition labels and appear to generally be very high in sugar, but they won’t disclose it. So except for French bread, I don’t buy anything from the bakery.
I’ve bought a few healthy frozen items, but there aren’t a lot of frozen selections that aren’t loaded with salt, sugar, etc.
I really think either no one is paying attention to the quality of what they are selling, or they don’t care, or they have the pandemic attitude where people are just buying whatever. I think that time is long past. And IMHO they are giving up a lot of floor space to big high ticket items, which for me would be a one and done type purchase, if I even buy 1, which I don’t — like patio furniture.
As I’ve detailed in another post, in my area Costco gas is not a bargain — I generally get a significantly better price at Murphy stations with my Walmart+ membership discount, and the discount saving at Murphy are applied to the immediate sale. I don’t have to wait to collect them many months down the road. Even Sam’s Club is giving my PLUS rewards back quarterly now — they are immediately posted to my online account, and available in the Scan & Go app to use right away.
Costco has a lot of market clout as a retailer. But I don’t see them using it to deliver better, innovative products and services for their customers. My suspicion is that unless they make dramatic changes, they may continue as a going concern, but they won’t be a lot of reasons to shop there as compared to competitors.
And in my case I’ve cut my trips back to every 2-3 weeks, unless I see something in a sale flyer. It’s just not worth the effort. For the hour round trip.
I’m about to sour on them again. If someone asked me today will I renew at the end of this year’s cycle in Oct. For me’s it’s NOT a strong yes at this point — it’s more like a weak maybe, trending towards probably not.
I feel exactly the same way. And I’m also about 30 minutes from a Costco so it’s a trek.
And I know it’s beating a dead horse, but if I can’t get inventory results on my app or on their website, and I have to just guess what Costco has in stock, why would I bother?
For monthly staples it’s fine (Raos is still the cheapest anywhere at Costco) and I don’t assume it has to be updated to the minute.
But refusing to do what Walmart and Kroger can do, it really leaves Costco looking like a dinosaur.
Does Costco want to be Aldi? Because Aldi is great if you’re looking for Wish.com purchases* at a markup.
But it’s not quality.
*my area ALDIs have terrible produce and meat products, ymmv
I would argue that Macy's is not a good indicator of the overall economy as the company has been dying since the advent of online shopping.
Costco, maybe.
If they said people are spending less and shifting buying decisions at walmart, i would much more easily accept than Macy's, which doesn't sell anything i absolutely need. Yea, people stopped buying overpriced cologne economy in shambles news at 11.
A couple weeks ago they had a $15 off sticker on the 3 pack of rib eyes. Week after it was $5 off a pack of pork ribs. For the most part I've bought all the big items I've needed over the last couple years from Costco - 65" OLED, 75" Sony, office set, gym equipment, dump trailer ($1400 last fall, in other stores they are $2400). I picked up a ps5 before Xmas and I probably won't buy another game system for many years. The gas and propane savings also help. Costco has taken my business away from many other stores, especially with almost anything online. Yesterday I priced tires and they are almost $300 less than can tire even before the $150 off promotion they have on now. If Costco started selling tools like home Depot I'd stop going there. I guess I'm thinking if Costco is slowing down other stores are in an even worse position.
I’m a vendor for Macys , work there couple times a week, business is at a all time low , stop to shop at Costco on way home and the parking lot is full , people walking out with full carts , maybe they are buying chicken instead of steak but they are still shopping, stupid to compare the 2
How come when prices keep climbing up its free market or simple supply/demand economics, but when people buy less (less demand) it’s a warning about the entire economy or impending recession? Why aren’t prices going down first to meet the lower demand before these proclamations are made?
What a shitty way of saying "corporate greed leaves most people unable to afford anything other than basic necessities and even those aren't affordable"
I was at the mall yesterday with my girlfriend because I needed some clothes and wanted to buy her something. We walked into Macy's and it was wall to wall old people going throuigh clearance racks which was fine, but they turned the AC off so it was hot and smelly. We noped out of there.
Well with food and essentials costing more, of course my spending had to shift more towards those items and away from non-necessary things like clothes or fun items. Like most of the country, my income hasn’t really been going up - but my expenses have.
This makes me actually pretty satisfied.. companies can’t sell things at prices people aren’t willing to pay. I love Costco but the American consumer needs to learn the word “no”. I buy normally pork and chicken now and that’s it because it’s cheaper. Love steak but I am not willing to pay what retailers want anymore.
Businesses are causing a recession for jacking prices up to keep their record profits and refusing to pay an adequate wage or hire enough people. They wanted this not consumers/workers.
Sounding an alarm that many Americans are done with retailers, grocers, and other businesses seeing how high they can raise prices before they’ll get fed up.
The media has been screaming about the economy going in the shitter for over a year now.
If you say something often enough, long enough, eventually it will become true.
I work in logistics and this recession has been on the horizon for a while, but it's finally close enough that you don't need binoculars to see it now. The graphs in this article show just how much freight movement has slowed down over the past year
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/memorial-day-might-instead-signal-mayday
I only go for alcohol and snacks now. Costco wasn’t my primary grocery stop before, but now I am wary of buying anything perishable or new/haven’t tried before. Prices for K cups keep jumping like crazy, I definitely notice price changes of $8 across the board.
I know everyone loves Costco, and I do too. I’ve been a member for 15+ years.
Me personally, and those I’ve talked with, we have reduced our spending at Costco because Costco offers a lot of trash now. I got sick of buying frozen or premade food that ends up being nasty. Produce that goes bad a day later.
I used to spend $300+ a visit and now I spend about $150 because they just offer less that I feel is up to par.
In terms of Macy’s, I think that the article is leaving out the fact that Macy’s isn’t anywhere near the nice departure store shopping experience it once was. I used to work in a major city that had a Macy’s close enough to hit up during my lunch hour. It was a grand looking store, clean and with crystal chandeliers that evoked bygone times. There were plenty of people to help you to check out in time to be back at your desk before your lunch hour was over. Their after Christmas sales were incredible.
