News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Trader Joe's Shrugged. Parent comment

Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by msmillie on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:26PM (#7307978)
That someone can innocently and unironically describe Trader Joe's as being "known for low prices" is really the crux of the problem here.

Perhaps you're not familiar with minimum wage?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by zenocon on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:33PM (#7308054)
http://m.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_i...

http://thebillfold.com/2013/08/price-comparison-battle-safew...

http://www.checkbook.org/interactive/spmkt/other/t/article.c...

> Trader Joe’s received higher overall quality ratings than Dominick’s and Jewel-Osco, and charges similar prices.

I could go on, but I guess you can do your own research. Seriously, their prices are on average, lower than most.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by 11thEarlOfMar on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:36PM (#7308078)
Not sure what you are getting at. Trader's pays very well:

"...full-time crew members can start in the $40,000 to $60,000 a year range."

http://womensenews.org/story/labor/130722/cashier-the-deal-o...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by AjithAntony on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @05:53PM (#7308781)
Uneducated, inexperienced, poor people cannot compete for a job that pays that well. It would be trivial to staff the store with much higher quality candidates from farther away. Unless this specific TJ makes an explicit commitment to hire extremely local folks, then there will not be any working there.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by 300bps on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:36PM (#7308075)
My wife and I buy about 20 different items weekly from Trader Joes because it does have the cheapest prices on those 20 items.

Speaking of minimum wage... Trader Joe's pays substantially above it. My niece works there and as a stock clerk she gets paid substantially over minimum wage and has health benefits from them.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by jessedhillon on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:31PM (#7308039)
It's true and what's more, TJ's is not even close to a one-stop grocery store. They have a few general interest items and a bunch of foods specific only/mostly to their store. Only a nutritionally deficient person could shop solely at TJ, for everyone else I know it's supplemental shopping. There is a lower limit to your wealth before you get to the point where you're in the market for supplemental groceries.

*source: I lived above a TJ's in Berkeley for a few years.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by fr0sty on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:47PM (#7308185)
> Only a nutritionally deficient person could shop solely at TJ.

I shop almost exclusively at Trader Joe's* and am not (to my knowledge at least) nutritionally deficient. I get fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats, eggs, bread/cereal, and the odd snack. What am I missing?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by jessedhillon on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @05:37PM (#7308660)
In my experience, while it's true that technically they have items for every section of the food pyramid, you're often limited to a very small selection within many of those categories. Maybe your store is better stocked than mine was, but I could only eat there if I had the same few meals repeatedly.

I'll admit to a small bit of hyperbole in calling that nutritional deficiency, I should have better called that a distinct lack of variety.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by cm2012 on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:46PM (#7308171)
Trader Joe's can get meal costs really low. If you're past the stage on only eating rice, eggs, and chopped veggies, TJs is comparable to any other store. Having lived in relatively poor neighborhoods that are not at all hip, it's not like fresh fruit is super available otherwise.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by graylights on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:51PM (#7308235)
Trader Joes has low prices but they don't have the dirt cheap junk food that you might find at some stores. But you can eat cheaply at a Trader Joes. You can also eat very expensively if you go into some their specialty stuff.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Trader Joe's Shrugged by antidaily on Wednesday February 26, 2014 @04:53PM (#7308264)
They put a Whole Foods (definitely not known for low prices) on a vacant lot in downtown Detroit and it's doing great.
[ Parent | on HN ]