What Do You Buy At The Grocery ... Punk?

fifths writes: "I'm not sure how many of you saw this story from the Scripps Howard Washington bureau -- as reported in the 'Washington Calling' column in the 10-07-2001 edition of the Knoxville(TN) News-Sentinel: 'Federal agents are tracking suspects tied to the Sept. 11 strikes through supermarket club cards that may give a hint of ethnic tastes. "Time was, this data was so disorganized nobody could make sense of it, but not anymore. They're looking for people based on their supermarket tastes," says consultant Larry Ponemon, head of the Privacy Council business consortium.' Anyone else bothered by this? Burn your supermarket cards." Better yet, trade your supermarket cards, frequently. (Perhaps with friends or relatives in the furthest city with the same chain?) Maybe Larry Ellison would like to have a few.

Comments

Card Trading

[waldoj]

I have no idea of where my supermarket cards came from. You know how when you sign up, they give you a few? I've gotten friends to give me all of my cards. Whenever, in conversation, topic turns to shopping, I explain why these are Bad Things(tm), and suggest that card-swapping would help. We always swap cards, and they're always eager to do so with others. It's not just me -- my whole family actually does this, and many of my friends now. And some people that I tell about this say that they already know about it, which makes me feel a bit like going to a strange town and finding out that there's already a fight club.

Anyhow, yes, trade away! Destroy their databases and go buy some ethnic food. It'll be fun.

-Waldo

Don't play the game

[rgmoore]

Better yet, trade your supermarket cards, frequently. (Perhaps with friends or relatives in the furthest city with the same chain?) Maybe Larry Ellison would like to have a few.

An even better idea is simply to avoid the cards in the first place. Accepting the card is essentially selling the store your profiling information for a discount. It's sleazy to break your half of the bargain by deliberately contaminating their data while expecting them to keep to their side by continuing to provide discounts. If you hate the things so much just refuse to accept one and pay cash (so that they can't track purchases by credit card number). Even better, skip the whole game by shopping at a store like Trader Joe's that refuses to have such a program in the first place.

Re:Don't play the game

[camusflage]

It's sleazy to break your half of the bargain by deliberately contaminating their data while expecting them to keep to their side by continuing to provide discounts.

It's even sleazier to jack up the prices on items and offer "discounts" for people who use the cards when the discounted price is what the retail price should be. One rather nasty example of this that I saw recently was where a commodity item (a tube of toothpaste) was marked "Buy One Get One Free" with the card, where the price for the single unit was twice what comparable brands were selling for.

Re:Don't play the game

[funkman]

So trying to get customer loyalty is a bad thing? Because that is the purpose of the discount cards. While the cards do profile you - how do you expect to get customers to keep coming to your store if you can't track them?

Re:Don't play the game

[camusflage]

So trying to get customer loyalty is a bad thing?

No, it's not. What is a bad thing is dicking over people who don't use them (me) by jacking up the prices and offering "discounts" that bring the price back in line.

how do you expect to get customers to keep coming to your store if you can't track them?

How about this for a novel concept: Sell things for an everyday low price. When lowered market demand or locally prevailing conditions dictate, offer a discounted price (the pros sometimes call this "a sale").

I know that grocery is a horrible business to be in. You're operating on a 1-3% margin. Forcing consumers to chose between getting fucked over privacy-wise (for those who submit to being profiled) or getting fucked over financially (by not getting the ephemeral "discounts", and paying the artificially inflated price) is what is wrong about the cards.

If it was about loyalty, then all the cards would track is that you were in the store, and perhaps what you spent. If it was about profit (from the data), then the cards would record who you are, where you live, what you buy, and when you buy it. They can't yet track what made you buy it (or, should I say, not anymore--cuecat), but once cheap cybernetic links are available, I'm sure they'll offer the same "discounts" for them as well.

Re:Don't play the game

[CaptainZapp]

how do you expect to get customers to keep coming to your store if you can't track them?

How about this for a novel concept: Sell things for an everyday low price.

There where I live, some shops have an even more revolutionary concept. It's called service and quality.

See, there's the cheese speciality store around the corner. It's not huge in terms of choice, but the products they have are mind blowing. This is because the owner knows his suppliers for decades and he knows and loves the produce he sells. Since it's a speciality store, prices are (rightfully) ~30% higher then for a comparable (but not equal) product in a supermarket.