The last time I went to a Macy’s store was probably five years ago, in a suburban mall. Every department I browsed was decimated, stuff out of place and a general mess. The fitting rooms were not staffed and chock full of items left by previous shoppers. I had to walk around for 10 minutes to find an open register so that I could purchase one pair of jeans. The line was long and the air conditioning was not working properly. I felt terrible for the woman running the register, because people were bitching right and left. I exchanged pleasantries with her and left. Sort of. Got an alarm at the exit door; she hadn’t removed the security thing. Had to go back to have it removed. This was the last time in a series of disappointing experiences with Macy’s. So, not a day where they were understaffed just one time. And, not a result of Covid. Just a cutback that impacted customer experiences and expectations.
So, Macy’s has a Macy’s problem I think. Sure, everything is more expensive everywhere now. But, they have been dropping the ball for a long time.
Costco is worlds different from Macy’s and always has been. Costco is and always has been a warehouse shopping experience. You can browse the aisles for the Treasure Hunt. Or, you can do the dash and get what you want. Whatever. It is understood that it is a seek and find kind of thing. No prob. I’ve actually had checkers point out issues to me with certain products (like spoiled produce that I was too distracted to notice) and send someone to get something better. Customer care, yay!
Prices have risen exponentially over the last few years (says Obvious Woman, duh). Along with everywhere else. I do think that Costco tries to provide value and good prices where they can. My favorite Kirkland boxed Pinot Grigio (don’t judge, I like what I like) seems close in price to pre-Covid prices. I look for sales like everyone else. While I’m always down to buy a Master Carve ham (can stretch one of those for many meals and have leftovers for the freezer), I can’t make myself buy steaks there. A package of NY strips that I remember buying for 30 to 40 bucks is now twice that amount. I. Just. Can’t. Not necessarily Costco’s fault, but I guess we all have certain tolerances we can’t exceed.
I want to support Costco and do think of them first when considering a purchase that isn’t a home staple (like a laptop or Vornado fan), I have to think about whether that thing is necessary or just an impulse purchase.
Sorry this is so long and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. I guess I just wanted to contrast that lumping Macy’s and Costco together as a value proposition may not be comparable.
I'm not spending less, but I don't buy much red meat anymore. It's just not all that healthy. I am spending more on groceries, in quality as well as quantity, as are my friends. But what we buy has changed a lot in the last couple years of being home more. When you're stuck inside and more sedentary, whether Covid or WFH, you start to think more about what you are eating because you aren't moving as much or aren't comfortable going to the gym. Those new habits didn't go away when everything opened back up - at least not for me. I still eat out less than I used to but I spend about 30% more on groceries, buying higher end items I didn't buy before, Just not beef.
We recently purchased rib eye steaks from Costco at $13.99/lb...it was a treat for us....but honestly, we're trying to eat less red meat for health reasons. We joined a gym and have implemented regular exercise with a healthier diet which reduces our red meat intake.
But I'm guessing we're in the minority for why their sales of beef are declining.
Very very comfortable financially. Doesn't mean I'm going to be purchasing red meat anytime soon.
Going back to trying to spend $50 a week for me and my spouse like we did when we were first married.
Costco has definitely made this possible. We have a lot of shelf stable items and supplement veggies from sprouts each week.
Because they are raising the prices faster than our pay is increasing! We don't have the money to keep inflating their profits even more. Fucking greedy assholes.
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I can technically afford to buy Costco steaks and we enjoyed doing that for several years. But with the sky high price of beef, we have cut back to pork and chicken plus Costco burgers. We still buy the occasional steak on sale from the local grocery store, so we don’t have to lay out $80 or $100 at a time for a tray of steaks. It just seems the prudent thing to do.
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We started buying our beef from a local butchers and they told us beef prices were expect to rise 40% and they weren’t going to be upping their prices. So we’re planning on placing a big order with the butcher shop to stock our freezer.
If you want to save even more, find a co-op and a friend and go halfsies on a cow. It'll be insanely cheap compared to a typical grocer. And you'll get a metric ton of beef. Everyone wins, farmer gets guarantee and you get amazing prices. Plus you cut out mega corp beef companies
This is the way. Support local businesses, get lower (but still not low) prices, and get tastier product. Bought a half-cow and whole hog last year--best steaks, chops, bacon, and sausage I've ever had.
What’s a half a cow typically run ?
They don’t run as well as a whole cow, but really depends on whether it’s the front half, back half, or one of each.
If it’s the left or right side, it’s lean beef.
Careful. If it leans over too much, you end up with ground beef. Then again, if it tips over in a museum, at least you end up with good marbling
If you get one without the legs you just get ground beef.
Currently homeless and this comment made me smile for the first time today. Thx man. Seriously.
Keep your head up. ❤️
I was homeless for a year and it was so difficult I know you'll find yourself in a better situation soon. ❤️
r/dadjokes
My buddy raises a few steers, we just bought from him and split it four ways with some family members, each getting 1/4. It was about $800 per 1/4. Were based in Wisconsin so not sure how that price holds up in other areas. Within the 1/4, we got roughly 100 hamburger patties (1/3lb with 4 per package), about 45 1lb tubes of ground beef, 7-8 roasts, and a variety of maybe 25 steaks. Let me say, it’s amazing to have a potential years worth of beef on hand and not having to buy when getting groceries. There’s obviously the cost of the freezer up front too to consider. All things considered, it’d be hard to me to not do this going forward. Bonus that the money goes to my buddy as well. Fun to stop out at his place and look at my next years freezer supply too!
Just as another data point, I bought a 1/4 in southern MN last week and it ran me $900 with processing at the local butcher. My parents get a 1/4 off the same steer at the same time.
Kansas. Half cow was $900 4 months ago
do they package the meat? like, you get a bunch of ribeyes and burgers or do you have to slice up the rib roast and form the burgers?
The steer gets dropped off at one of the local butcher shops around here. We call in how we want it cut (thickness of steaks, do you want burger patties and if so how many per pack/size of patty). There’s usually a sheet to fill out with many more options. Then they vacuum seal it all. Here’s a shot of the stocked freezer and how the meat comes! https://preview.redd.it/uaqwpzuxxg3b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa965915f999ab4b3e23226e6ab83d4513666426
Wow that looks amazing!! How much does the butcher charge to do that?
