cards at your supermarket

I live in wisconsin and we have several supermarket chains. I dont particularly like having to have those store cards to get their discounts but I have them. So today i was at jewel and i accidently gave the lady my pick n save card. I was like oh woops and went to hand the lady the right card and watched as she swiped it and it rang through ok. I was like that was the wrong card and she said it doesnt matter its all the same company that does all the cards anyways. it did work correctly and i did get all the discounts i was supposed to, but its also kinda scary.

discuss.

You have to really wonder why this information is being collected from you. Many places like these convince you to sign up for a card to save money. You give them your full name and phone number. Most likely your address too.

If you are a person buying lots of sandwich bags, you could be a drug dealer suspect.
If you are buying bomb materials, you could be a terrorist suspect.

Safeway shopper card leads to arson arrest

Supermarket cards threat to privacy?

I am not familiar with the Jewel place you mentioned. Could it be Jewel-Osco? They are owned by Albertson's. They also own Acme Markets, Osco Drug, and Sav-On.

Visit this site, www.nocards.org... it is a real eye opener. Find out what markets are not following you and shop there. If you cant do that then you have to decide what is more important, saving a few bucks or your privacy.

the thing i am getting at is that they are all in one big database that goes across different chains owned by different companies...

yes the jewel is jewel osco. pick n save is owned by roundy's if i recall correctly.

[edit on 3/15/05 by spangbr]

Very interesting. Nice little coincidence in finding that out too.

As that old rock group would say, "just another brick in the wall". I personally don't really care. I realize that privacy groups aren't going to win much but a few battles here and there to placate them. Unless those privacy groups can convince people from 3-4 separate generations what is going on. Even then I'm willing to bet the older generations aren't going to care much even if they were to believe it.

So these cards are owned by one company. Does the savings come from that company? And if so, how are they getting the money? From saving, documenting and then selling the information they could obviously collect? Is it a government subsidized company? Who else could pay the savings to the supermarket?

These questions and more coming to a thread near you!

Chew on this for a bit...I read where a lady had one of those cards. She stopped buying tampons because she had a hysterectomy. Well, within 2 months of not purchasing them, she began receiving coupons in the mail for home pregnancy tests and diapers.

Get an idea of what those cards are for yet?

You hand your card for the "savings"

Right away, they know your name, address & phone #. What you spent, what you bought, etc. Under the pretext of "savings" we allow the government to follow us home.

I heard somewhere that Walmart is working on a tiny chip to be on all merchandize that will also track the goods where you're taking it.
When that happens, i'm going to buy something and go toss it down the river and see if i get a knock at the door

Insanity.

Originally posted by Umbrax
You give them your full name and phone number. Most likely your address too.

You mean people actually give their real names and addresses for those things?!? I used made-up names & addys for all the groceries in my area and continue to reap the bonus savings without annoying circulars sent to my house!

See, I'm thrifty *AND* privacy-conscious!

(seriously. If you're so worried about bonus cards invading your privacy, why are you giving your real contact info in the first place?)

All of your purchases are being monitored and just like key words, certain items and buying habits are further profiled by the department of homeland security. I just got through reading an article on this a while back, will see if I can dig it up. the consolidation of these food companies and their cards is certainly not a cooincidence. I wish I had the article here in front of me but I have it somewhere and will post it when I find it. Have no doubt, Uncle sam is watching what you buy closely.

Originally posted by Banshee
You mean people actually give their real names and addresses for those things?!? I used made-up names & addys for all the groceries in my area and continue to reap the bonus savings without annoying circulars sent to my house!

See, I'm thrifty *AND* privacy-conscious!

(seriously. If you're so worried about bonus cards invading your privacy, why are you giving your real contact info in the first place?)

Thats good, mess with them . Some of these supermarket cards require (or used to require) state ID or social security number for discounts, like Harris Teeter. I hope that people who sign up for those cards realize something it terribly wrong.

But yeah, give 'em fake names like Seymour Butts or Amanda Hugnkiss.

You mean people actually give their real names and addresses for those things?!? I used made-up names & addys for all the groceries in my area and continue to reap the bonus savings without annoying circulars sent to my house!

No kidding, I've got all of those cards, and not one of them with real information...hehe...it isn't like they verify it...

My favorite?

Marvin D. Martian and Wile E. Coyote

Originally posted by Umbrax
Some of these supermarket cards require (or used to require) state ID or social security number for discounts, like Harris Teeter.

