Amazon buys Whole Foods

[JoNorvelleWalker]

17 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

 

Not comparable.    Repeating my mantra, there are no bad foods, only bad cooks.    I was gobsmacked to be served and loved cabbage at many small Paris restaurants last year.     I would never have chosen it, but each chef made magic with this humble veg.   

 

I am a bad cook.  And, yes, I have watched Das Weisse Band.

 

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

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Another day, another amazon order.  This time they came through; or almost came through.  I was a little surprised the store had dry aged ribeye today when yesterday they were out.  Of course the steak they actually sent was not dry aged.  And they had no cilantro.

 

The rest of the problems were of my own making:  I wanted to reorder the recipe ingredients that I had ordered yesterday.  Amazon makes it easy enough to do this.  What I failed to remember was the site does not keep track of your previous quantities.  So for my chile verde con cerdo I received one tomatillo and one onion.  Nine less tomatillos than what I need.

 

I had been at the dentist for three hours twenty minutes.  My order included a pint of McConnell's ice cream.  It was on sale.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Today's order went much better.  Still had no organic cilantro but nice looking non-organic was substituted with my permission; at half the price.

 

Someday maybe I will understand amazon pricing.  last night at work I saw swordfish on sale at $16.99 a pound.  By the time I got home it had gone up to $19.99 -- list price.  I went to bed in disgust.

 

When I woke up the price had reduced to $14.99 a pound.  And that seems to be what they charged me.  But the actual label on the butcher paper wrapped parcel read $19.99 a pound.  Every other grocery store I know adjusts their prices once per week.  But no, not amazon.

 

[Toliver]

The proverbial Other Shoe drops:

"Whole Foods to cut health care benefits for 1,900 part-time employees"

Quote

Amazon-owned Whole Foods will be withdrawing medical benefits for hundreds of its part-time workers starting Jan. 1, 2020, the company said Thursday.

In the past, employees needed to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for the health-care plan. Now they will need to work at least 30 hours. Less than 2% of its workforce, or 1,900 employees, will no longer be eligible for medical coverage, under the new policy, the company said. 

 

[ElsieD]

19 minutes ago, Toliver said:

The proverbial Other Shoe drops:

"Whole Foods to cut health care benefits for 1,900 part-time employees"

 

 

I guess Jeff needs the bucks.

[lindag]

I adore cabbage, both raw and cooked, as well as nearly every vegetable I know.

My Mom and Dad raised us to love vegetables.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

8 hours ago, Toliver said:

The proverbial Other Shoe drops:

"Whole Foods to cut health care benefits for 1,900 part-time employees"

 

 

I am sad for the 1,900 Whole Foods people affected but more surprised that they had healthcare in the first place.  My job is part time and I have no work healthcare unless I am injured on the job.  I've never heard of a US business giving part time workers healthcare.  That's why there are part time jobs.

 

Forgive me if my post sounds bitter.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, lindag said:

I adore cabbage, both raw and cooked, as well as nearly every vegetable I know.

My Mom and Dad raised us to love vegetables.

 

I love vegetables.  I just don't always like to eat them.

 

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I am sad for the 1,900 Whole Foods people affected but more surprised that they had healthcare in the first place.  My job is part time and I have no work healthcare unless I am injured on the job.  I've never heard of a US business giving part time workers healthcare.  That's why there are part time jobs.

 

Forgive me if my post sounds bitter.

 

 

"In the past, employees needed to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for the health-care plan. Now they will need to work at least 30 hours. Less than 2% of its workforce, or 1,900 employees, will no longer be eligible for medical coverage, under the new policy, the company said. "

 

I agree, surprised they had healthcare at half time, that seems unusually generous.

[Toliver]

This is an interesting move on Amazon's part. i don't think there's a paywall...

"Amazon’s Grocery-Store Plan Moves Ahead With Los Angeles Leases"

Quote

Amazon.com Inc....is advancing a plan to open a chain of U.S. grocery stores with early outposts in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, according to people familiar with the matter.