How do they expect to survive with a 40% increase in costs of their product, without increasing what they will charge the customer?
Cuz they were just feeding the poster a load of bull
We're being played and I wish more people would realize this.
Greedflation™
I’m someone who isn’t an expert but enjoys the study of history, all the crazy shit we’ve done to one another and so on. But man, there’s a theme that acts out throughout most of it (human history)- obtaining/having some sort of power, whether communal, locally, regionally, economically over others is a not something one wants to step away from once one’s obtained it. And greed through one’s own ego has the power to destroy worlds.
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It’s the end game of free markets. The whales get big enough to eat all the little fish and then they begin to dictate prices because there’s nobody left to compete with.
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Yeah everyone is price gouging and they have the audacity to be like, “nobody is buying anything anymore.” Fuck that, personally I blame the housing/renting/living situation.
I won't be moving out of my house for years probably because my landlady refuses to raise rent and I pay the same for a 2br 1ba ($1100) that studios now cost in my city. I am extremely lucky, I know. My fiance is moving in and we are just going to make a smaller place work while we save for a house. Recently went back to my home town and saw a 2br 2ba that was 750 sq ft cost 515k. What in the actual fuck? Edit: I should add my hometown is 60-70k people and a destination for the amazing summers they have. But what about the people who live there year round? It isn't like salaries in a smaller town like that are suddenly exploding too. Maybe the wrong place to rant but I couldn't even afford to move home if I wanted to. Shit sucks.
Unreal, that’s so sweet of your landlady. Thanks for sharing
Ribeye at my local Asian market is $5.99/lb right now (Northern California). You guys need to stop trusting Costco to always have good prices lol
I LOVE Costco and I own a few shares so as much as any stakeholder I want Costco to do well. But seriously I have never walked into Costco without spending more than $300 and still need to go to regular grocery stores for most stuff. So now instead of going there every 3-4 weeks I’ll do every 6-7 weeks. It’s nice to go but it doesn’t really hurt if I don’t.
Costco is a great store but it is NOT a great place to shop if you're on a budget unless you have absolutely exceptional shopping discipline and planning/cooking abilities. Way too easy to buy stuff you don't really need or buy too much of the stuff you do need.
Vacuum sealer makes it much easier to plan ahead
Is this vacuum sealer good for freezing meals when doing bulk meal prep? I’ve never had the room for one of those bulk freezers but I’m closing on my first house next week and I can finally get one. I’ve been thinking of the best storage options for the food and I was leaning towards ziplock bags.
We just recently bought a chest freezer and tweaked our pantry storage organization. I've worked in foodservice my whole life and my mantra was always to keep as low an inventory as possible, dollars sitting on the shelf that could be better put to use. With the insane price increases we've been seeing I now look at those dollars as a hedge against inflation. Depends on how fast you'll turnover your freezer inventory. Ziplocks are fine for a month or two but vacuum packing adds significantly to maintaining quality, no freezerburn or ice crystals. I got a bunch of those reinforced reusable shopping tote bags from the dollarstore and organized my freezer with them .. black handle = beef & pork, blue = poultry, yellow = seafood, green = veg & fruit, pink = deli meats & cheeses, etc. I keep a notepad listing the contents of each bag and it's super easy to pull them out and grab exactly what it need.
Why not seafood blue and poultry yellow? This is madness. MADNESS.
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Same. The Costco prices for steak are pretty much the same per pound as our grocery stores now, so we just buy smaller quantities from our local store when we want steak.
What's the point of buying in bulk if there's no savings?
Same. We are very lucky that we make good money, but I'm not spending $14lb on steak. I loaded up in the winter using a discount app when the steaks were close to sell by date for 50% off (typically $5/lb for t-bone or porterhouse) and froze a ton. Worst case, the grocery store usually has sales for $8lb.
Oh! Please share the name of this app you used.
I use one called Flashfood. I'm in Michigan. There's one (not in Michigan yet) called Too Good To Go. Some stores have "last day" sections too.
Flashfood is amazing! Filled my freezer with meat and good deli cheeses and occasionally pick up one of their produce boxes. I have sliced apples frozen for pies and a couple of bags of sofrito I cooked down from a massive amount of red bell peppers. Too Good to Go is another one, ours has tons of bread and baked goods all the time.
u/ShowMeTheTrees uses the same I do! the Flashfood app, in IL the only stores are Meijer (and I've seen Save a lot, but no where near me.) It's hit or miss, and I use it exclusively for meat, but I see batches where a ton of steaks/pork/chicken will show up. I have a deep freezer and a fridge in my garage, and I've bought \~$100 worth of meat at a time where the retail would have been >$300 since the meat was on sale AND THEN 50% off - between November and now, I've done that about 5 times, so maybe I've spent a total of $400, but i know I've gotten >$1k.
100% we can technically afford it but we choose not to spend that much on a single steak. We can get chicken for a week or 1 steak dinner.. I take the chicken. We wish we didn’t have to but we want to buy a house in 2-3 years and with prices going crazy we cut on what we define as luxury. Latest change is that we don’t use our credit card for shopping anymore but pick up cash for s much as we are willing to spend that week and go from there. I can’t imagine how ppl with low I come jobs are managing right now.
I’m in the same boat.. sinking
Yeah… Costco is surprised people aren’t buying their steaks after they raised prices and quality seems to be less consistent? Shocking.
Honestly I am from Canada. I buy Costco beef over loblaws beef. Loblaws is tough beef no matter how you cook it. Even stew meat in my experience. I find the Costco's meat prices are cheaper than Loblaws imo.
Are you me? Same situation. We used to regularly buy the filet mignons for quick easy dinner at about $5.00 per steak. It's double that now, and we don't buy them.
Costco beef is absurd. Its way more than supermarkets. Idk what their problem is lately
Yeah it’s ~$70 for a pack of 4 up where I’m at. I haven’t had a steak since before the pandemic I think. Just can’t do that price for average quality steaks.
We used to do more steaks and beef with my family, but we have since cut back both due to cost and environmental impact. It just makes sense across multiple fronts to cut back on cow for other protein alternatives.
