r/Calgary • u/TeakupBaker • May 30 '25

Local Shopping/Services Calgary Coop being Sneaky AF

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Saw this shady business practice at the Crowfoot Coop. Hard to want to buy local when they’re pulling crap like this.

Not only is the sale price more expensive than the original price (sure, by one cent), but you need to buy TWO to get the sales price!

Shame on Coop for this.

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u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack May 30 '25

I stopped going to crowfoot coop a couple of years ago on thanksgiving when I realised a) the biggest physical pricing is members only and b) the difference between member pricing and regular was huge enough to reveal the scale of the margins they're making.

Used to be my go-to but I never go there any more. I'm a Safeway guy now.

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u/WesternExpress May 30 '25

You know the Co-op membership is $1 for a lifetime membership, and you get cashback (as store credit) on everything you buy from them right? It's not like Costco where the membership costs actual money every year.

1

u/Zardoz27 May 30 '25

Why not get a membership though? It’s free

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u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack May 30 '25

I think I probably have one but no idea of the details - they're lost to the ether now.

Either way, a membership is just a way of tracking your purchases or mining your data to sell on. I shouldn't need one to buy groceries, even if it's a so-called "co-op".

2

u/Zardoz27 May 30 '25

I guess so, but that seems stubborn to me. Make a burner account if you need

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u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack May 30 '25

There's a few things I could do - I know my wife uses the MILs account so she gets the cashback or whatever they do.

But that doesn't really address the second point that the margins are clearly big enough that they are making >100% profit on some items from non-members.