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I can't help but think that this article, and other comments, gloss over some major, obvious factors: 1) More than anything else - high volumes, low margins, a

I can't help but think that this article, and other comments, gloss over some major, obvious factors: 1) More than anything else - high volumes, low margins, and intense competition. People travel to Chinatown from all over NYC to buy at those prices. When they do, they're often making a long trip (in many cases, over an hour), and so they buy in much higher quantities than they would at a local grocer or supermarket. Conversely, people who just get their groceries at a local shop aren't fools, they're saving considerable time by not having to go to Chinatown. 2) Low labor costs. Most retailers are, small-scale immigrant businesses. In many cases, it would be a family operation, where children feel obligated to help their parents, or the workers are immigrants that speak little or no English (beyond that required for selling produce), are possibly undocumented, possibly are paid cash-in-hand without being taxed, and for one reason or don't have many employment opportunities outside of Chinatown. Compared with an outfit like D'Agostino, Gristedes (both of which use unionized staff), or Whole Foods, they're going to be paying a lot less for their staff in Chinatown.

greeneggs 10y ago
But what you are missing is that it is not primarily about the costs. The prices elsewhere are higher because those grocers want the prices to be high. They make more money from it, and there is insufficient competition to force them to lower prices. Where I am, for example, the base price at Safeway/Vons/Pavilions for any of the cheaper produce items is $1.99/pound. It goes up from $1.99: $2.99, $3.99, etc. Nothing has a base price of $x.49/pound. This pricing scheme has little to do with costs! (Bananas are the only exception for $x.99---depending on the location, they can be $0.69 or $0.79/pound---and there are a few items below the general $1.99 base price: like carrots or jicama, available for $0.99/pound.) Furthermore, they do mark items down at a times. So a fruit that is normally $1.99/pound will drop to $0.99/pound for 3-7 days. This is partly because of seasonality, but mostly for marketing. It is only one item at a time, for example. Under no circumstances will they mark multiple items down to $0.99/pound simultaneously, even if the items are both in season (which is easy to judge by looking at produce markets, farmers' markets, and more sensible grocery stores). It can be frustrating to know that it is high season for peaches, but the powers-that-be have determined that this week they're marking grapes down from $3.99 to $1.99/pound, so peaches can't be discounted.
- kuschku 10y ago
  Do you have an ALDI or Trader Joes near you? Can you compare price and quality of their products? I’d be interested.
- tacostakohashi 10y ago
  I don't think I missed that at all - I said it's mainly about high volumes, low margins, and intense competition (for example, I'd imagine the rents are actually pretty high). I'm sure the vendors in Chinatown want the prices to be high too. It's just that, unlike Safeway/Vons/Pavilions, they have dozens of competitors within walking distance.
koalaman 10y ago
they're also a community that is notorious for tax avoidance.
- mistermann 10y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Invoice_lottery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Invoice_lottery If I lived in a region with a generous social safety net and high immigration I'd be a bit worried.
dforrestwilson 10y ago
Yeah the tax thing is notable too. You see this quite a bit in NYC. Cash-only stores and restaurants can more easily misreport their income. Less paper trail to follow....
rbcgerard 10y ago
The other piece you are not paying for is the store, both the square footage in perhaps a more expensive location, code compliance, air conditioning/refrigeration etc. [Edit] also, farm conditions, and supplier audit trail probably do not stack up well in realtive terms vs. mainstream grocery store

greeneggs 10y ago

But what you are missing is that it is not primarily about the costs. The prices elsewhere are higher because those grocers want the prices to be high. They make more money from it, and there is insufficient competition to force them to lower prices. Where I am, for example, the base price at Safeway/Vons/Pavilions for any of the cheaper produce items is $1.99/pound. It goes up from $1.99: $2.99, $3.99, etc. Nothing has a base price of $x.49/pound. This pricing scheme has little to do with costs! (Bananas are the only exception for $x.99---depending on the location, they can be $0.69 or $0.79/pound---and there are a few items below the general $1.99 base price: like carrots or jicama, available for $0.99/pound.) Furthermore, they do mark items down at a times. So a fruit that is normally $1.99/pound will drop to $0.99/pound for 3-7 days. This is partly because of seasonality, but mostly for marketing. It is only one item at a time, for example. Under no circumstances will they mark multiple items down to $0.99/pound simultaneously, even if the items are both in season (which is easy to judge by looking at produce markets, farmers' markets, and more sensible grocery stores). It can be frustrating to know that it is high season for peaches, but the powers-that-be have determined that this week they're marking grapes down from $3.99 to $1.99/pound, so peaches can't be discounted.

kuschku 10y ago
Do you have an ALDI or Trader Joes near you? Can you compare price and quality of their products? I’d be interested.
tacostakohashi 10y ago
I don't think I missed that at all - I said it's mainly about high volumes, low margins, and intense competition (for example, I'd imagine the rents are actually pretty high). I'm sure the vendors in Chinatown want the prices to be high too. It's just that, unlike Safeway/Vons/Pavilions, they have dozens of competitors within walking distance.

koalaman 10y ago

they're also a community that is notorious for tax avoidance.

mistermann 10y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Invoice_lottery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Invoice_lottery If I lived in a region with a generous social safety net and high immigration I'd be a bit worried.

dforrestwilson 10y ago

Yeah the tax thing is notable too. You see this quite a bit in NYC. Cash-only stores and restaurants can more easily misreport their income. Less paper trail to follow....

rbcgerard 10y ago

The other piece you are not paying for is the store, both the square footage in perhaps a more expensive location, code compliance, air conditioning/refrigeration etc. [Edit] also, farm conditions, and supplier audit trail probably do not stack up well in realtive terms vs. mainstream grocery store