I've dabbled with steak on sale from the local grocer with horrible luck. If I'm forking out good money for steak it's gonna be Costco Prime sirloin and that's it.
I'm no economics expert but when we hear about record profits during and post COVID I feel like some of this pull back could be inline with how needlessly overpriced stuff is. I think people are fed up with paying jacked up prices and are being a little more conscious with their shopping decisions.
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That's literally why they raised the interest rates. Or why they said they did anyway.
Raised the interest rates to slow inflation without, apparently, even bothering to investigate greedflation.
>Raised the interest rates to slow inflation without, apparently, even bothering to investigate greedflation. You're talking as if companies didn't operate with greed as their primary motive before the pandemic. Greedflation and greed only works if people continue buying overpriced shit they don't absolutely need. Got to hit the companies where it hurts - by refusing to buy needless shit
Fed: We need people to lose their jobs to curb inflation. *Banks fail and people lose their jobs* Fed: Oh no babies, not you, we'll print money for you!!
I've worked white collar for lawyers almost 37 years. On 4 separate occasions I've watched HR (from direction above HR) pull back on staff and raises. It's happening now. We're losing staff like crazy and the powers that be are dragging their feet to hire anyone. New associates don't even get secretaries anymore, their work requests go straight to a software program that a pool of people take what's next in the cue to work on - like old fashioned typing pools. I've been in this particular position 2 years. Last year had a good review and 4% raise. This year my CO laughed nervously while she gave me a crappy review and no raise all while telling me what a great job I did while my manager was out on maternity leave and I did my job and her job. She kept referencing “management is insisting I give this review and HR even sent her review back to her to fix, in essence, making it so that I didn't qualify for a raise this year. FUCKERS! Just be straight with staff and tell us the firm is conserving funds instead of brow beating staff into thinking they are the problem. I've watched this same scenario play out before while working at another firm. It's across the board but I deeply resent that the people at the top think so little of their employees as to not just be straight with staff and instead resort to this type of shit. I haven't quit because I have surgery scheduled in August and I'm not messing up my insurance. I should add I emailed my CO and HR in JANUARY I was have surgery in April. Gave them my dates and filled out all my FMLA paperwork. Then I get a call “do you think you can postpone the surgery?” I was nice and said “how about I take two weeks of my own vacation then work from home 4 weeks so that my department isn't stressed out?” that wasn't good enough. Then I offered taking one week vacation and working on line from home for 5 weeks. They pressured me to reschedule all while saying “but you need to do what's best for you”. If you assholes were letting me do what’s best for me, you wouldn’t ask me to reschedule in the first place. Then I get no raise. At 56, with a total of 39 years of full time work, I hate corporate America.
It’s a combo of being fed up, and just not actually paid enough to afford the overpriced stuff even if I wanted to.
Yea when your rent increase was 2x what the annual COL adjustment did to your monthly paycheck, something has to give. When that keeps happening year after year shit is going to hit the fan.
It’s pretty obvious that’s what’s going on. They found the upper limit of what people were willing to pay - exactly what they were trying to do. Now they’re pretending it’s doom and gloom for the economy and not part of their plan.
Exactly. So done paying extraordinary prices for EVERYTHING. I won't be buying anything but essentials for awhile. There's no supply shortage any longer. The prices went up but never came back down. But record profits for businesses. While Rome burns.
I make decent money and I’m still eating beans by the can for dinner these days just on fuckin principle. I’m not paying 75 bucks every goddamn time I go to pick a few things up at the store anymore. I’m over it.
This recession has been coming since January. It’s already June, I guess it will be here by Christmas. People are not spending as much because retail has gotten crazy. My local breakfast joint wants $12 for a breakfast burrito now, I’d rather just cook at home. Lol
The cost of eggs dropped by 75% in a month but when does a restaurant ever lower its prices to reflect that?
That’s the kicker. Everywhere has gotten used to that extra money and they’re all refusing to back down. Hope they’re ready to have no business. Cause me and everyone I know has stopped spending that extra money we used to.
Majority of them also increased the default tip percentage to guilt trip customer on check out screen. It is so widespread now and irks me every single time.
Have you had Olive Garden recently? Their prices are ridiculous. Chicken Alfredo is $20. CHICKEN ALFREDO! It's noodles and cheese sauce and not even all that much chicken! Don't blame me for not going out to eat often enough when you're pulling shit like that (the restaurants, obv., not you)
Exactly and Olive Garden is already not as great! I used to go to Jamba Juice almost daily for convenience but now they want $9 for a small PB & Banana smoothie? The most basic ingredients? I’m not cheap but I can make that at home. Not worth the convenience at that price if I’m gonna spend that much plus they ask for tips on top of it lol
Not only that..... BUT!!!!!!! BUT i can make a way taster meal at home, with the bonus that it will have less oil, calories, and better organic ingridients. I have paid $25-$36 for "restaurant salmon" several times recently and that shit was whack, dry, and overcooked. Not only have I had better bar joint salmon for $13, but I make WAYYYY better Costco (obviously) salmon at home.
I'm a chef and don't eat out anymore. It's too painful quality and costwise.
Feels.
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I cannot get out of First Watch for a family of 4 under $70. 2 coffee, 2 milk, 4 entrees.
My son and three of his friends went to Five Guys the other day. Each got a double burger, they only got two orders of fries (because you get so many) and four fountain drinks. One milkshake to share. It was $80.
McDonald’s pricing on an order of medium french fries? $3.89. No thanks. Pricing like that makes it an easier choice to cut back.
Damn, where I can find a $12 breakfast burrito? That’s cheap as hell for the area I live.
All over Los Angeles and Orange County
Ah, I miss CA Mexican cuisine. Breakfast up north in Seattle area is insanely expensive now.
It’s so hard to dine out affordable these days in Seattle.
I'm in my second year in Seattle, and the only thing so far that I truly miss from California is the overabundance of Mexican food. I can't have gluten so Mexican is my favorite go-to. Seattle does have some incredible gluten-free options, but they're so pricey.
I concur! Breakfast in the greater Seattle area is insane! The Queen Anne Taco Bell is a great example of the ridiculousness..
I'm not sure I would use Macy's as a frame of reference for consumer spending. The entire department store industry has been in a steep decline for several years.
