COMMISSARY: Price Changes

[vwprncss]

I dont know about you guys, but my commissary on McGuire AFB in NJ tends to up their prices when they realize that there is a coupon out there that will give overage!! The hydro razors are currently $7.04 at my commissary!! I also had coupons for crystal light pure fitness powder... they are usually $1.50 a box but once vocalpoint released a coupon for $2 off a box, tmy commissary raised the price to @2... the day after the coupon expired, the price went back to $1.50!! I dont get it! I thought DECA wasnt out to make a profit?? Anyone else notice this?

[CLynnB]

Re: trial size -they said that the couldn't give me overage. I told them that the policy said I could, the manager was polite and DID make a copy of the coupon, but would not let me use it on the trial size.
The Crystal Lites were 2.00 here as well, (when I used my VocalPoint coupons) and 1.50 now.

[russman4]

vwprncss, you are correct and not imagining it. The same thing happens at my commissary. When I stumble on coupons which gives me a fantastic deal and no one knows about it, I hurry to use my coupons fast, because as soon as it goes through the office and they see the coupons with the overage or freebie, the price goes up in a day or two. Our Hydro razors went up to $7 like yours did, so I think all commissaries get alerted to it.
In any event, it happens to me time after time, where they will raise the price. This is NOT coincidence because coincidence, by its very definition, is random. Nothing that happens on a consistent basis is coincidence.
Supposedly commissaries are suppose to charge at cost and the surcharge covers their cost of doing business but of course, they do not do that. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a price drop back down the very day a coupon has expired.

It is not your imagination.

[TandEsMommy]

I agree it is NOT random or a coincidence....every time someone posts about an overage, I dig out my q's and head straight to the commissary, since I live right near it on base. Without fail, the price is always more than the poster's price, and I watch the price sink as soon as the q is expired. Also, I notice my commissary doesn't make a lot of coupons available until they are about to expire, AND we got NO P&G booklets this month :(

[PMFan]

perhaps these are isolated incidents?

if this were the case DECA-wide, OCONUS locations would raise the price for 6 months beyond coupon expiration.

this topic might be worthy of a separate thread for discussion/reporting of such instances.

Originally Posted by TandEsMommy I agree it is NOT random or a coincidence....every time someone posts about an overage, I dig out my q's and head straight to the commissary, since I live right near it on base. Without fail, the price is always more than the poster's price, and I watch the price sink as soon as the q is expired.

[pmorse]

I think that each commissary sets a lot of it's own prices. We have 3 different commissaries in my town and each one sells the exact same items and the exact same time all at different prices and different sale prices. I used to think that all the prices were managed and set by a higher up but not so. There may be some sales that are set regionally, but on the whole, I think it must be up to the store. How else can you explain all 3 commissaries having different prices. We all use the same vendors as well.

[mom24stinkers]

Originally Posted by pmorse I think that each commissary sets a lot of it's own prices. We have 3 different commissaries in my town and each one sells the exact same items and the exact same time all at different prices and different sale prices. I used to think that all the prices were managed and set by a higher up but not so. There may be some sales that are set regionally, but on the whole, I think it must be up to the store. How else can you explain all 3 commissaries having different prices. We all use the same vendors as well.

I wonder if this has to do with branch of service?

[jeweltea]

I do believe they raise the prices when there is a good coupon. A few months ago the little Hormel hams had a $4.00 coupon in front of them. They were $2.99 a pound and I bought one (and took another coupon for later). A couple of weeks later, there were no coupons but I used the one I had taken before. The same hams were now $1.49 a pound. When I got home, I checked and they even had the same packing and expiration dates.

[my3littlextras]

Originally Posted by jeweltea I do believe they raise the prices when there is a good coupon. A few months ago the little Hormel hams had a $4.00 coupon in front of them. They were $2.99 a pound and I bought one (and took another coupon for later). A couple of weeks later, there were no coupons but I used the one I had taken before. The same hams were now $1.49 a pound. When I got home, I checked and they even had the same packing and expiration dates.

Yes they do. My mom had shopped the commissary for over 40 years and she'd told me that anytime there is a coupon out the price goes up. Also anytime there is a coupon once the coupon is expired the price usually is raised 1 to 2 weeks after the coupon expires.

So here's how it goes for example - coupon out 8/29 - 9/5 for poptarts. Poptarts are $1.75 during timeframe of coupon. Coupon expires 9/5 poptarts go back down to $1.50 9/13 poptarts go to $1.98 and stay there til another coupon comes out.
Keep in mind this is only an example. And it doesn't always happen that way.

Sometimes it works to your advantage if you are able to find good coupons and can spread them out throughout the week.

I love finding commissary deals!!

[mom24stinkers]

I don't know... if they raised the price whenever there was a good coupon then there wouldn't have been so much overage when the $3/1 KY coupons were out and everyone was buying the $1.84 KY. That went on for what, a year, and people were buying cases of KY and getting 100's in overage.

I wonder if it is so much that Deca is raising prices or that the company issuing the coupon is raising its wholesale purchase price to Deca when they issue a good coupon. We may see more of the price fluctuation shopping at the commissary than at a traditional grocery store since Deca is non profit vs. a traditional grocery store that can absorb some of that cost.