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Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

theguardian.com

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Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#421

Post by JumpCrisscross »

youarentrightjr wrote: post #386
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is a legal requirement for directors of public companies to act in the financial interests of all shareholders No, there isn't. The whole point of Revlon duties is that they trigger "in certain limited circumstances indicating that the 'sale' or 'break-up' of the company is inevitable" [1]. Outside those conditions, "the singular responsibility of the board" is not "to maximize immediate stockholder value by…

Why bring up Revlon duties when as you say, their relevance is only during company acquisition or restructuring? It's well established over hundreds of years of case law that directors of public companies have to act in good faith to benefit the company (and therefore, the shareholders). Weird cherry pick.

> Why bring up Revlon duties when as you say, their relevance is only during company acquisition or restructuring?

It’s an exception that proves the rule. In that specific case, what you’re saying applies. In all others, it does not.

> It's well established over hundreds of years of case law

Where are you getting this from?

> directors of public companies have to act in good faith to benefit the company (and therefore, the shareholders)

Where did you get that this only applies to public companies? What you’re describing is basic English and Delaware corporate law.

Also, there is a massive difference between “all shareholders” and “the shareholders”. And nothing about public companies says they can’t be structured in a way that sometimes undermines some shareholders. This comes up most commonly when different shares have different voting or blocking rights. But it’s also fundamental to the intent behind B Corps, publicly traded or not.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#422

Post by mr_windfrog »

If the goal is to fix the behavior instead of just documenting it, the penalties need to escalate with repeat violations. The first mismatch can be treated as an honest mistake. But when the third or fourth inspection still shows the same pattern, the fine shouldn't be the same $5k: it should jump sharply. At some point the cost of ignoring the problem has to exceed the profit from letting it continue.

Right now the incentive structure is backwards. As long as the downside is fixed and small, large retailers will keep treating it as business-as-usual. A tiered system tied to repeated violations would at least push them toward actually fixing the issue, instead of just shrugging it off every time they get caught.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#423

Post by phil21 »

DangitBobby wrote: post #388
phil21 wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like the grocery stores were not serving their customer base well if they couldn’t compete with “overpriced” dollar stores. Carrying cost of produce does not add up. If produce is going bad at that spoilage rate the store management fucked up and didn’t order the correct amount of product for the location. You can’t wish your way into a product mix. Nothing was stopping grocery stores from identifying this nee…

Then feel free to explain the studies and articles online describing how dollar stores are fucking rural grocery stores.

Explain why rural customers prefer the dollar store to the grocery store? Are they just stupid and don't know what's best for themselves?

Perhaps the rural grocers are not carrying the appropriate product mix for their current (new?) customer base, and are overvaluing customer service?

I don't like it - but I also spend time in rural communities and see why these places beat the local grocers. They offer better value for the dollar. Often they are indeed cheaper on a unit cost basis, much less overall per transaction.

It's sort of like folks screeching about "food deserts" in urban communities I've lived in, thus enacting laws forcing fresh produce be carried by the local convenience stores. That produce simply rotted on the shelves since - surprise! - the local business owners knew their customer base better than a bunch of do-gooder ivory tower academics did.

You can make some strong cases for Walmart putting Main Street rural America out of business using predatory pricing schemes and the like. It's a lot more difficult for dollar stores.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#424

Post by faidit »

rtp4me wrote: post #409
faidit wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hard part is talking to the cashier and waiting for a manager, potentially having to argue with both, and looking like a cheapskate. If you've ever shopped at dollar stores they are often understaffed with a long line, no self-checkout, and a single cashier on duty if at all. If you argue about pricing you will hold everyone up in line, maybe get dirty looks and possibly wait an hour for someone with the authorit…

I have been to the Dollar Store (and similar) many times and have never witnessed anyone getting yelled at for saying, "Hey, I think this was a mistake. Can you correct it, please?" (or any other place I shop - especially the grocery stores). We tend to have very positive experiences when pointing out pricing errors. My mother-in-law made it a point to review the receipts ever time we went to the grocery store. No bi…

I mean, that person actually got yelled at and had to leave the store. Some are more sensitive than others and just the fear of an unpleasant interaction is enough for some people. I've let small discrepancies slide just because the staff looked overworked and I didn't want to make them stop what they're doing, run down to the aisle and check prices and get their supervisor. For most I think it's just a time thing. It isn't worth a couple dollars to commit to an unpredictable amount of time going back and forth and waiting for a manager. I salute those lions like your MIL who stand their ground and fight back but there are also many, maybe most, who are just in a hurry or want to avoid confrontation.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#425