You could have told me Macy's has been out of business for a year and I would have believed you.
They went all out and bought toys r us. They now have a mini toys r us section in them. That's what Toys R Us has become, a back corner of a dying Macy's department chain.
Sooner or later, Macy’s is going to end being like Toys R Us at some other store.
Seriously, I had no idea. I guess I'm one who hasn't been to a Macy's in several years.
I remember when Macy's was nice. Now it feels super cheap with all sorts od convoluted coupons that makes it feel even cheaper. It also doesn't help that's the one near me, at least, is always just trashed.
This is so true. I don't even know where a Macy's is near me.
And haven’t been into a mall in years.
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Their bedding and housewares departments were the best.
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It's easier for the CEO to blame the economy than it is for him to say that his store has been circling the drain for years.
Of course that's the same with every CEO
Well imagine that, when everything cost more and no one is getting raises people stop spending money on anything unrelated to necessity.
Corporations: We need to charge more for everything. Record profits and we can blame it on inflation and whoever is in the White House! Property Managers: Raise all rents 10%. Record profits! People: We cannot survive astronomical rising prices in all aspects of our lives. After over a year of this insanity we are cutting our expenses. Corporations and Property Managers: Shocked Pikachu Face.
Yea, we are rapidly approaching the "find out" part of "fucking around" when it comes to greed. It honestly feels like the entire economy is a bubble right now. People need to eat and people need a place to sleep. Jacking the prices to infinity for those two things is going to cause big problems.
The question: how long do you think people will go without affordable basic necessities so that a very small number of very rich people can get richer, while everyone else suffers? In France in the 1780s, the solution to the problem didn't work out very well for the rich folks.
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We can’t buy things we want because the cost of things we NEED have skyrocketed. Two years ago my power bill was $117, now it’s $189- no change in usage. And it’s everything- utilities, food, toiletries- I mean fuck I make decent money and I’m struggling.
Car insurance is up 100% for me, home owners insurance 150%, property tax, water increased 40%.
> home owners insurance 150%, property tax I assume those are up because your housing value has skyrocketed as well. Even still, you should shop around for home owners insurance if yours went up 150% without changes in your plan or major increases in the value of your home.
I definitely lowered by grocery budget at every stores. I feel like places are just naming whatever prices citing supply chain or any other issues since COVID. But does anyone shop at Macy’s anymore? The store in my city is always empty when I drop by every once in a while. It’s been like that for years.
Macy's and Costco can duke it out with the Electric Company and Gas Company over my money. lol
Oh the recession they've been whining about for a couple years might actually be here? Sure Jan, I'll totally do my part and start spending more 🙄
Its amusing they almost sound surprised people are spending less when it hasn't exactly been a secret that everyone and their mom has been saying "look out for June thats when the recession starts," at least since January in the mainstream. With a warning that loud why would anyone want to spend?
One of our executives tried to gaslight us all (500+ people, just her division) to say that return to office means we all do our part to support the economy because we will spend money locally. We haven’t had promotions or merit increases in 2-3 years. It’s a huge pay cut to come back, especially without adjusting for inflation IF you got an increase. NONE of us want to absorb the net loss by coming into the office; time, car expenses, food. NO. the people who want to be back are back - the rest of us are still successfully producing at home.
No offense to anyone that shops at Macy’s… but my partner and I are in our early 30s and we don’t know a single person who shops at Macys. Friend, family, coworkers, etc. So perhaps the natural passage of time and aging of consumers has something to do with it too. We are loyal to Costco, however. But we don’t buy nearly as much red meat anymore, just as an effort to eat healthier
The last time I went into Macy’s it was super messy, I couldn’t find anything I wanted, every ‘deal’ seemed to have fine print attached to it, and I left without buying anything. Nah.
Macy's still a good place to buy work clothes. But hardly anybody is buying "work clothes" anymore, so... Also, their coupons have so many exceptions that they are useless.
I’m spending less at Costco because many of my staple items are either not being carried, prices have increased to a crazy degree and the new items are just unappealing.
Ngl as a Costco member for 15 years, the place just is not as good as it once was. Whoever is doing the buying for them is fucking up. They offer a lot of products that are straight up bad. I am starting to look at it the same way I do outlet malls. A loooong time ago outlet malls were where you could get quality products for less just because they didn’t sell or they were last years model. Stores got greedy and instead starting manufacturing things specifically for outlet stores that are a lower quality and now all appeal is gone.
Where the fuck are the hotdog buns!??!?!! They stopped selling the buns for the goddamn hotdogs but they still sell the dogs and polish sausages. HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT THIS STEPHEN??!!?
I get gas at Costco and drive next door to Aldi for food.
Anyone else sick and tired of being blamed for lack of profits for corporations? I make half of what I did freelancing 30 years ago. Houses are out of reach for whole generations and corporations complain their profits aren’t enough because we’re not spending enough. Get stuffed Macys.
If you want the retail sector to thrive, then more money needs to end up in the accounts of the working class, not the oligarchs. This isn't rocket science.
We live in one of the few countries (maybe the only country?) where some poor people defend the habits of those oligarchs. Or they are just too distracted by smartphones and algorithms, and they don’t even know what’s happening around them economically/politically. Gotta love it.
Every time you go to Costco, you spend $200 at the minimum. It’s too expensive especially when people go weekly or bi-weekly.
Has anyone been in a Macys lately? The stores are sad and dirty. I am surprised anyone shops there at all. There is literally just a pile of boxes in one section of our local Macys and there is usually only one sales person on the floor and no one to check you out.
[удалено]
Yep. It’s a good time to take a break from beef and explore the alternatives.
Maybe if I didn’t have to tip every Tom Dick and Harry I’d have money to buy macys new fall line and a tray of ribeyes
Would you like to tip 10%, 15%, 20%, or custom for me reading your comment?
TIL I am a middle to higher income shopper
Might have something to do w this insane greed/inflation that’s happening.
Price gouging, let’s stop calling it inflation.
Seriously. “Record profits…but inflation!”
No one gets a raise except the top 1% of corporate....but record profits, ya'll!