My Harris Teeter VIP card required a tiny form whereupon I used a fake name and an address that doesn't exist. They handed over my cards after tossing the form in a basket without giving it a second look and I went on to purchase my produce.

I've got 3 major grocery chains in the area and another 4 or 5 when I was living in DC, and none ever asked to see ID or other proof of address.

And those sensors that open the doors automatically on the way out.... they read your mind!

Seriously though I don't bother with those cards. The pennies they save you aren't worth them knowing what I buy. Also, I tend to buy lot's of imported beer. They might label me as anti-American.

[edit on 15-3-2005 by Veltro]

Always shop at Wal-Mart. No cards. No hassels. Just quality products at the lowest prices. Everyday. The grocery stores here in Albuquerque are highway robbers. Now we have about six or seven Super WalMarts and I wouldn't darken the doors of a Smith's or an Albertson's, if I was starving to death.

Originally posted by spangbr
I live in wisconsin and we have several supermarket chains. I dont particularly like having to have those store cards to get their discounts but I have them. So today i was at jewel and i accidently gave the lady my pick n save card. I was like oh woops and went to hand the lady the right card and watched as she swiped it and it rang through ok. I was like that was the wrong card and she said it doesnt matter its all the same company that does all the cards anyways. it did work correctly and i did get all the discounts i was supposed to, but its also kinda scary.

discuss.

They are not all the same company Jewel is owned by Albertson's, Inc. Boise, ID and Pick N Save is owned by Roundy's Inc., in Milwaukee WI.


If anything perhaps there is one company that issues the cards and those cards may be allowed by other stores, meaning your name is in one big data base used by several stores.

yes, the cards are one company, and i bet one database. the store are different companies, yet the cards are interchangable. that was the suprise. some of you guys try using the wrong card at the grocery store once and see what happens for you.

It wouldn't recognize my card from another store, but this was a while back.. Next grocery trip, I'll try again.

It doesn't bother me much to give my real name and address. The one story I shop the most actually sends me extra coupons for stuff I actually want to buy.
No big deal.
My savings amount to hundreds of dollars a year.

~~~~~~~~
For those of you so concerned about those cards, yo do realize that thee are tracking cookies on the internet
For example, I was visiting overstock.com last week. They kindly installed a tracking cookie on my PC.
So, unless you are sweeping your PC regularly, you're being monitored online!

consumer/product profiling...don't cha love it? Not. But the way things are in society today...seems that everybody is undersuspicion unless they prove themselves an UPRIGHT CITIZEN FOR THE NWO...no need to think, Big Brother knows best...once again...NOT!

I've got one of those cards, and unfortunately...what some refer to pennies, at the store i use is sometimes a dollar or more and though i don't like using it...saving a few dollars does come in handy, when you need every little bit you can save.

WALMART???

sadly...use it when i have to...although i don't see any savings there anymore than the regular store i go to...Walmart has NO choice, i'm forced to buy what they have, and what their computers say sells the best...whether it's what i buy or not. WALMART is EVIL

You ain't seen nothing yet

RFID technology is being added to packaging in the UK. This will tell a database when each pack goes on shelf, when it leaves the store, when it is opened & when it's finished with. Basic demographic / purchasing data is just the tip of the iceberg.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Of course the stores have promised not to collect data once the pack leaves the store and obviously they CAN be trusted.

Originally posted by dgtempe
You hand your card for the "savings"

Right away, they know your name, address & phone #. What you spent, what you bought, etc. Under the pretext of "savings" we allow the government to follow us home.

That is exactly why i fill in a fake name and address for these store discount cards.

i get the perks - they think they are getting good customer data... everyone pretty much wins.

edit: i see i'm not the only one who does this!

[edit on 18-3-2005 by negativenihil]

I had my wife check out the Cards at Jewels yesterday. This is what they told her. The card will scan if it is Pick N save, however you will only get credit for the same identical sale items. Example chicken at 49 cents a pound on sale at both rings up as sale item for both. However if jewel is offering One Can of their generic brand soup and pick N save is offering Campbells soup you will not get it as a sale item. In other words it depends on what you buy and you have to check your receipt and watch for the items as they ring up to see what price you get.

Also in order to get a Card at Jewel you have to show a drivers license with your name and picutre on it. This was just as I thought because I had recalled they did ask for ours when they first moved into Wisconsin. I knew Round'ys req'd a DL from the past, so I thought I would have my wife ask.

She will check out Pick N save next week when she shops there. The above is from the Customer Service Desk not a register clerk.