Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Anyone else find Safeway super expensive?

I shop at Fred Meyer due to it having the cheapest prices in the Seattle area for groceries. This is due to past experience with Safeway and other stores in the area (without having to go way out of my way in terms of distance).

So I needed a single item this evening: Diet Sprite (I always buy off-brand due to price). So I swing through Safeway since I am in the area. Freddie's ALWAYS has their house branded Big K for $2.50/12pack. Safway not only did not have knock off brand diet sprite, but all their house brand "Refreshe" 12-packs were on sale... for $5.99/12pack! OK, figured bite the bullet, buy the 24pack of Diet Sprite (the real deal) for $6.99 on sale. Get to the register and dude tries to charge me 9 bucks and change. Either someone moved the Diet Sprite to the wrong spot or I fugged up. Either way, ain't payin' no $10 for no carbonated nutrasweet water. Told the cashier to GFH and that I was going to Fred Meyer to pay half what Safeway wanted. And left promptly.

Well now I am pissed, because I already hit Freddie's and Costco on the way back from the gym. And it is shopping season.

Anyone else find Safeway expensive compared to other places? My sprite story is just one instance of this in my experience. And explains why Fred Meyer is always so busy and Safeway is empty.

/rant off

I'm going to go enjoy some vodka chased by my Big K carbonated nutrasweet lemon-lime water. Cheers!

We no longer have Safeway in Iowa. I have found that a person really has to shop around for the best prices in groceries. Around here, HyVee often is the most pricey.

Yes, they are more expensive than WalMart anyway.

I understand they recently merged with Albertson's. One of the changes that came along with that is getting rid of many store brand items (and the lower prices for those items).

You must not have their "club card"...yes they are expensive.
I wish there was a Winco here...

Can't help as we only shop HEB here. No Safeway here though they are in Idaho where we always shop Yokes.

We have Von's here in southern Nevada which is run by the same people as Safeway. Since both were originally Kalifornia stores, they naturally screw everyone.
Highest prices around and the stores are never very busy. I only go there when I'm in a rush since they're the closest.
I always wonder how they stay in business.

http://recorderjournal.com/2015/12/11/retail-tsunami-16-major-chains-closing-more-stores/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus_Capital_Management

You live in Kirkland and are complaining about the cost of Safeway groceries...lol

We had a nice new Safeway, then it closed down after the merger and became Haggens.

Good God Haggens sucked.

Word is Safeway is going back in and I'm happy about it.

Like all stores, some chit is overpriced, some is a good bargain. You plan ahead a bit and shop the sale items and Safeway is as cheap or cheaper than Albertson, Frederick Meyers, or the others.

I'd punch myself in the ball bag before I made a habit out of shopping Walmart.

Mooner, how are you doing with all this fine sunny weather? (well, a guy can dream, right?)

Down here in the Portland metro area, we have Freddies, Wallys, Safeway, and the Albertsons that changed to a Haggens just closed.

I'd say yes, for non-sale items Safeway is more expensive then the other two options left available. I have started using Freddies as I'm familiar with them from my time in Juneau and they are right near where I'm going for phys therapy. Makes it convenient as long as I'm down the hill already.

I have to confess to going to the dreaded Wal-Mart as there is a particular brand of chocolate bar I eat, every day, and some chocolate truffles also that are WAY less expensive there. on the order of $2.00 a candy bar. I got lucky the other night and managed to pick up 825 rounds of .22lr also, as a shipment had arrived that afternoon and the morning hoarders hadn't gotten word apparently. That was unplanned as I just happened to decide to look for .22 on the odd chance there might actually be some there.

Didn't know Cerberus was in the mix. I tell you, eventually, the scenario put forth in the movie "Rollerball" is coming to pass. Soon, no need to worry about anything, a few major corporations will rule the world, govt will not be necessary.

I long for the days of the "local" grocery, but they are long gone I fear. And a $2.00 difference for a candy bar is too hard to overlook, so Wallys gets some of my money.

