Tag Archives: Dollar Tree

My Biggest Ever Price Gauging

Yes, grocery prices are all up – a lot. But how much of it is legitimate and how much of it is just simply price gauging – or at least increasing mark-ups to a much higher profit margin?

Sure, it’s always done with “inflation” and “everything is more expensive” as an excuse. Just like COVID was the excuse for a ton of bad behaviors, customer no-service, etc. for most businesses.

For a few years, this (and other flavours) 1 litre juice was $1 at President’s Choice (Loblaw/No Name store). When it increased to $1.25 two months ago, I was surprised at a 25% increase, but wrote that off to inflation. This past week, the price changed to $2.25. That isn’t inflation. A 225% price increase is the largest price gauging I’ve ever seen. Of course, I’m not buying it. Of the top 10 things I buy all the time, I’ve now replaced 9 of them. But I wonder how many people think “it’s only an extra buck and a quarter…. Since Loblaws just announced record profits for the last quarter, I’m guessing there are enough people who just shake their heads and buy anyway…

Oh, and Dollar Tree (and likely all other chains) now have a base price of $1.50 – up from $1.25 last year. At least that “seems” like a reasonable inflation increase.

Lastly, if you ever need to get emergency air into your tires at a gas station, air is also subject to inflation. Who knew air doubled in price? Yes, it’s now a toonie for “air”!