Then there's the butcher in walking distance. The guy knows about his stuff and he knows his suppliers. You can be reasonably sure, not to get hormone infested meat (illegal anyway in Europe), or meat from anymals fed with GM grain at his store. You can even be reasonably sure, that the chickens where free roaming and the beef is not factory meat. This comes at a price of course, but is well worth it.

It's not always about getting a 30 oz' coke for just 30 cents, or stuffing more, more, more into yourself. Price is not always the issue (admitted, when you have a family to feed on a mediocre income, attitudes might change). I still rather eat less eggs, but they are real eggs, then stuffing industrial crap into my body, just because it's cheap.

Oh, and of course those merchants don't accept any cards, let alone distribute them...

Re:Don't play the game

[camusflage]

You're ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. For most consumers, it's about the Benjamins (or whoever is on your money wherever you may be). Myself, I'll sacrifice some on price for service. There's a small grocery local to me. Sure, it costs more, but I'll buy my non-commodity items there because they're a higher quality.

Re:Don't play the game

[rgmoore]

It's even sleazier to jack up the prices on items and offer "discounts" for people who use the cards when the discounted price is what the retail price should be.

So find a store that doesn't do that. I do almost all of my shopping at Trader Joe's. They're admittedly not a fully national chain, but they are moderately widespread now. They also have the advantage of offering more interesting food than most supermarkets, rather than just the offerings of the big companies. Part of the reason that they don't bother with a card program is that they have no strong commitment to keeping a consistent stock on their shelves, instead focusing on finding things that give their customers good value. It's much less useful to track purchasing habits when the nature of the stock in the store tends to minimize habitual buying in the first place.

If you want a conventional supermarket, ISTR that Albertsons doesn't have a card program, and is proud to announce it. They apparently feel that enough people are bothered by the card process that they can help their market position by refusing to be involved. If the whole process of using the cards is offensive to you, stop doing business with the people who use the cards, and start doing business with people who refuse to do so. It's a much stronger and more reliable way of avoiding being tracked than trying to gum up the card system.

Re:Don't play the game

[Some Woman]

At the grocery store here that has discount cards (Rainbow Foods), when you check out they ask if you have a card. If you don't, they swipe one of the cards that they keep by the register. So, I get the discount and nobody has my personal information.

Re:Don't play the game

[sulli]

Buy somewhere that offers an everyday low price then. Such places exist, patronize them! (Wal-Mart, for example, doesn't do much in the way of discounts - of course, you have to drive way out in the burbz to find one.)

Re:Don't play the game

[renehollan]

I've had grocery stores REFUSE to let me purchase goods UNLESS I provided a card.

Of course, getting somewhat loud about it ("You mean I can't buy food for my baby without you tracking my purchases and invading my privacy!") while not quite beligerent, usually gets them to back down.

Re:Don't play the game

[Anonymous Coward]

>So trying to get customer loyalty is a bad thing? Because that is the
>purpose of the discount cards. While the cards do profile you - how do
>you expect to get customers to keep coming to your store if you can't
>track them?
>
They *NOT* profile *ME*,they're profiling a person who doesn't exist. Or did you think I would actually be *DUMB* enough to give the store my real name,address and telephone number?

Ok...?

[hhe_hee]

So this means that everyone with a taste for the Afghan kitchen is a primal suspect?

So your eating Afghanic food eh?

Re:Ok...?

[Flower]

Oh my god! And I bought the hummus spread for my bagel at Einstein's.

Somebody hide me. Quick!

Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[ShaunC]

Few things bother me more than the idea that I should have to use what amounts to an ID card to shop for groceries. Most of the grocery stores here use these cards, and if you don't present one, you end up paying higher prices. I say that's bullshit. It's nothing more than marketing tactics - so that your local grocer can sell product oriented customer lists to other companies - and (sigh) most people have no problem handing their information over.

Obvious privacy implications aside, I shouldn't have to identify myself in order to get a good price on a pound of hamburger or a can of shaving cream. Nor should the grocery chain know my shopping history; what I bought last week is none of their business. The way I see it, their job is to keep track of inventory, stock what sells, and don't stock what doesn't. They do not need to know my [name|address|phone|mother's maiden name|last 6 months' purchases] in order to do that.

We've been protesting Radio Shack's attempts to gather this information for years, why are we breaking down and giving it up to the grocery stores? Kroger and Albertson's (let alone the FBI) have no more business associating me with the purchase of my weekly consumptions than Radio Shack has associating me with the purchase of a particular transistor. But while Radio Shack will let you slide, the grocery store will charge you a higher price if you don't have a card dangling from your keychain, ready to submit your every demographic to their database.

