If people are not shopping for purchases, they either have too much money or are oblivious.
I recently had to fix my son's car that was sitting at his apartment at school for a year and a half without it being driven. The first thing it needed was a battery. There was a tremendous divergence in the pricing for the battery (700 CCA). Advanced Auto had it for $301. Walmart had it for $145, while Costco sold the same battery for $104.
My wife wanted a new touchless kitchen sink facet. The exact same brand facet was $350 at Lowes, $250 at Home Depot and $160 at Costco.
Here is another issue going on. You know when you compare prices at the grocery store to get the best value? I do this regularly at the shelves when making my selection. More than half a dozen times lately, I have taken my purchases to the register at Walmart only to find out that price in the register was much higher. When that happens, I leave the product at the register and walk out.
I was in Walmart today looking for engine cleaner to work on my kid’s car. It was $2 prior to Covid and they had raised it to about $5, so I wanted to check if it had come down. The price showed $3.60. There was a Walmart employee in the isle who I struck up a conversation with. They were there specifically to verify if the goods were priced correctly. She scanned the product and low and behold, the item was still at $5 on the system they use to price the goods at the register. Point, game, match; I didn’t buy it.
These are the "hidden" markups we are paying if we don't watch carefully. Maybe Walmart's poor processes are the cause. Maybe it's poorly performing employees. Maybe it is intentional obfuscation by Walmart's store manager's to boost profits and avoid a corporate thrashing. Or, ineptitude on the managers part. Whatever it is, it isn't good.
While overcharging customers may make shareholders more money short term and help the manager make their bonus thresholds, it will come back to bite them in the ass as it becomes widely known. I can only say that I am very happy not to own any Walmart stock!
Shopping for value is essential to keep a lid on prices. As long as people don't watch closely, prices will continue to rise. If we want to cap off inflation, it is incumbent on each one of us to do our part. Anyone who grew up in the 1970's knows how essential it is to watch prices.
Be smart, be well-read, be aware and be successful.
