Scanning for Checkout Errors: Grocery Alert

In the current environment of massive fraud and monetary mayhem, the financial error I recently encountered was small. But I refused to accept a 25-percent loss at the checkout counter, where I was charged an extra $1 for a pint of organic grape tomatoes.

As a weekly special, the advertised price was $3.99 per container. But when I studied my receipt in the checkout lane, I saw that I had been charged $4.99.

Here's what that episode taught me:

• Always check receipts. Checkout errors are common, according to one industry survey. In 2003, A.T. Kearney found ''data errors'' on 30 percent of retail items. My own shopping experiences mirror those findings, and after a spate of checkout errors at several stores, I've learned to quickly review receipts before leaving a store's parking lot.

Many errors are computer-driven. Occasionally, sale prices and special markdowns are advertised but not updated in the store's computer system. For example, the scanning code on my tomatoes did not reflect the hand-written sale price tacked to the produce display.

• Check the error policy. Some stores will compensate shoppers for mispriced items. In my neighborhood, Publix will give you an item for free if "the scanned price of an item . . . exceeds the shelf price or advertised price.''

• Examine large purchases. ''You have to really scrutinize receipts, especially for big-ticket items,'' said Jane Bennett Clark, senior associate editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
During a recent interview, Clark identified three types of pricing errors.

1. Customer errors occur when shoppers select an item that is not covered by a sales promotion.

2. Due to employee error or computer glitches, merchandise is mislabeled.

3. Shoppers are lured into a store with the promise of low-priced specials, but are directed toward comparable merchandise at higher prices.

The third scenario is against the law, and shoppers should contact local regulators if they suspect a bait-and-switch scheme, Clark said.
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Tales From the Vault: 11 Ways to Cut Grocery Bills

Do coupons really work? Some shoppers swear by coupons; others steer away from coupons. In this week's Tales from the Vault*, I present a list of great tips for cutting food bills. This vintage post is followed by a 2009 update.

"Avoid store fake-outs," is one of 11 money-saving tips for grocery shoppers in the Aug/Sept. issue of Shop Smart, a publication from Consumers Union/Consumers Report. Here's a summary:

1. Shop at cheap outlets: The stores with the lowest prices include: "Aldi, Costco, Market Basket, Slater Bros., Shoppers Food Warehouse, Trader Joe's and Walmart." The downside: fewer choices at stores like Trader Joe's and Aldi or shoppers must make bulk purchases at Costco.

2. Be wary of circulars: Featured products in circulars often see a spike of up to 500 percent in sales volume. So stores like to highlight lots of items in their weekly circulars. The catch, says Shop Smart: "Not all items in circulars are on sale [at a discount]."

3. Watch product placement: ("Avoid store fake-outs.") Look out for products placed in bins at the end of shopping lanes, in "island displays," or in the middle tier of a shelving unit. Those eye-catching locations typically contain higher-priced goods.

4. Ignore colors: Marketers play head games with color. The concept: certain colors are more apt to gain your attention. So play your own games with the marketing gurus and ignore their color codes.

5. Cut your own fruit/Slice your own cheese: Don't pay extra for pre-cut, pre-frozen, pre-sliced fruits and cheeses. Slices of Jarlsberg cheese, for example, were priced at $7.99 per pound at a deli counter, compared to $3.99 per pound for a block. Likewise,the shoppers at the magazine found a chilled 16-oz beverage for $1.19, but the same bottle was 50 cents cheaper when it was stored warm on a shelf.

6. Buy store brands: The quality of store-brands is often comparable to name brands and the price can be 50 percent cheaper.

7. Use price guarantees: Many chains or stores will match competitors' prices on promotions and sales.

8. Shop alone: You may spend more if you shop with your kids or your spouse.

9. Skip the impulse purchases: Make a list and stick with it.

10. Use store cards: Many stores offer frequent shopper cards, which entitle you to different perks, including unadvertised specials.

11. Check out the scanners: 70 percent of the participants in survey reported finding mistakes made in the checkout line.

*This piece orginally ran on August 30, 2007.

Here's my 2009 update: The strategies above still make lots of sense to me. But my biggest money-saving tips have become (# 1) organization and (#2) healthier eating. When I'm organized, I create a disciplined shopping plan that bypasses impulsive purchases, duplication and waste.

A commitment to healthier food choices means that I spend less on snacks, junk food, processed foods and soda. Processed foods and snacks are expensive and could contribute to long-term health problems that could be costly in the long run.

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Here's how to buy my new book:

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How to Save Money at the Grocery Store: Bag Rebates

Even without coupons, it's possible to save money in the checkout line. Various stores offer small cash rebates or discounts for consumers who bring their own bags. Retailers provide nickel or dime rebates for each bag that you provide for groceries or other merchandise. Others stores reward bonus points - redeemable for store credits - for shoppers that present bags for the checkout line.

