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Last week, United Supermarkets’ parent company announced that it was being purchased by Albertsons (http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2013-09-09/united-sale-what%E2%80%99s-involved). If you live in the Texas Panhandle, you are well aware of this news. My initial reaction was like many of yours: “ALBERTSONS? SERIOUSLY? ALBERTSONS IS STILL A THING? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT’S DIRTY AND OVERPRICED AND UNDERSTAFFED AND AWFUL. WHY ALBERTSONS? WHY? YOU’RE RUINING EVERYTHING!”

Then I remembered, “Oh yeah, I haven’t actually been to Albertsons except for once in like 10 years. Perhaps I’m overreacting a smidge. Perhaps the preconceived ideas I’ve developed about Albertsons based on my experiences 20 years ago are wrong. Hmmm…”

So, off to Albertsons I went to see if my mental vengeance was justified or premature. Here’s what I found….

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. While it certainly couldn’t be described as the pinnacle of anyone’s 21st century grocery shopping experience, the store was much cleaner than I remembered. Plenty of employees were available to answer questions. All of them were very nice…even the “Um, sir, we don’t really like people taking pictures of our store” lady. Despite what you may think ma’am, I’m not some sort of grocery spy sent to do recon work on the arrangement of your toothpaste display. I’m just a nerd doing price comparisons. Sorry to raise your grocery spy alarm.

Anyhow, on to the important stuff….the prices.

Here’s a comparison of my completely randomly selected list of items. Long story short: let’s hope United Supermarkets doesn’t adopt Albertsons’ pricing. I had a list of 30 items. It was more expensive to purchase 3 of these items at United (grapes, non-frozen chicken, and stick butter). 6 items were the exact same price. The remaining 21 items were more expensive at Albertsons-an average of 26.5% more expensive. The good news: my visit to the store was pleasant enough that I no longer feel obligated to rant in ALL CAPS. The bad news: seriously, Albertsons? 21% more for generic peanut butter? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

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So, there you have it: my very unofficial and random synopsis of Albertsons vs. United Supermarkets. I’ve always loved you, United. Albertsons, please don’t change United (fyi…if you do, you’re going to need to drastically expand your selection of torches and pitchforks to supply the inevitable army of angry Amarilloans.)

So, what were your thoughts on Albertsons purchasing United?

* Worth noting: a couple items were on sale at Albertsons (Bar S hot dogs: 10 for $10 and Oscar Meyer 16oz Smoked White Turkey: $3.99). One item was on sale at United (Doritos: 2 for $5). I used the original prices to try to get a more accurate comparison.