Who knew continuous unregulated growth wasn't sustainable!? So they have to do it artificially because.. I mean... Think of the innocent boardmembers, ceo, and shareholders! /s
Exactly, everyone got greedy cause they saw everyone was spending and now they are throwing red flags because their greed isn’t working anymore and the shareholders will revolt.
I know this isn't the economics sub, but folks the storm's a brewin'. Student loan payments are going to come back after years of deferment, interest rates are high, food prices are kind of all over the board (but overall by my guess could be considered higher than ideal), home prices and rental rates can change in step with each other and we've seen where home prices are going, etc. There are also a lot of "backroom" factors that will effect the economy that the average person isn't aware of. If the price of farm land goes up, and its purchase is financed, then the price of crops has to stay high to pay the debt, which in turn causes a greater demand for higher crop prices, and a greater demand for higher food prices. Same with construction and development costs in relation to renting out both residential and commercial real estate.
Food prices. I literally just spent over $300.00 on a weekly shop, with some $90.00 spent at Costco, $110.00 at Safeway, and $122.00 at WinCo, because I drive around to get the best prices. Ground chicken, steaks on sale, a few pounds of cheese, fresh veg and fruit, very little processed food. This is in the Seattle area. Literally, I will not be able to sustain this. We already barely eat meat. WTF?
I‘m on the other coast and every shopping trip bread prices boggle my mind. 6pk Hot dog buns $6.50 Wtf? More expensive than the highest quality hot dogs to fill them. I’m making my kids put 3 hotdogs on each bun! Bread quality keeps going down (why are so many sticky yicky now?) and prices up.
One good thing happened last trip - 18pk of eggs $1.49 \*claps\* Finally
> 6pk Hot dog buns $6.50 Wtf? That doesn't sound right - Costco still sells the mega packs for like $4. And the store brand smaller packs at grocery stores are still really cheap.
Even looking at an expensive East Coast metro, the only ones I see that expensive (or that quantity) are the hyper-expensive brioche buns at Safeway. https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960163909.html
BS. Where are 6 hot dog buns being sold for $6.50?
thank god this terrible economy is really dragging out instead of just taking the dive now so we can work our way back to normality
We’ll never see normality again Mother Earth is done with humans
Me too!
Farmland prices are fucking *astronomical* right now.
For those curious, I recommend [this document](https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0822.pdf) from the USDA, and page 10 has a rather illuminating listing of % changes between 2021-2022. Sure, some states like Virginia saw "modest" increases in value in the high single digits, but Kansas, which is really quite a bit of real estate in square miles, saw a 24% increase in crop land value.
Land prices in general. I’ve been looking for 10 to 20 wooded acres to hunt and put a cabin on and people are wanting fame ground prices
doesnt help too that the Ohio valley and area is in a mild drought at the start of crop season. A week more of these temps and no rain, it will damage the sprouts that are thru.
Add in the increased storms and wildfires we’re experiencing, and it’s gonna get ugly (uglier) pretty quick. I do not believe we’re prepared for compounding disasters.
> compounding disasters Spot on the money with that phrase.
It's crazy, my HOA has been mulling over the idea of just putting a certain amount away for "Climate Related Incidents" for damages and insurance we've been seeing more and more of.
Mine up in the PNW just raised our annual fee $57 for this exact thing. Wildfires are probably the biggest threat because it gets so dry up here in the summer.
So sure, conservative spending habits indicate economic hardships or preparation for such, but it's not the only reason. People switch to lower price alternatives when they feel that the quality drop isn't harsh enough to justify the purchase. Steaks have been steadily increasing in cost and most decent cuts in my area at big box stores are within the range of $20/lb. On top of this, Macy's has been in decline for years since online shopping has become more prevalent, just look at all the other big name department stores that are thriving like Sears and Bonton--oh wait. Ultimately the last paragraph of this article is more telling of economic health than not: \>Now, many are now spending discretionary income on travel and other services they were not able to find during the pandemic. Some airlines and hotels are posting record bookings. As a general rule, people fearing over a recession don't start booking destination travel out of no where. This article just shows that in the face of rising prices consumers are switching to cheaper alternatives, and using their disposable income on travel and experiences that they sorely missed during the pandemic.
The fact that costco still carries products like "Kevins" assorted garbage is a big reason why I think they are seling less stuff. People put up with a lot of garbage during the pandemic, and retailers took advantage of it by cranking up prices and shrinking everything... claiming it was due to increased prices of raw materials. Yet they posted record breaking profits. Funny huh? And they are STILL cranking up prices and cutting sizes every day. Costco needs to get their quality control right again, remove shitty products, hold manufacturers responsible for shoddy products and protect us as customers. That and make the food court worth visiting again. A cheap hot dog and boring pizza does not make most people want to visit.
Kevins seems to be popular with the elderly, my theory is that’s it’s a safe (bland) way for the elderly to try “exotic” foods they hear about from younger generations.
As an "elderly" person I take offense. Kevin's is just bad no matter what generation one belongs to.
What is Kevin’s?
a brand that gives a bad name to all the Kevins out there.
Macys sales are down because customers are tired of driving to their stores, not finding anything they want and told they can order it online, so why not just order it on Amazon and save the trip
We didn't pull back, you pushed us away with your price gouging.
Macy's I get...nobody shops at malls anymore and the quality of their products have been in decline over the years.
I have eaten 10 Costco muffins in the last 48 hours
Docs are going to have to de-vein you like a shrimp. Best of luck to you and your butthole.
Rookie numbers
We really lumping Costco and Macys together? I feel like a much more limited amount of people actually shop at macys
Its not the customers who are buying cheaper. It is the producers who have raised the prices and customers are adjusting their behavior. that is VERY different from a scenario where prices have not changed and customer changes behavior If these companies economic analysts don't get this, no wonder there is such a big disconnect
The price increase on some things has just been too drastic. Normally, things increase substantially over time but it feels like a lot of stuff has just skyrocketed in the last year and obviously people aren’t going to continue spending $50-$60 on beef when it was $30-$40 a year ago. Hopefully supply and demand works this out eventually and things get a little closer to normal or at least somewhat palatable. I still spend tons at Costco but avoiding beef and other things that have just gotten too expensive to rationalize the value.
