Grocery Auctions

Saturday tends to be a big shopping day, so today might be a good day for the subject of grocery auctions.

That's right. Grocery auctions.

Although this phenomenon hasn't hit my home state yet, it's becoming popular in New York, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and a number of other states. With food prices on the rise, it's easy to see why this has become a viable alternative to wandering the supermarket aisles.

The auctions are just like regular auctions, complete with an auctioneer and numbers for every potential bidder. You can bid on everything from frozen chicken to potato chips.

Some of the items you can bid on at these auctions are past the sell-by date, which may or may not bother you. Surely, some of you are wary of this kind of thing. I mean, it always freaks me out to eat stuff after it expires and I'm sure it's the same for many of you (including Jerry Seinfeld). Yet the FDA insists it's safe to eat... which may or not mean anything to you. The FDA has a history of approving some very unhealthy and, in some cases, unsafe stuff.

Outside of expired goods, there are also damaged goods for sale. This ranges from minor to major, and I'd expect that the more damaged the product, the deeper the discount.

In any case, there is real potential for some giant savings on everyday products at these auctions. We're all sick of the rising cost of food, which was subject to its worst inflation in 17 years during 2008. So, whaddya think? If there have been grocery auctions in your neck of the woods, how were they? Would you like to see grocery auctions come to your home town? I'm out - YCC

What's in a Name Brand?

Whenever we go shopping, we are bombarded with options of things to buy.

It's not as simple as it was back in the day of the General Store when there was only one kind of everything to choose from. If you needed black beans, you would grab a sack labeled "black beans" and be done with it.

No longer... Now we've got to choose between Bush's, Campbell's, Hormel, Van Camp's, Amy's Organic, B&M, Rosarita, Ortega, Old El Paso, S&W, and even Taco Bell brand beans. But when it all comes down to it, they're all beans... right? Yet, the prices are all so different.

So how are we supposed to choose? Well, one way to do it is to skip all of those name brands and go straight for the "Great Value," "Member's Mark," "Kirkland," or whatever the local generic store brand is. If you were to switch out all of your name brand purchases and switch them to generic brand purchases, I guarantee you would save a bundle. But is it worth it?

It depends.

And it's also a matter of preference. For me, I'm ok buying generic tooth brushes, cottage cheese, saltine crackers, milk, and a host of other items. But when it comes down to soda and treats - Dr. K just isn't the same as Dr. Pepper and Kroger Kid's O's just don't do it for me like Oreos do.

Until recently, I was scared of generic brands. I bought almost all name brands. I really don't know why, other than the comfort of a name brand. I guess seeing a smiling little boy down a warm bowl of Campbell's chicken noodle soup gave me the idea that I should buy Campbell's even if it was $1 more than the generic brand.

Additionally, the store brands aren't typically in plain view. You have to "stoop down" to the store brand levels which are typically found on the lowest shelves. But I decided I would give it a whirl on items I regularly bought, and I was pleasantly surprised with the result.

As always, I would love to hear your feedback on this. Have you ever had any bad experiences with store brands? Which products shouldn't we scrimp on? I'll be anxious to hear what you have to say... I'm out - YCC