So I do my grocery shopping at the locally owned chain, which doesn't even issue a card much less require one (and proudly advertises that fact in their commercials). I also do a lot of shopping at drug stores instead of grocery stores. I've found that Rite-Aid's prices are lower than any of the grocery chains on several products, including both cigarettes and beer! I save about $5/carton of Camels and $3/case of Bud by getting 'em at the drug store. Over the course of a year, that adds up, especially considering how much I smoke and drink...

Not to mention the fact that there's a community aspect at the drug stores that you just won't find at the grocery stores, since the employee turnaround at the drug stores isn't nearly as high. I know the people at Walgreens and Rite-Aid by name, and they know mine, because the same folks have been there for years. When the local Walgreens moved to a new building, the manager actually tipped me off about the opening time so that I could be the first customer at the new location, thus winning several cases of carbonated beverages and getting my photo posted for all eternity in the staff break room. But if I go to Kroger I rarely see the same cashier twice, and I sure don't get to know them.

Bottom line, vote with your dollars. Refuse to shop at the stores where you can only get the low price with an ID card. The savings is not worth sacrificing your privacy, apparently to the government as well as the corporate interest, especially if there's a reasonably affordable alternative. Keep your money and your business - both your private business and your financial business - in the hands of someone who will respect it.

Shaun

Re:Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[Technician]

I found there is a cost to the database, which is of course passed along to consumers. (Serious now, who do you think pays for it?) I have found out long ago that most stores that do not have the program have lower average prices all the time. It just isn't worth the trip to the high priced store just to see what the K-mart style special item is this week. I save lots more elsewhere without the cost of the database program added to the cost of the products. I quit shopping Safeway because the noticable differance in the bottom line. A 3.50 item with a savings of .75 is still more than the same item at 2.50 elsewhere.

Re:Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[camusflage]

Not to mention the fact that there's a community aspect at the drug stores that you just won't find at the grocery stores

Yanno, I was with you right up until this one. In case you hadn't noticed, there aren't any owner/operator pharmacies anymore. I know it's just business, but to say that there's a "community aspect" to chain drug stores is like saying there's an "environmental aspect" to automobiles.

getting my photo posted for all eternity in the staff break room

This would scare the crap out of me, but maybe I'm just paranoid. I thought this is what they do with shoplifters and check bouncers.

Re:Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[Tony Shepps]

I thought this is what they do with shoplifters and check bouncers.

I worked for a small family-owned chain - in an IT department that shared office space with security. They took Polaroids of shoplifters. I saw them. There is no way they'd post these shots to look at casually - because every single shoplifter has the exact same sad look about them. It's a weird mixture of shame, resignation, and sadness. The statement each shot made was, "My pathetic life has come to this: being photographed sitting in a supermarket manager's office after being nabbed for this minor crime."

There were people who would steal vanilla extract for the alcohol in it. Or men who would steal Monistat 7 (to return for cash, since it's the most expensive small item on the shelves). Just pathetic.

After looking at a few handfuls of these pics, I never wanted to look at them ever again.

Re:Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[Fencepost]

I also do a lot of shopping at drug stores instead of grocery stores.

Some drug stores (particularly the chains, which are also the ones most likely to have groceries) have started using these cards as well. I know that CVS (one of the major national drugstore chains in the US) has them, and while I haven't seen them at Walgreens I wouldn't be surprised if they're working on adding them.

Re:Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[ToastyKen]

This sounds iffy to me. The whole point of this is for them to MAKE MORE MONEY. They still have to charge roughly the same prices.. the market still works as it does, regardless of cards. Most consumers don't care about privacy, but they do care about prices.

Re:Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[Technician]

Some customers who don't do the homework are easly hooked by the little line at the bottom of the slip claiming "you saved $$$.$$".

An example I like to show, non grocery related, is ink jet ink. My old printer (HP722) used color cartridges that were 30 mL of ink.(HP C1823D) I bought them in the two pack for about $45. My new printer uses a standard cartridge that is 19 mL for $32.00 The high capacity cartridge is 38 mL for $53.00 for a savings of over $10 over two standard cartridges.(HP 78 A & D)

I quickly saw the large capacity cartridge had only 8 mL more ink than my old printer cartridge at more than double the price. The big price change over my older printer rang an alarm bell, so I bought bulk color ink at 13.95 per 1/2 pint.