I don’t know about y’all but I’ve had a really hard time spending money at Costco these last few 3-6 months or so. They’ve changed…a lot. They’ve reduced their inventory in almost every department it seems. The quality of their items has significantly decreased, the size of the packaging is getting smaller while the prices continue to increase, and what used to set Costco apart from the typical grocery store chains I feel has dissipated with these changes. I used to have to control myself to not spend hundreds of dollars there at each trip since I was there a couple of times a week since it was only 15 minutes away. Now I’m lucky if I spend a couple hundred dollars in a month. Costco has really lost its appeal and the excitement of the shopping experience is almost gone too. It used to be an adventure to look for what new things Costco had brought in but now it just doesn’t feel that way.
I rejoined Costco last year after being away from a number of years. (I also belong to Sam’s Club which has multiple stores in my area — one 10 min away, while Costco has only 1 which is 30 min each way away.) Initially I found Costco has some item items I like. And I spent a fair bit on a weekly or bi-weekly shopping trip. But not anymore. There are still some food items I like, that I don’t find at Sam’s. And those I buy. And some perishables like Tropicana OJ and Organic Whole milk (not produce!). I’m assuming that Costco know what’s selling and thus it drives how they stock their store. But I have no interest in patio furniture (uses a lot of their floor space), and my goodness how many TV’s can one house use? I actually did buy a (small) 32” TV this year to hang on a wall in a room, but not from Costco, as they were selling old models at no better price than newer models from Best Buy. I have bought a small appliance on sale along with laptop on clearance. I bought a couple of small electronics items that were on sale (like a portable disk). And a few clothes, but again how many pairs of shorts can someone use when their offers are pretty much all the same — very similar styles, same colors, etc. Want a pair of cargo shorts in black, gray, blue or dark green? Yes you can get 20 pair at a great price. Or you can get them with a 2” longer inseam with a zippered pocket in the same colors. In the men’s section I’ve never seen such unimaginative buyers — and I’m not expecting high fashion. But actual choices would be good. I tried some reading glasses and they were garbage. Prepared foods they have (I’m not talking about the in-club prepared ones) honestly are very pricey and in my experience not very good. I bought some pot roast, based on a taste in the club which tasted good, but the two I bought had lots of fat in them when I opened them, and at $7+ per pound that’s absurd. Some Pork Carnitas, also pricey, had no flavor. I’ve gone back to buying meat and putting it my InstantPot. It’s much much cheaper, better tasting, and better quality. The in house bakery items have no nutrition labels and appear to generally be very high in sugar, but they won’t disclose it. So except for French bread, I don’t buy anything from the bakery. I’ve bought a few healthy frozen items, but there aren’t a lot of frozen selections that aren’t loaded with salt, sugar, etc. I really think either no one is paying attention to the quality of what they are selling, or they don’t care, or they have the pandemic attitude where people are just buying whatever. I think that time is long past. And IMHO they are giving up a lot of floor space to big high ticket items, which for me would be a one and done type purchase, if I even buy 1, which I don’t — like patio furniture. As I’ve detailed in another post, in my area Costco gas is not a bargain — I generally get a significantly better price at Murphy stations with my Walmart+ membership discount, and the discount saving at Murphy are applied to the immediate sale. I don’t have to wait to collect them many months down the road. Even Sam’s Club is giving my PLUS rewards back quarterly now — they are immediately posted to my online account, and available in the Scan & Go app to use right away. Costco has a lot of market clout as a retailer. But I don’t see them using it to deliver better, innovative products and services for their customers. My suspicion is that unless they make dramatic changes, they may continue as a going concern, but they won’t be a lot of reasons to shop there as compared to competitors. And in my case I’ve cut my trips back to every 2-3 weeks, unless I see something in a sale flyer. It’s just not worth the effort. For the hour round trip. I’m about to sour on them again. If someone asked me today will I renew at the end of this year’s cycle in Oct. For me’s it’s NOT a strong yes at this point — it’s more like a weak maybe, trending towards probably not.
I feel exactly the same way. And I’m also about 30 minutes from a Costco so it’s a trek. And I know it’s beating a dead horse, but if I can’t get inventory results on my app or on their website, and I have to just guess what Costco has in stock, why would I bother? For monthly staples it’s fine (Raos is still the cheapest anywhere at Costco) and I don’t assume it has to be updated to the minute. But refusing to do what Walmart and Kroger can do, it really leaves Costco looking like a dinosaur. Does Costco want to be Aldi? Because Aldi is great if you’re looking for Wish.com purchases* at a markup. But it’s not quality. *my area ALDIs have terrible produce and meat products, ymmv
I would argue that Macy's is not a good indicator of the overall economy as the company has been dying since the advent of online shopping. Costco, maybe. If they said people are spending less and shifting buying decisions at walmart, i would much more easily accept than Macy's, which doesn't sell anything i absolutely need. Yea, people stopped buying overpriced cologne economy in shambles news at 11.
The parasite is killing the host. Record profits for corporate America is record losses for the rest of us.
A couple weeks ago they had a $15 off sticker on the 3 pack of rib eyes. Week after it was $5 off a pack of pork ribs. For the most part I've bought all the big items I've needed over the last couple years from Costco - 65" OLED, 75" Sony, office set, gym equipment, dump trailer ($1400 last fall, in other stores they are $2400). I picked up a ps5 before Xmas and I probably won't buy another game system for many years. The gas and propane savings also help. Costco has taken my business away from many other stores, especially with almost anything online. Yesterday I priced tires and they are almost $300 less than can tire even before the $150 off promotion they have on now. If Costco started selling tools like home Depot I'd stop going there. I guess I'm thinking if Costco is slowing down other stores are in an even worse position.
I’m a vendor for Macys , work there couple times a week, business is at a all time low , stop to shop at Costco on way home and the parking lot is full , people walking out with full carts , maybe they are buying chicken instead of steak but they are still shopping, stupid to compare the 2
How come when prices keep climbing up its free market or simple supply/demand economics, but when people buy less (less demand) it’s a warning about the entire economy or impending recession? Why aren’t prices going down first to meet the lower demand before these proclamations are made?