In the Los Angeles area, it has signed more than a dozen leases, the people said. The first few stores are likely to be in the dense suburban locations of Woodland Hills and Studio City, while another grocer is slated for the city of Irvine, in nearby Orange County, a person familiar with the matter said. These stores could open as early as the end of the year.

Amazon is planning to operate dozens of grocery stores in cities across the country, part of the online giant’s increasing focus on a bricks-and-mortar presence to find more ways to reach consumers.

 

It looks like the intended customer of these new grocery stores won't "eat" (pun not intended) into Whole Food's customer base since the new stores seem to focus on ready-made meals/food.

And Los Angeles is just the first city for these new stores. Amazon plans on opening more of these new stores in major cities across the US.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, Toliver said:

This is an interesting move on Amazon's part. i don't think there's a paywall...

"Amazon’s Grocery-Store Plan Moves Ahead With Los Angeles Leases"

 

It looks like the intended customer of these new grocery stores won't "eat" (pun not intended) into Whole Food's customer base since the new stores seem to focus on ready-made meals/food.

And Los Angeles is just the first city for these new stores. Amazon plans on opening more of these new stores in major cities across the US.

 

 

...including New Jersey.

 

[Shelby]

I had a much dreaded appointment today to begin to address some dental issues.  So,  we left early to get some errands run.  There is a Whole Foods close to where my appointment was so I talked Ronnie into stopping in.  I had never been in one.

 

Wow.  Their seafood and meat dept. is amazing.  Many different kinds of fresh oysters, gorgeous looking prime steaks.  Their cheese section is awesome.

 

But, I now know why it's called Whole Paycheck. 😳

 

We left and did the bulk of our shopping in Dillons.

 

I'm saving the one Whole Foods paper bag that I got, though, to set out to impress guests 

[ElsieD]

We have a Whole Foods here too and I was really excited....until I went there and saw the prices.  I seldom go there.  I'd trade it any day for a Trader Joe's.

[Shelby]

4 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

We have a Whole Foods here too and I was really excited....until I went there and saw the prices.  I seldom go there.  I'd trade it any day for a Trader Joe's.

I think the big city is getting a T. Joe's soon.  I definitely will be stopping in there.  

 

I thought I was going to have to send poor Ronnie out to the car at WF.  I caught him hyperventaliving over the price of lemons.

[ElsieD]

15 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I think the big city is getting a T. Joe's soon.  I definitely will be stopping in there.  

 

I thought I was going to have to send poor Ronnie out to the car at WF.  I caught him hyperventaliving over the price of lemons.

 

At the point where one meets the lemons, Ronnie had barely set foot in the store!  

[Shelby]

4 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

At the point where one meets the lemons, Ronnie had barely set foot in the store!  

Can you imagine the meat counter?

[ElsieD]

14 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Can you imagine the meat counter?

 

The horror!  And since we are an officially bilingual country,   quelle horreur!

[lemniscate]

I participate in the weekly Prime member sales at WF.   I'll primarily buy what is on special that is useful to me.   WF typically has a special on some type of fish fillets and shellfish every week.   A couple weeks ago they had cod that was $8 off the regular price for Prime.  It was some of the best cod I've cooked myself in a long time, no fish smell and a very nice big fillet that cooked up very tender.  They have Arctic Char at $5 off normal price, I might give it a go.    WF can be expensive, but I am getting used to taking advantage of very good stuff on their specials.   Their 365 brand doesn't seem to be much different in price from the national brands of ie canned goods and crackers and they are pretty good to, the few I've tried.   I wasn't a WF shopper much at all until the Prime tie-in happened.  I navigate it carefully, but I feel I'm getting quite good value for the items I purchase so far.

[Shelby]

We scanned our Prime membership into the thingy, but we didn't gain anything by it.  Do you get a weekly alert of what you can get on sale for being a Prime member?

[lemniscate]

13 hours ago, Shelby said:

We scanned our Prime membership into the thingy, but we didn't gain anything by it.  Do you get a weekly alert of what you can get on sale for being a Prime member?