I only buy a cartridge when one plugs up beyond revovery. I retained my old printer for printing web pages and other non critical stuff and use the new printer only for digital photography. My prints are often mistaken for conventional photos.

Re:Find a local grocery that *doesn't* use cards

[VDM]

The way I see it, their job is to keep track of inventory, stock what sells, and don't stock what doesn't. They do not need to know my [name|address|phone|mother's maiden name|last 6 months' purchases] in order to do that.

Tracking unique consumer' patterns of consumption gives more information than aggregate data. They may know how long lasts a butter stick, if there is some need of changing format, together with which other product it is bought, etc. However, also for this there is no need of knowing personal data, as it is sufficient to have a unique ID. And bogus names still allow for such task (so, if somebody is against such behaviour, it should avoid also bogus names).

By asking names and data, there might be a further level of aggregation/sharing/selling, because the owner of many cards might be characterized more thoroughly by, let's say, a third party having data from different chains. Such third party may suggest each supermarket the fields where they are weak, by knowing consumer patterns of their clients that are also other's clients.

There even could be something good for consumers, in such evaluations; but it is not clear, because they do not inform.

In Italy -by law- you can opt-out at any time by any data bank, and also ask for how data are used. However, people is not really using such possibilities (you should send a written, assured letter to the databank responsible, etc).

My 0.02 euro...

Know your enemy

[coyote-san]

One line really pisses me off....

Albertsons has publicly stated that it has no plans to introduce consumer cards. Management could change, of course, but they are undoubtably aware that the people who care enough about these cards to change grocery stores are also going to be among their most loyal customers as long as the other chains still use those cards.

Kroger and Safeway, on the other hand, seem to have these programs in place nationwide.

If you're gonna bitch, hit the right targets. Albertsons is a one of the good guys here, unless you know of specific counter-examples. If so, that would definitely be interesting since it's contrary to their stated policy.

Grrrrrr...

[RareHeintz]

The cards are a fucking cheat anyway - I mean, if you can give me a lower price, just give me the lower price, damn it!

This, above all, is the saddest thing about the HomeRuns/WebVan/insert-failed-groceries-over-the-n et-company-here failures - that grocery stores still aren't subject to enough price competition through side-by-side price comparison that they can get away with giving people price breaks for giving up their privacy.

OK, I'm done peeving now.

OK,
- B

Re:Grrrrrr...

[Anonymous Coward]

No, the saddest thing about Webvan's failure is that consumers are once again over a barrel to be fucked with a broken broom handle by the grocery store unions.

Re:Grrrrrr...

[RareHeintz]

Well, there's that, too.

Re:Grrrrrr...

[drinkypoo]

The cards are a fucking cheat anyway - I mean, if you can give me a lower price, just give me the lower price, damn it!

The lower price reflects how much money someone is willing to pay for marketing data. They base it on how many people bother to get/use the cards, et cetera. They are not cheating you, though they are collecting information on you. However, I *want* them to collect information; This information is used (among other things) to price products, and to tell them which products are and are not successful. If people buy captain crunch every time it comes to a low price, for example, but never buy it at full price, the price of captain crunch will eventually drop. And that can only be a good thing, considering how much of it I eat.

Also, it lets them know that I really DO buy little debbie snack cakes nutty bars, and that they should keep carrying them.

Re:Grrrrrr...

[jerdenn]

Also, it lets them know that I really DO buy little debbie snack cakes nutty bars, and that they should keep carrying them.

Umm... They know this anyway through inventory management.

-jerdenn

Re:Grrrrrr...

[drinkypoo]

Yeah, I know, but I was trying to work little debbie in there.

Please no pederasty jokes from the peanut gallery, thank you.

Re:Grrrrrr...

[moncyb]

The lower price reflects how much money someone is willing to pay for marketing data.

No it's not. A few months before they started the card program at my local store, the prices gradually were increased over time to about 30% higher. I didn't understand why. Guess what happened next? They come out with the card, and anyone using it got a "discount" on the item so that it cost about the same price as before the price increase, and everyone without a card had to pay the inflated prices.

Changing names

[Snowfox]

I don't like the idea of being tracked, so I use different names on all my cards, and I change cards periodically. These cards are always first to go if I need to get through a door, prop up a bit of furniture or scrape some dried goo off one thing or another.

