$8.99 for a pound of strawberries anyone?
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (43059)
Staten Island, New York
December 14, 2018 6:18pm CST
I went to my local Russian supermarket yesterday to buy milk and a few things for the duck I was going to cook in the oven.
In the store, I passed by the fruit and vegetable section and decided to get some berries. I wanted to get some strawberries. They seemed to look good. When I got closer to them and saw the price tag my jaw dropped. The price sticker said $8.99. Mind you they were regular Driscolls berries, not organic ones.
I get that it's winter time and strawberries are not particularly in season now but they should not cost that much. Whoever priced them was out of his/her mind! They did have a few other brands aside from Driscolls but the price was not that much different. No way was I going to spend that much on berries. Maybe if they were fresh from the farm and were to die-for. And even then I'd think about it.
I decided to look at raspberries instead, hoping that they weren't way overpriced. To my luck the usual small container was only $2.49 and the berries were not moldy or spoiled as the previous ones I bought were. So I got that and really enjoyed it. Only thing I regret is getting only one.
12 people like this
14 responses
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
They are. I've seen cantaloupe for even higher at my local Russian store. Or avocados for $2.99. Those Russians are greedy. Or bell peppers for $3.99 a pound.
2 people like this
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
15 Dec 18
i think cantalope is 6 bucks here..and it's tasteless..picked too early.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (115914)
• United States
15 Dec 18
@lovebuglena I wouldn't bother to shop there then except for specialty ingredients. I was cooking out of a Russian cookbook this past spring (Kachka) and it called for something that I couldn't find even on Amazon. We have no Russian shops in this area so I had to skip all recipes that required it.
@much2say (53907)
• Los Angeles, California
15 Dec 18
@lovebuglena No one in their right mind is going to buy them - they will go bad first!
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
I've seen regular Driscolls at Whole Foods for $4.99 or even $5.99 before. Never as high as $8.99, not even organic ones.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
@much2say Are you talking about strawberries or raspberries? Raspberries definitely go first. As for buying the berries for such a high price or not, there are people who shop who don't bother to look at prices (or care about them) or what's being rung up at the register. They just put stuff in the cart, check out, and swipe, not caring how much they are paying... I am not one of these people.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
15 Dec 18
i agree with chicaa.hell no.i don't even like strawberries that much.
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
16 Dec 18
@lovebuglena i'm just not fond of the taste.i like raspberries way more.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
What don't you like about them?
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
16 Dec 18
@scarlet_woman Have you ever tried wild strawberries? I prefer those to strawberries.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215154)
• Chile
15 Dec 18
That´s robbery! This is strawberry time in my country and we can buy strawberries very cheap and even freeze them.
@marguicha (215154)
• Chile
16 Dec 18
@lovebuglena If nobody buys them at that price, they will have to lower it.
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
16 Dec 18
It's going on winter here. Maybe there is a strawberry issue or something. Never seen them that high before, unless they were maybe sold at Costco (wholesaler) where the container is huge and not a pound one. Wonder if the price went down or if they are keeping it at $8.99 still...
1 person likes this
@Mavic123456 (21898)
• Thailand
15 Dec 18
Check on the seeds, it might have gold. lol.
1 person likes this
@Mavic123456 (21898)
• Thailand
15 Dec 18
@lovebuglena wow.... I think I don't like that.. it might create a$s problem, constipation to the highest level. 
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
More like invisible gold. 
Or maybe poop turns to gold once the berries digest.
Or maybe poop turns to gold once the berries digest.1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
I know. They must have liquid gold inside them.
@Shavkat (137189)
• Philippines
16 Dec 18
@lovebuglena If it is really necessary for such situation, then I will close my eyes in buying them.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
Unless I was cooking something that required strawberries and there was nowhere else to buy them then maybe I'd pay that much. But I'd have to be pretty desperate to do it.
@Hate2Iron (15730)
• Canada
15 Dec 18
What is with the prices these days? I saw a bag of organic apples for $10.00 And to think that I had my own apple tree in Manitoba!! Just might have to plant one this year at our new house!!
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
How many pounds was the bag? That's a lot of money for a bag of apples.
@RasmaSandra (73198)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
15 Dec 18
I find lots of things have gotten overpriced. I love having berries so I found a place online and I order frozen fresh berries. They do not cost too much and they are always good when thawed and not rotten or mushy. Just got to have my berries.
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
I am not a fan of frozen berries or even freeze dried berries. Though I do eat them in cereal sometimes and that's because they are already there.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
That's interesting. I've never seen fresh fruit at our local 99 cent stores. Recently, I bought a container of raspberries for 99 cents at my local Russian store. They looked good to me but when I opened the container at home a few days later they were all too soft and moldy. Yuck! Maybe that's why they were selling them that cheap 'cause they were already going bad.
1 person likes this
@yoalldudes (35040)
• Philippines
15 Dec 18
Too bad we don't have raspberries here. The strawberries are priced at $15 for less than a pound, I think.
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
15 Dec 18
Wow! That's even more expensive than here. Why so high? How come you don't have raspberries where you live?
1 person likes this
@yoalldudes (35040)
• Philippines
17 Dec 18
@lovebuglena Perhaps the climate isnt sutiable for the plant. Strawberries are cultivated in one town only where there is low temperature. The rest is tropical climate.
1 person likes this