 

You can sign up for weekly alerts to email, plus the WF app will show you what is a Prime member special every week.   Blue signs are Prime only specials, yellow signs are all access specials, but Prime members get additional 10% off those specials if purchased.  Also you will get alerts on special sales, for example there was 25% off all bath/body/beauty this past weekend, plus another 10% off for Prime.  I bought a bunch of the peppermint soap I like since it was much much cheaper than normal.  Also, since I bought more than $10 on 3 recent trips, I got a $10 WF giftcard for future groceries up to Thanksgiving for shopping (minus alcohol, boo).  If you use the Amazon Prime Visa at WF (I do) you will get Amazon points to spend on future Amazon purchases.    I gotten "Amazon bucks" to use on Amazon purchases several times in the past 12 months.    Shopping this way does require me to be "all-in" on the Amazon environment.   But I have had no heartburn it about so far.

 

Here's an FAQ explaining the Prime and WF benefits.

Edited October 9, 2019 by lemniscate
proofreading (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, ElsieD said:

We have a Whole Foods here too and I was really excited....until I went there and saw the prices.  I seldom go there.  I'd trade it any day for a Trader Joe's.

 

Here the Whole Foods is basically across the street (US 1) from Trader Joe's.  I can't get to either.  Amazon Prime Now delivers.  Guess which store I use?

 

[lemniscate]

I thought I'd give an example of the WF Prime deals that I just partook of.    Beware there is math involved.

With the exception of a bag of WF 365 brand AP flour ($3.29), everything I bought was a Prime member deal.

3 boneless Chuck Roasts (3 lb.  2.7 lb. and 2.6 lb.)  Non-Prime member price $5.99 lb, Prime member price $3.99 lb.   Receipt says I saved $16.70 on that portion using Prime savings.

Moon drop grapes 2.2lbs.  Non-Prime member price $4.99 lb, Prime member price $2.49 lb.  Receipt says I saved $1.10 on that portion.   This was an impulse purchase and I probably picked up a bigger bag than needed, but they are very sweet and nice and we like them.  So that's a win also.

Kassagio Robusta Gouda, a big chunk, .73lb.   Non-Prime member price $18.99lb, Prime member deal 40% off.   The chunk was $13.86, the 40% Prime discount was $5.54 which means the Gouda cost me  $8.32.  I love Gouda and this seemed a good deal for that cheese.

 

I also had a $10 giftcard from shopping 3 times within a period of time and spending over $10 each visit.   I did all 3 visits for Dr. Bronner's soap, which was 35% off normal price to Prime members.   We have our beloved soap cheap for the next few months.

 

My total savings on this receipt says $33.34, so out the door at ~$41.

 

Since I used the Amazon Prime Visa also, I will get Amazon points for merchandise.

 

I'm not exactly trying to bust the myth of "Whole Paycheck", but there are real ways to get really good stuff and really good prices at Amazon Whole Foods.   I don't have to clip a single coupon.   It's all app driven.

 

 

[BeeZee]

I agree. People walk in and go straight to the meat and fish counters and get the vapors. I will always scope out the basket they keep in the cheese area with the small pieces they sell (often less than 1/4 lb) since it is a great way to try some different cheeses with minimal cash risk. I go to WF pretty much every week since it is on the way to my office, I will pick up odds and ends for office breakfast or lunch, and I do specifically buy things on sale with Prime and it can be a significant savings. I have the luxury of being able to go to different markets depending on what I need. I'm often buying things that I have bought in the Supermarket, so I know what "good" prices are, and I use shopping/coupon apps for all of the stores I visit.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My comparison today:  in the produce section everything I was interested in was significantly more expensive at Shoprite than at Whole Foods (at least for the on-line Whole Foods prices that I see on amazon).

 

But the spareribs I came home with from Shoprite were $2.49 a pound vs. $6.49 a pound spareribs from Whole Foods.

 

[rotuts]

@emniscate

 

did you amortize your membership fee ?  $$ 110 or so ?

 

what about the tendency to ' buy more stuff '  once you are a Prime Member  ?

 

just saying.