As long as you're not signing up for use as a check card, they don't need an ID or social security number. You can get as many as you like. Needless to say - you should always pay cash with these, or it defeats the whole point.

At Jewel, I was "Jesus DeNazareth" for a while. At Dominicks, I'm "Anon Imus" and at Whole Foods, I'm something which I really can't print here, and I'm shocked as hell that I got away with it.

p.s. - To hell with those who say you're not holding up your end of the bargain by thwarting tracking. It's a fact that prices have gone up disproportionately in the last decade if you don't use the card. That's like me doubling the price of gas at the pump for anyone who won't let me see them and their wife/girlfriend topless. It's an invasion of privacy, subsidized by you, pure and simple.

Re:Changing names

[Anonymous Coward]

at Whole Foods, I'm something which I really can't print here, and I'm shocked as hell that I got away with it.

There is, to my knowledge, nothing you can't print on Slashdot. And there is nothing which a majority of the readers would be shocked to see -- except for Bill Gates admitting that Linux was a better OS, or Linus Torvalds admitting that he likes using Windows.

I have no problem...

[dafoomie]

I have no problem with my grocery store cards. Of course, the cards are registered to John Smith of 1 Main Street, Anytown, USA, zip code 00000. Born Jan 1 1980. Or I'll use the "temporary" cards they give you until your real one comes in the mail. I do have a problem with the overall concept though, I do not like people having marketing data about me without my explicit consent (not in a million years.)

Forgetting your card

[Christopher Bibbs]

I've found that most grocery stores have a store card they'll swipe if you've forgotten yours (and I forget mine a lot). There are ways to dodge data gathering or pollute their information about you. The trick is to find the ethical route that also lets them know how you feel.

Re:Forgetting your card

[daoine]

The trick is to find the ethical route that also lets them know how you feel.

Tell the cashiers. I do.

Every time I purchase something in CVS, the conversation goes like this:

Them: Do you have a CVS Extra Care Card?
Me: No.
Them: Would you like one? It'll just take a minute.
Me: No thank you, I don't agree with having my drug store purchases tracked by anyone.

9 times out of 10, the cashier will then pull out their card and scan it for me. If the manager happens to be working a register, I shoot for their register so that they can hear it too. It's a method that generally gets me the proper price for items, as well as letting appropriate people know that I'm not happy with the system.

Re:Forgetting your card

[DNS-and-BIND]

Ooh...way to go. You LET those cashiers know what you think about your personal privacy. Make a big fuss, and hold up the line while announcing your views in a loud voice to the whole store. That'll teach those cashiers to follow their voice scripts.

Re:Forgetting your card

[daoine]

Yes, that's exactly the point. (insert dripping sarcasm here)

Please, think about it for a minute. First of all, I specifically mentioned heading for the manager -- who actually has some power over this. If every manager hears the same thing, guess what, it'll change.

Moreover, who said anything about making a scene? Since when is going in and announcing how you feel going to get you anywhere? My point was simply that by mentioning the fact (note: without announcing it to the world, without making a scene, and without holding up the line), you may get someone else thinking about it. Get enough people thinking about it and you may just get somewhere.

Buy Local

[Zen Mastuh]

The local Mom & Pop (Ward's) has attracted many people who are disillusioned with corporate chain stores. The store has shown its gratitude by offering a wide variety of health foods and natural products. I buy my food in bulk there; at least the distributors aren't owned by tobacco companies. The Mom & Pops have such an intimate relationship with their customers that they don't need to resort to these cards. Shopping cards are a way of asking "Of the products our accountants want us to stop selling, which can you not live without?".

Fascism sucks, too--whether in 1940's Europe or 2000's America. People should subvert this crap by registering shopping cards with Dubya's name and address and only buying spoons, baking soda, nasal spray, and straws.

Middle Eastern foods

[Starbreeze]

OK that's a little disconcerting. I am a huge fan of hummus, and tabouli. Those are Middle Eastern. And I always use my Giant Eagle swipe card. Are they going to start coming after me?

i've never signed up and i have 3

[tralfamador]

i never sign up for cards. eventually the stores i go to see me enough and either give me a card without filling out info, or use the one they have at the counter...then again there's always the helpful person behind you in line too. everyone is free with their cards.

Here's a novel idea...

[stungod]

Jeez, people! I have these cards, but that doesn't mean that they have my personal info. All they know is that some guy named Ben Dover buys a lot of beer and that he lives at the governor's mansion.

