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The issue is larger than individual privacy, and lying about your information doesn't really help.

As detailed at the CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering) site, supermarkets don't care who you are... they just want to know about your buying patterns.

What's wrong with that?

What's wrong is that 75% of a store's profits come from the top 30% of customers (according to this essay). In the profit-driven corporate world, there is no reason to serve the lower 70%, if higher profits can be made off those 30%.

So caviar and fresh salmon get big "card discounts"... and beans, rice, and tortillas get marked up to make up the difference. In effect, your poorest customers (the ones for whom beans + rice + tortillas = dinner) actually subsidize the purchases of those who can afford luxury foods.

But you're a filthy-rich dotcommer, why should you care? Alright, Mr. Cynical, get this: a lot of that beans and rice are being paid for by food stamps. Food stamps come from tax dollars. Tax dollars come from... YOU!

The grocery stores are double-dipping -- no, triple-dipping -- at the expense of poor customers, middle-class customers, and taxpayers.

That's why, when possible *, we should Just Say No!

* Embarassing full disclosure: I have a Kroger card. They had lower markups and a better privacy policy than their competitors, and are often the only nearby store open when the kids want milk with their cerial. Flames welcome, please address to /dev/null.

The issue is larger than individual privacy, and lying about your information doesn't really help.

As detailed at the CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering) site, supermarkets don't care who you are... they just want to know about your buying patterns.

What's wrong with that?

What's wrong is that 75% of a store's profits come from the top 30% of customers (according to this essay). In the profit-driven corporate world, there is no reason to serve the lower 70%, if higher profits can be made off those 30%.

So caviar and fresh salmon get big "card discounts"... and beans, rice, and tortillas get marked up to make up the difference. In effect, your poorest customers (the ones for whom beans + rice + tortillas = dinner) actually subsidize the purchases of those who can afford luxury foods.

But you're a filthy-rich dotcommer, why should you care? Alright, Mr. Cynical, get this: a lot of that beans and rice are being paid for by food stamps. Food stamps come from tax dollars. Tax dollars come from... YOU!

The grocery stores are double-dipping -- no, triple-dipping -- at the expense of poor customers, middle-class customers, and taxpayers.

That's why, when possible *, we should Just Say No!

* Embarassing full disclosure: I have a Kroger card. They had lower markups and a better privacy policy than their competitors, and are often the only nearby store open when the kids want milk with their cerial. Flames welcome, please address to /dev/null.

The issue is larger than individual privacy, and lying about your information doesn't really help.

As detailed at the CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering) site, supermarkets don't care who you are... they just want to know about your buying patterns.

What's wrong with that?

What's wrong is that 75% of a store's profits come from the top 30% of customers (according to this essay). In the profit-driven corporate world, there is no reason to serve the lower 70%, if higher profits can be made off those 30%.

So caviar and fresh salmon get big "card discounts"... and beans, rice, and tortillas get marked up to make up the difference. In effect, your poorest customers (the ones for whom beans + rice + tortillas = dinner) actually subsidize the purchases of those who can afford luxury foods.

But you're a filthy-rich dotcommer, why should you care? Alright, Mr. Cynical, get this: a lot of that beans and rice are being paid for by food stamps. Food stamps come from tax dollars. Tax dollars come from... YOU!

The grocery stores are double-dipping -- no, triple-dipping -- at the expense of poor customers, middle-class customers, and taxpayers.

That's why, when possible *, we should Just Say No!

* Embarassing full disclosure: I have a Kroger card. They had lower markups and a better privacy policy than their competitors, and are often the only nearby store open when the kids want milk with their cerial. Flames welcome, please address to /dev/null.

My local albertsons just switched to the use of a card. I complained bitterly, leaveing the goods I was buying on the counter and walked out. I also sent an e-mail complaining to their corporate office at:

absfeedback@eds.com

I recommend you do also.

Also a little google searching found an organization dedicated to fighting the use of shopping cards at:

No Cards

Surpisingly there are other folks who do not like the use of cards

I think it is extremely arrogant of a business to require me to sign up and carry their tracking number in my pocket. If every vendor required that I would not have enough pockets to carry around their tracking numbers. Now if just had a national id card then ...

My local albertsons just switched to the use of a card. I complained bitterly, leaveing the goods I was buying on the counter and walked out. I also sent an e-mail complaining to their corporate office at:

absfeedback@eds.com

I recommend you do also.

Also a little google searching found an organization dedicated to fighting the use of shopping cards at:

No Cards

Surpisingly there are other folks who do not like the use of cards

I think it is extremely arrogant of a business to require me to sign up and carry their tracking number in my pocket. If every vendor required that I would not have enough pockets to carry around their tracking numbers. Now if just had a national id card then ...

Yes, I have already posted this in another thread, but it's certainly applicable here as well.

This site has a good write-up:

NoCards.org