Geno

PS, Mooner, stay dry if you can!

Geno-

Growing gills here my friend. It's a soggy wet mess. But then, not sure what I expected when I moved to a place where the state flower was black mold.

I avoid Walmart like the clap. Of course though it is often the most convenient, cheapest, or only game in town.

There are a couple decent local grocers, but it ain't cheap. They're nearly as pricey as the foo-foo joints like Whole foods and Metropolitan Marke .

Take care Geno!

My town had a Safeway and an Albetsons. I shopped at both stores depending on what I was buying, and knew which stores had the best prices for specific items. Then Albertsons was bought out by Haggens which meant prices went way up, inventory went down, and the lighting was supposed to make up the difference. Then Haggens went belly up, so now everyone does ALL their shopping at Safeway and that sucks.

To answer the OP's question, NO, I don't think Safeway's pricing is out of line. Costco beats them but I have to pay for a membership and wade through mobs. Walmart beats them too, but I feel like I need vaccinations before and after shopping there...........and a 90min round-trip drive. So I'm OK with Safeway, but wish a second store would take some pressure off of them.

We have Safeway and Albertsons....they're both a good 30% higher than the local Harvest Foods stores (a Pacific NW chain).....
Funny thing is....Harvest Foods has stores in Lewiston and Orifino (a small logging town about 40 miles from Lewiston) but the prices in Orifino are actually lower which is odd since being rural most things like gas or hardware are allot higher than the "big city".....fine with me though because Orifino's closer by about five miles....

Copy that on the gills thing. over 10" rain since the 2nd of December, along with the fog and the 30+mph winds. Sure is different from over on the dry side where I spend the majority of my year. And from Cali where my was last year. Feels more like when I lived in Juneau or Humboldt County CA.

There's actually a few items Wally's has that no one else carries too, so I do end up going there every few weeks.

Keep the rubber knee boots handy. We need 'em for water over here, not like the WY/MT guys that need them for sheep

Geno

Since dollar general started carrying cold goods, that's the ticket for quick in and out shopping.

If you only buy the ad items, you are killing them as they are losing money on those items, Costco does not beat them on their ad items.

If that is still too expensive for you cheap mofos then just load up your basket and push it out the door as they have a no pursuit policy regarding shoplifters...

For the general stuff, Fred Meyers is better (cheaper) than Safeway. But I've stopped buying beef at FM. On sale it's the same price between Safeway and Fred's, but the quality is better at Safeway

my wife rarely hits safeway, mostly it's fry's, walmart, or costgo/sams club.
in my home town of prescott we had a albertsons, closed with the merger, the other one became the haggens, many many complaints to limited inventory, high prices etc. it closed.
we have walmart neighborhood groceries in our area, they work pretty good.

Salmonella,

Granted, if we buy sale items only, they lose money.

However, it we buy their other items, we lose money.

Sometimes I buy what I need if the cost is similar. But when there is too much of a disparity, the low cost "bidder" wins. Economic, good old American capitalism on a personal level. I really do try to "buy local" when I can.

Example:

Air bag suspension kit for my pick up. No auto parts store in the local area, within 50 miles +/- from my house, could come within $80 of the place I found on the internet. That included having them shipped to me. I tried to get jobber prices and mechanics discounts, no luck. I'd like to keep local auto parts stores open, and I explained that to them, but no one would lower their prices any more. Sorry, but $80 buys a lot of stuff for a guy like me.

I understand the retail trade a little and know what places like Safeway are dealing with trying to compete with giants like Wally's and such, but sometimes they just have to get closer for my money. They still get some, as we like the quality, but I'm not paying close to 2 bucks more for a candy bar.

Geno

PS, Sal, you folks down there seeing any relief in the way of rain, maybe some snow also?

Yes, but they have better quality products than Wally-Wroldmart never carry. We shop both stores.