And yes, I have a couple of cards that I rotate. It keeps the "special" discounts coming more frequently.

I mean, is it really that much of a stretch for this crowd to use a fake name? The discount's the same either way.

One Thing

[snubber1]

Pop quiz time: How many of you here have Costco memberships? Plenty I'm sure. They got cheap everything there, a deal for everyone. Now guess who does some of the most aggressive marketing analysis based on what you buy and when?

Don't forget you PAY for this privilege.

Re:One Thing

[coyote-san]

This is a false analogy since Costco targets businesses in addition to individual purchasers. To be sure, Joe Smith, employee with a bene, can be tracked as an individual. But they don't know the breakdown of my purchases as a small business owner. Is that 2-line phone for home or office? What about the set of wire shelving? Even food items are problematic - is that pile of soda and candy bars for me, for clients, for employees, or for vending machines in the office?

Re:One Thing

[snubber1]

I wouldn't say that necessarly. First, they have three kinds of memberships for corp., business, and personal. Secondly they look at EVERYTHING you buy. You better belive that they can tell if your buying cola for a restraunt, or just some thirsty kids. Next time your in Costco take a look at the contents of people's shopping carts about 95% of the people in there are just buying as a direct consumer.
Costco has a whole floor in their corp. office dedicated to figuring things like this out.

Re:One Thing

[DNS-and-BIND]

Costco is a wholesaler. Retailers get mad if wholesalers sell at wholesale prices to the public, therefore you need a "membership" that costs enough for Joe Average to be discouraged, but real wholesale buyers won't care one whit.

What does the EULA say?

[GTRacer]

I've only signed up for 2 of these my whole life. One was a Sam's card my parents actually pay for and use. My wife uses it occasionally too, but Sam's sucks donkey with their Discover or check only crap.

The other was at a Kroker in Tennessee, which was only used once, ever.

In neither case did I read the paperwork. What does it say regarding misuse or deception? Do you agree by accepting the card to not share it or otherwise fudge the data?

GTRacer
- Still doesn't really care...

None

[tycage]

No comment, just undoing a moderating mistake *sigh*

I stand corrected!

[ShaunC]

Thanks for the correction, I didn't mean to implicate the good guys. In fact I should have known better, as the local chain I spoke of (the one that doesn't issue cards, and brags about it) is now owned by Albertson's. It didn't click when I was writing the post.

Shaun

Why can't I find this anywhere else?

[allism]

I can't seem to find any other stories regarding this...I wanted to find out which grocers were participating in the ethnic profiling so I could scream and holler at them, but I can't find anything but a reference on CNN, MSNBC, and privacydigest.com (the wording in the articles was strikingly similar) stating that a supermarket chain (not chains) was consulting with Larry Ponemon to discuss how to disclose that they had given their shoppers' info to the government voluntarily. If anyone here knows which grocery chain this is, I'm sure we'd all like to know... I'm not saying the info in the KnoxNews story isn't true, but it sounds like a souped-up, tabloid version of the articles mentioned above (and if someone knows differently, PLEASE let us know!)

Re:Why can't I find this anywhere else?

[Anonymous Coward]

So your telling me that you would rather bitch and scream at the grocery store that helped a criminal investigation then have the people that commited this crime brought to justice? Maybe this is "unamerican" but I'm willing to sacrifice alot if it reduces or eliminates the risk of me being the victim of a terrorist attack.

Re:Why can't I find this anywhere else?

[allism]

Show me where knowing what kind of tampons I buy or even what ethnicity food I prefer is going to help with national security. I don't know what your grocery stores are selling, but mine does not have a bomb supplies aisle (unless you count the cleaning supplies, and God help the people who never buy cleaning supplies).

If you really want to make a difference...

[Local Loop]

If you really want to make a difference, don't use a card at all. Using a bogus name to get a card just encourages them.

The stores won't ditch the card program until they see that N percent of the consumers are refusing to use it.

Sure, you'll pay higher prices for groceries. Now is a good time to evaluate how much your privacy is actually worth to you.

Um....

[TheDarkRogue]

But what about my Free Turkey? How am I ever gonna claim it if I keep giveing others my points? Why sould They get the Turkey and not me, it was my money.

Safeway (CA) doesn't allow this

[KMSelf]

I've asked. The response is now "I can't do that anymore".

Yet another reason to avoid the bastards. Thank $DIETY for Trader Joes!

