I have had my eye on some lobster tails at Walmart for a few weeks now but at a cost of $24.92 for two tails it always pained me to think of what that would do to my food budget. (If you are not reading this directly from www.howisavemoney.net or from the feed you may be reading content that has been scraped) Since I started over this month I decided to take the plunge and get the lobsters and I put the pot of water on to boil while I read the back of the box. Normally I check the expiry dates on food but I guess I was just too excited at the prospect of finally getting my lobsters that I did not bother in this case.
Well as soon as I flipped the box I noticed that the lobsters had expired in JUNE of this year!!!!
I brought the lobster back and got a refund and went back to the freezer to see if I could find a replacement that was fresh since I was really CRAVING lobster now. I looked at the first box and it was expired too, second box same thing. I flipped two rows of boxes only to find that they all had the same expiry date and I was getting annoyed but I could see a third row way in the back that hopefully would have some good lobster.
I called an employee to help me reach the boxes in the back since they were on the top shelf and I was not tall enough to reach but to my dismay they were all expired as well. The employee said that they would just have to trash all of them and he merrily got out his little scanner and began scanning boxes and throwing them onto a cart, while calling yet another employee to get on disposal duty. He then cheerfully said to me that there were 24 boxes on the shelf so that was a loss of $600 to the company but on the bright side I could try the crab legs because he knows they are fresh.
I smiled and thanked him for helping me and looked at my refund slip and drove back home with my stomach growling at the thought of the missed lobster. So I guess I can say I saved that $24.92 today because I was really determined to get my lobster but I guess the spirits of finance and budgeting blocked that dream for me today.
This post is making me crave lobster as well! 🙂
That’s too bad that you missed out on the lobster. I guess better that than this post being about food poisoning. I probably wouldn’t have thought to check and ended up with an upset stomach. It is amazing that stores can keep selling products months after the expiry. If you hadn’t said anything, who knows how many more people would have bought them.
Well one of the employees who was stocking the freezer said I am probably the only person who buys them because he does not restock that section of the freezer very often. I guess the price is a deterrent to most shoppers.
Ops, no lobster! 🙂
But, you didn’t go to another store to get your lobster?
awww, that too bad. if it was me and i was really craving for a lobster, i’d probably go to another store. 🙂
Yes I would’ve likely just gone to another store as well. If 2 lobster tails was looking a bit expensive, perhaps buy just 1 and share it as a side with some salmon or other seafood.
Well it was a two pack of lobster tails. I was just upset and did not want to drive all the way across town just to get the lobsters.
I hear ya. I guess I am just more set in my mind once I get a food craving. Perhaps the high price is the only thing that would make me reconsider driving to another store. I like to splurge a bit on food, but I realize it’s a pretty lousy investment.
Wow, it’s a good thing you noticed the expiry date. When it comes to seafood particularly, it might even be a good idea to stay on the safe side and not buy anything that’s even close to the expiry date.