Post by JumpCrisscross »

epsteingpt wrote: post #384
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Has private equity ever done anything good for anyone outside of the investors? Yes. Productivity typically goes up [1]. Its reputation for job cutting is overblown [2], as is its record on price increases [3]. And historically, it's tended to decrease concentration in the industries it operates in. (The conglomerate break-ups of the 1980s were fuelled by new entrants and carve-outs.) Instead, what I think we have…

The question anyone reading this analysis should ask is: if private equity is so benign, where do the returns come from? The unlock, which these papers don't understand, is the extractive nature of P/E that is hidden. A few clues: 1. A .5%-1% increase in prices is meaningful (Overall industry prices rise after buyouts, but again the price increase is on average very modest.) Retails margins routinely are measured in…

> if private equity is so benign, where do the returns come from?

“During the last 10 years PE on average did not outperform the public markets in aggregate” [1]. (Individual firms overperform, some of them consistently.)

> even if you like P/E as a VEHICLE (which - I would argue it hasn't been a 'good' ones since like the late 90s), you can't ignore the fact that it's returns have largely been eaten by fees

Yup! Though nitpick: we often stop calling it PE when it works. VC is PE. So are Berkshire Hathaway and founder-led “take private” transactions.

> transfer from 'doers' to 'owners' has been a net negative for American society

PE is often an exit vehicle for small builders. Particularly in the space that deals with SBA loans.

[1] https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/24-066_cc5a53f4-...

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#426

Post by ryan_lane »

limagnolia wrote: post #403
tzs wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Red Baron frozen pizzas, listed on the shelf at $5, rang up at $7.65. The crazy thing is that even if it did ring up at the correct price it isn't a good deal. It's around $4.80-4.90 at Walmart and Target and others.

Paying 10 to 20 cents more for an item can still be a better deal than traveling further away to a larger store. The mis-pricing is completely unacceptable, though.

But because these stores exist, they lead to grocery stores no longer existing, because they eat the majority of the profit from grocery stores. This forces people to shop at the dollar stores because it's the only thing nearby. The dollar store model increases prices, reduces consumer choice, and makes us less healthy.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#427

Post by BobAliceInATree »

antonymoose wrote: post #155
jmspring wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sad thing is, people in rural areas that depend on places like Dollar General, and are getting fleeced blame everyone but republicans and they are usually in red areas

I’ll bite… I live in a rural area with a Dollar General about a half mile from my neighborhood. For staples, it’s honestly fine. You want a 6 pack and some hot dog buns because you missed it in the Wal-Mart run the other day (15 miles away), it’s great! You’re not getting fleeced and if you are, the gas savings alone more than make up for it (0.65 per mile per the IRS.) For folks who depend on the local DG for, idk,…

The problem is that they drive out local grocery stores that were actually pretty good, have terrible safety records, and food sanitation.

Last Week Tonight did an episode on them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4QGOHahiVM

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#428

Post by fat_cantor »

I noticed my local wal mart doing this, not on every product, but more than one. I had hoped it was an honest mistake until it happened on my next visit. I told an associate about it, left my groceries, and I haven't been back. It's wild to think that a few decades ago they accepted returns of any product based on trust, no questions asked, regardless of whether you had a receipt.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#429

Post by technothrasher »

jefftk wrote: post #372

> Red Baron frozen pizzas, listed on the shelf at $5, rang up at $7.65. Bounty paper towels, shelf price $10.99, rang up at $15.50. This very rarely happens in MA, because when it does the store has to give you the item for $10 off, including if that makes it free. And they have to post a sign at the register explaining the law, which means when you're invoking it all you need to do is point at the sign. https://www.…

Note that this law is only for certain products. We would have people at the liquor store I used to own point out mislabeling occasionally and claim we owed them the $10 difference from this law. While we tried to work with customers when we made a pricing error, not only does the accuracy law not apply to alcoholic beverages, but it would often be illegal for us to offer the customer the mistaken price. Alcohol retailers in MA are not legally allowed to sell their products for less than they purchased them.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#430

Post by JumpCrisscross »

koolba wrote: post #357
ant6n wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or revenue?

If movie contracts are any lesson, you always want to be on the gross. Too many ways to game the system otherwise.

And that only works because the theatres aren’t controlled by the producers. Revenue recognition is its own field of ripe fuckery.
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