They can track me all they want

[Unknown Poltroon]

Why on earth would i give them a real name and address?

Not so

[almightyjustin]

Ah, but Costco only asks for your card when you enter the store, not at the checkout (this is necessary because they allow you to bring a friend in with you who doesn't have a card).

So all they get is aggregate purchasing data, which any store can do, and in fact must do for a market economy to work (things that people don't buy get less future orders, thus companies try to lower prices and improve their products, etc etc).

Re:Not so

[snubber1]

hunh??? Every Costco I've been to requires the checker to scan my card before ringing up any of my items. A friend is allowed to use my card if I'm present at the register.

How to send a message to congress

[t0qer]

At safeway if you forget your card they let you type in your phone # on the keypad.

I found my local representatives home number and tried that.. It works!

--toq

Card Sharing on the Internet

[Anonymous Coward]

Card Sharing Database [https://www.quickbase.com/db/7gbzab6b]

Many Supermarkets have databases where they track what you purchase based on your use of the "club card". While I agree that inventory management is important to any business, I don't believe that any supermarket needs to have on file a list of what I personally have purchased. I also don't like the idea of them selling this information to 3rd parties. Furthermore, if they can offer a can of soup for 99 cents with the card, they surely can offer it without the card. This "coupon-less" system doesn't save trees- they still send out mailers, it only coerces their customers into doing their dirty marketing for them.

FIGHT BACK! SHARE CARDS. By sharing a card you generalize the information they are collecting and thus somewhat protect your privacy. You also shield your home address and phone number from the junk mail and telemarketing to which you would otherwise be subjected.

Most stores allow you to use a phone number if you don't physically hold the card. In most cases they expect a local area code. In most views, this list is sorted by Area Code, and then by Supermarket.

To use a card, simply find the one for your supermarket of choice in your area code. Then memorize the phone number. When you shop next, simply tell the clerk you don't have your card, but you know the phone number. Then don't forget to not be suprised when the clerk says "Thank You" using a sir name you don't recognize. Voila!
Your privacy is now restored.

If you don't see the supermarket you shop at in your area code you can add a record to this list easily enough. Go to your supermarket and get a new card. Then come back here and simply go to "add new record", and fill in the info. Be sure to be careful when you select a name, phone number and address for use on the card. Everyone in the entire world has open access to this database.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I know of no reason why this would be considered illegal except that it is being organized on the internet and therefore it is likely to be discriminated against by those who fear the use of technology by anyone other than corporations. However, the real law is the fact that when you fill out one of these cards you are agreeing to a service agreement. If the service agreement says that you can't share the card with your friends and family then you probably can't share it with us either. If it says one household per card, or something then you are probably limited to sharing only with those that live with you. If not, then share away. Remember, share at your own risk. But have no fear, generally the designer of the website is the one of which they make the example.

ps. You don't need a Quickbase(TM,R) account to see this database as far as I can tell.

Broken link...

[DarkZero]

The link no longer works, sort of. The article has been removed from the site. Does anyone have any links to other articles about this?

It's more psychological draw to the 'savings'

[z7209]

I don't believe that you are just selling them your personal info for a discount. There is definitely an element of that, but I get close to the same or lower prices at the competitors without cards. Don't forget the psychological draw to the 'savings club'.

Anyway, it is sleazy to sell my info without adequately informing me. If that really is the purpose for these card clubs then I would say all of the advertizing is extremely misleading.

Store cards

[Anonymous Coward]

This really happened.
Checkout woman: Do you have a store card
Me: Yes, but I only use it when I buy bacon
Checkout woman: [confused look] Sorry ?
Me: [Thinks: I must not tease the idiots... I must not tease the idiots]

One nation, one card

[plexxer]

Instead of trading cards, why not just print out a barcode of one card and stick them to the card of yours and all of your friends... I am sure this violates their 'terms' of the card, but are they going to ask for identification when you use the card?

Did I miss the point?

[Dread_ed]

Wow, someone just killed 5,000 people in New York city by knocking down the WTC and all I can think about is whether or not some nebulous company is out there gathering data on me.

Is it just me or does it sound like some people would be happy if the profiling data from their shopping cards was stored in the WTC?

If the data is available to help catch the people responsible let's just hope that none of them are /.'ers. Personally, I am happy about the current level of technology and the ability of law enforcement to apply it to help defend the freedom that I use to post this.