Drug Stores Overcharging For More Than Just Medicine

On InsightBB’s homepage today, there is this story: 

Inspectors Find Overcharging At Pharmacies
Sep 23, 2007

The Chicago Department of Consumer Services has discovered an epidemic of overcharging at some of the city’s pharmacies. Department investigators recently posed as customers at more than 180 CVS, Walgreen’s and Osco stores. They found that 71 of the pharmacies overcharged for all kinds of products, including blood glucose monitors, cough syrup and razors. One investigator was charged nearly 80 dollars for a glucose monitor that was listed at about ten dollars.

Color me not surprised. But it’s not just drugs they overcharge for. Just the other day, I stopped at a CVS. I walked down a few aisles, seeing if there was anything I could pick up. I saw a six-pack of Propel Fitness Water. Diane and I have been drinking a lot of this, and we usually pay $2.97 for a six pack at the local Evil Mart. I’d rather buy my groceries and beverages at other places than Evil Mart, but when the CVS price is $5.29 for the same six pack, and you’re on a limited budget, you’re almost FORCED to shop at Evil Mart, or you don’t eat.

I asked a CVS employee to justify the disparity, and he said “they must be taking a loss on it, because we can’t buy the stuff that cheap.” Well, then use your head. STOP ordering from whatever grocery wholesaler is ripping you off unless they drop the price to a more competitive level, or find another wholesaler who will. If those things don’t work, you go down to Evil Mart and buy your week’s supply for your shelves from Evil Mart. You buy it for $2.97 and sell it for $3.39, and you make a profit off of those who just don’t want to go to Evil Mart. Heck, if it was that close, I’D be shopping at CVS more.  But sadly, it’s not.

Now, on the other hand, if you’re NOT paying over $2.97 per six pack, YOU are the ones ripping people off at $5.29 and you don’t deserve the business anyway.

This is one area where I say “it was better when…”, which I don’t like to say often. But it WAS better before the corporations took over.  

My grandfather owned and operated a little country store, a “general merchandise” store in the mold of Sam Drucker’s Store, and NEVER ripped anyone off in 40 years of business. His prices were competitive all the way through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Then came Ronny and the Corporate 80’s. Grandpa wasn’t able to stay in business during the Reagan years, like many of his fellow small businessmen who were run out by Ronny and his corporate goons.

But Grandpa hung on as long as he could, finally being forced to sell in the Mid-80’s when the Econofoods, Cub, and Warehouse Markets finally forced him out. To be honest, his prices were competitive, but always a bit higher, even in the 70’s, because he just didn’t buy his products in quantaties as large as the bigger grocery stores did. So he had to be different, and he was. He battled hard against the local Barlow’s, Piggly Wiggly, and IGA, and he stayed viable because he actually cared about his customers. Imagine that.

 When he bought produce, he didn’t just order it on the phone. He went into Rochester (MN) and hand-picked his lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, potatoes and whatever else he purchased. I know. I went with him many times. He did the same with meats. Whatever he could do to ensure quality, he did it. And his customers knew it. And because of that, he was able to charge a little more, and they were willing to pay a little more. But with the arrival of the dastardly anti-little man/real American Ronald Reagan, things changed. Besides not being able to price-compete, even with superior quality, my Grandpa suffered the side effect of the 80’s economy being so terrible in Minnesota that no one had any money, and if they had to have groceries, they had to buy them as cheaply as they could. Fast forward to 2007, and here we are having to shop at Evil Mart for the same reasons.

The family grocer is pretty much gone today. Every town is a bit different, but here in Kewanee, only CVS, Walgreens, and small chains like Sullivan’s and Sav-A-Lot are the only competition Evil Mart.

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