This bring-your-own-bag - BYOB - style of shopping is an easy way to save money and the environment. Every year, shoppers in the United States use 30 billion plastic bags and 10 billion paper bags. That translates into 12 million barrels of oil and 14 million trees, according to the Bay Area Recycling Outreach Coalition, or BAYROC, a California-based organization.

To save financial and environmental resources, reusable shopping bags have become trendy. For prices starting at 99 cents, eco-friendly shopping bags - made from cloth or polyester - are sold by online vendors or standard stores in different colors, patterns and sizes. A few upscale Web sites will even let you design your own shopping sacks.

But you don't have to pay anything to create a re-usable shopping bag. At Whole Foods, for instance, any sack qualifies for the shopping discount, including backpacks, gym bags, brown paper sacks, cloth bags and old shopping bags. Savings vary by region, but the list of stores that provide BYOB rebates or discounts includes Starbucks, Albertsons, Kroger and other retailers.

Reusable shopping bags can also help you save money by providing an easy-to-use organizational tool for shopping. For example, you can stash your coupons and shopping list in a reusable bag stored in your car or near the front door, according to BAYROC. With this strategy, you're more likely to use the coupons clipped from newspapers or printed from the Internet. You'll keep money-saving coupons close at hand and reduce the amount of budget-busting impulse purchases that can inflate a shopping bill.

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Here's how to buy my new book:

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Queercents: How to Stretch Your Food Dollars

Ten tactics to stretch your food dollar! That's a new weekly series from Queercents, a personal finance blog. Topics include: "Don't Throw It Away: How to Properly Store Food So You Don't Waste Money,"
Here's a link to recent posts in the series. Written by Serena Freewomyn, the posts offers simple tips for making your food budget more flexible. Here's a preview of topics:

• Making Your Food Dollar Stretch: Rethinking Meat
• Amazing Grains: Getting More Bang For Your Buck
• Eat Your Broccoli: How Nutrient Rich Veggies Can Save You Money

Queercents is a personal finance blog serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The author of the series is an expert in food. Here's her bio:

Freewomyn has a degree in Women’s Studies from Arizona State University and attends the Le Cordon Bleu’s Culinary Management Program at Scottsdale Culinary Institute. A proponent of the “buy local” lifestyle, Freewomyn writes about her love of fresh produce, “I think the movement towards decentralized food is wonderful. It’s good for the environment and it reduces the factor of increased fuel costs that are driving up food prices. But the best part is that local produce just tastes better.”

They Retired My Brown Bag & Still Gave Me the Rebate

Is there an expiration date on a brown paper bag? I'm not sure, but a cashier at a local market decided that my brown paper bag needed to be permanently checked out. To save money, I often bring my own paper bags to the store. The payoff: I receive a 10-cent, per-bag rebate. On a typical shopping trip, I've saved 10 to 30 cents by providing my own bags. I wrote about bag rebates in this post: Saving 10 Cents at the Grocery Store.

One bag had been through the checkout line several times. Signs of wear-and-tear were obvious. One of the paper handles was ripped and the bag was so worn that the paper felt like soft cotton. On the bag's final trip, the cashier shook her head and the lady behind me studied my bag with admiration.


"Now that's recycling," she announced, while laughing.


The cashier retired the bag, threw it into the trash and bagged my items in a new, crisp brown bag. The best part: I still received the dime rebate. But the whole episode made me think about the process of recycling. These are my questions:



1) How long can you recycle an item before the process becomes a) gross, b) unsafe or c)pointless?



2) Do aesthetics matter? Should the physical appearance of a shopping bag, bottle or container be a factor in our efforts to repeatedly use an item?



3) Should we care about public opinion? My beat-up paper bag could be viewed by others as either ridiculous or as a badge of honor. But why did I care about the cashier's opinion? Did it really matter that other people in line laughed at me?


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Saving 10 Cents at the Grocery Store

It wasn't a big deal and I'm not going to get rich by saving dimes or brown bags. But I save at least 10 cents with every trip to an area grocery store (Whole Foods Market) that provides instant rebates when you recycle grocery bags.

Here's the deal: When you bring in your own shopping bags, you'll receive a 10-cent rebate for each bag that is used to package your groceries.

This BYOB policy applies to any bag, including the store's own brown paper bags or reusable cloth sacks. For my shopping trips, I have a rotating supply of brown paper bags and on a typical shopping trip, I earn rebates of 10 to 30 cents.

Those small amounts have made a big difference on two occasions, when my grocery bill was pennies above the cash in my hand. In the long run, every little bit counts, especially when it comes to the environment and my pocketbook.

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Here's how to buy my new book:

@ Amazon.com

@ Barnes & Noble

@ Borders

@ Target.com