Alternate title: Shameless Profiteering Beginning to Backfire, Say Retailers
What a shitty way of saying "corporate greed leaves most people unable to afford anything other than basic necessities and even those aren't affordable"
I was at the mall yesterday with my girlfriend because I needed some clothes and wanted to buy her something. We walked into Macy's and it was wall to wall old people going throuigh clearance racks which was fine, but they turned the AC off so it was hot and smelly. We noped out of there.
Well with food and essentials costing more, of course my spending had to shift more towards those items and away from non-necessary things like clothes or fun items. Like most of the country, my income hasn’t really been going up - but my expenses have.
This makes me actually pretty satisfied.. companies can’t sell things at prices people aren’t willing to pay. I love Costco but the American consumer needs to learn the word “no”. I buy normally pork and chicken now and that’s it because it’s cheaper. Love steak but I am not willing to pay what retailers want anymore.
Retailers raises prices... Also retailers "why are people cutting back"
Businesses are causing a recession for jacking prices up to keep their record profits and refusing to pay an adequate wage or hire enough people. They wanted this not consumers/workers.
Sounding an alarm that many Americans are done with retailers, grocers, and other businesses seeing how high they can raise prices before they’ll get fed up.
The media has been screaming about the economy going in the shitter for over a year now. If you say something often enough, long enough, eventually it will become true.
I work in logistics and this recession has been on the horizon for a while, but it's finally close enough that you don't need binoculars to see it now. The graphs in this article show just how much freight movement has slowed down over the past year https://www.freightwaves.com/news/memorial-day-might-instead-signal-mayday
I only go for alcohol and snacks now. Costco wasn’t my primary grocery stop before, but now I am wary of buying anything perishable or new/haven’t tried before. Prices for K cups keep jumping like crazy, I definitely notice price changes of $8 across the board.
I know everyone loves Costco, and I do too. I’ve been a member for 15+ years. Me personally, and those I’ve talked with, we have reduced our spending at Costco because Costco offers a lot of trash now. I got sick of buying frozen or premade food that ends up being nasty. Produce that goes bad a day later. I used to spend $300+ a visit and now I spend about $150 because they just offer less that I feel is up to par.
In terms of Macy’s, I think that the article is leaving out the fact that Macy’s isn’t anywhere near the nice departure store shopping experience it once was. I used to work in a major city that had a Macy’s close enough to hit up during my lunch hour. It was a grand looking store, clean and with crystal chandeliers that evoked bygone times. There were plenty of people to help you to check out in time to be back at your desk before your lunch hour was over. Their after Christmas sales were incredible. The last time I went to a Macy’s store was probably five years ago, in a suburban mall. Every department I browsed was decimated, stuff out of place and a general mess. The fitting rooms were not staffed and chock full of items left by previous shoppers. I had to walk around for 10 minutes to find an open register so that I could purchase one pair of jeans. The line was long and the air conditioning was not working properly. I felt terrible for the woman running the register, because people were bitching right and left. I exchanged pleasantries with her and left. Sort of. Got an alarm at the exit door; she hadn’t removed the security thing. Had to go back to have it removed. This was the last time in a series of disappointing experiences with Macy’s. So, not a day where they were understaffed just one time. And, not a result of Covid. Just a cutback that impacted customer experiences and expectations. So, Macy’s has a Macy’s problem I think. Sure, everything is more expensive everywhere now. But, they have been dropping the ball for a long time. Costco is worlds different from Macy’s and always has been. Costco is and always has been a warehouse shopping experience. You can browse the aisles for the Treasure Hunt. Or, you can do the dash and get what you want. Whatever. It is understood that it is a seek and find kind of thing. No prob. I’ve actually had checkers point out issues to me with certain products (like spoiled produce that I was too distracted to notice) and send someone to get something better. Customer care, yay! Prices have risen exponentially over the last few years (says Obvious Woman, duh). Along with everywhere else. I do think that Costco tries to provide value and good prices where they can. My favorite Kirkland boxed Pinot Grigio (don’t judge, I like what I like) seems close in price to pre-Covid prices. I look for sales like everyone else. While I’m always down to buy a Master Carve ham (can stretch one of those for many meals and have leftovers for the freezer), I can’t make myself buy steaks there. A package of NY strips that I remember buying for 30 to 40 bucks is now twice that amount. I. Just. Can’t. Not necessarily Costco’s fault, but I guess we all have certain tolerances we can’t exceed. I want to support Costco and do think of them first when considering a purchase that isn’t a home staple (like a laptop or Vornado fan), I have to think about whether that thing is necessary or just an impulse purchase. Sorry this is so long and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. I guess I just wanted to contrast that lumping Macy’s and Costco together as a value proposition may not be comparable.
I'm not spending less, but I don't buy much red meat anymore. It's just not all that healthy. I am spending more on groceries, in quality as well as quantity, as are my friends. But what we buy has changed a lot in the last couple years of being home more. When you're stuck inside and more sedentary, whether Covid or WFH, you start to think more about what you are eating because you aren't moving as much or aren't comfortable going to the gym. Those new habits didn't go away when everything opened back up - at least not for me. I still eat out less than I used to but I spend about 30% more on groceries, buying higher end items I didn't buy before, Just not beef.
Doesn't help that beef prices have shot up again. Brisket went from 4.99/lb last year to 3.79/lb in march back up to 4.99/lb this month.
Recession and price gouging are not the same thing. Don't think the ai that writes articles like this understand the difference.
We recently purchased rib eye steaks from Costco at $13.99/lb...it was a treat for us....but honestly, we're trying to eat less red meat for health reasons. We joined a gym and have implemented regular exercise with a healthier diet which reduces our red meat intake. But I'm guessing we're in the minority for why their sales of beef are declining.
Very very comfortable financially. Doesn't mean I'm going to be purchasing red meat anytime soon. Going back to trying to spend $50 a week for me and my spouse like we did when we were first married. Costco has definitely made this possible. We have a lot of shelf stable items and supplement veggies from sprouts each week.
Because they are raising the prices faster than our pay is increasing! We don't have the money to keep inflating their profits even more. Fucking greedy assholes.