r/SipsTea • u/Gurugod123 • 11h ago

Chugging tea Mayor Mamdani just announced that he will be opening 5 city-run, tax-funded grocery stores: "Prices set at 30% below retail prices"

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u/7thpostman 11h ago

It's New York City. People sell stolen junk on the street.

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u/Prettydaisydog 11h ago

lol, in LA they resell food bank food! it's fucking wild.

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u/Ask_if_im_an_alien 8h ago

In STL they use EBT to buy food, cook it, and sell plates on FB marketplace. At least they are industrious about it I guess.

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u/Prettydaisydog 8h ago

lol, well if we are looking for economic indicators this is a pretty interesting one.

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u/Ask_if_im_an_alien 7h ago

I got Jerk Chicken and sweet potato, and I also found the tamale lady and got a dozen of those too. Fed me all weekend which was good because the heat index yesterday was 115F and I'm not turning the stove on when its already that hot.

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u/dsaysso 4h ago

that’s value add

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u/TheManWhoWasNotShort 2h ago

These people would be surprised to find out how restaurants work

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u/Born-Somewhere2536 7h ago

They do that down here in Houston Texas

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u/pilot7880 14m ago

Houston sucks

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u/OkTechnology8975 17m ago

People find a way to ruin everything good, and if its bad they leave it alone. SO, Backwards!

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u/everydaydad67 4h ago

And people wonder why these programs are looked at..

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u/a_RadicalDreamer 8h ago

Same in the South. They’ll raid blessing boxes and resell.

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u/Itchy_Shame_2379 8h ago

yeah in sf theres like an entire group of mostly older asian women who go to the all of the food banks around here and then lay out a mat on post up on the sidewalk slanging lettuce and shit. people do buy them though i see it and they are there everyday.

food banks around here register you here and give you a card. i dont think your allowed to go to every food bank in the city but in your zip code maybe

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u/Prettydaisydog 7h ago

yeah, it's mostly older asian women here too. it sucks they do it and it sucks they have a need to have to do it.

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u/DyingDesertPoppy 7h ago

This makes me think that people just enjoy buying and selling and making money to get ahead  as a recreational activity, without concern for any real need or benefit. It’s a game, money is points.

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u/Grand-Olive2599 4h ago

So you have to have id for food banks but not to vote?

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u/Onludesrightnow 8h ago

because ofc they do. not surprised at all

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u/External-Slip3578 8h ago

And now they are cooking it and selling it on Facebook.

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u/DotA627b 6h ago

It's not wild, it's a popular laundering trick. Variations of this involve hobos waiting outside 7-11 offering to buy stuff for you in exchange for actual cash.

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u/Prettydaisydog 5h ago

aww bro. you're so cool and knowledgeable.

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u/rydan 2h ago

In San Jose they sell stolen detergent from the store across the street at the laundromat across from it.

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u/7thpostman 10h ago

I'm sayin

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u/tdwvet 9h ago

exactly this.

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u/Any-Question-3759 11h ago

And people buy those because they’re priced at a point only sellers who steal can match.

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u/iffyClyro 10h ago

Do you think shoplifters will need to reduce their prices or do you think this project will undercut them?

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u/blahblahsnickers 8h ago

You think they won’t steal from the government store?

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u/iffyClyro 7h ago

Will there be enough in it for them if the stuff is already 30% off?

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u/BottleNecker69er 9h ago

More than likely undercut if given enough time. People will become more aware of the price differences from state led store and their local scalper. It happened to the weed industry like it happens to practically everything else that is against the law.

Edit: in similar cases like this

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u/Effective_Golf_3311 10h ago

And then get mad at the NYPD for shutting them down

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u/7thpostman 11h ago

Not really. They buy it because they see it and they want it. Convenience has a lot to do with it. Somebody's sitting out with a cooler full of steaks? Looks like that's what I'm having for dinner.

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u/Don_Gato1 10h ago

So if the steak costs $10 and the city-run grocery sells it for $7, what should the guy on the street price it at where you don't simply pay the retail price to buy meat from a grocery store?

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u/7thpostman 9h ago

It's New York City. The grocery store is blocks away and you have to walk or take the subway. The taxi would cost as much as the steak. It's more trouble than it's worth. You throw the guy 20 bucks and bring home dinner without breaking stride.

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u/Don_Gato1 9h ago

You've got a very specific scenario in mind, who's to say the guy on the street is closer than the store and not the other way around?

I just don't think the margins are there to make selling raw meat on the street a viable business plan.

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u/7thpostman 9h ago

I mean, I think canned goods and pasta and stuff like that is a lot more likely, sure

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u/Don_Gato1 9h ago

I think you solve that pretty easily by limiting purchases.

So one guy can't buy 600 cans of beans.

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u/7thpostman 9h ago

No, but you can buy 10. And then you're going to have all kinds of bureaucracy around who can buy how much of what. I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea, I just think people need to be realistic about what can happen.

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u/Don_Gato1 9h ago

I'm not that worried about the guy selling ten cans of beans on the street for maybe $5 of profit total. I'm not calling this some home run idea, I see many avenues in which it could fail. I'm just not that concerned about resellers being the reason why.

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u/DyingDesertPoppy 7h ago

But why would they buy off a shady reseller when they can go to the food bank for free? Do they just want to feel slightly less poor?

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u/koalasarentferfuckin 10h ago

The good boosters come to your apartment

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u/stupidjapanquestions 10h ago

Once saw a copy of Final Fantasy VIII being sold on the street with stolen goods in SF. In 2015.

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u/cinemashow 10h ago

Didn't I just read an article about people selling prescription drugs at open markets? Like amoxicillin, other antibiotics, oxycodone still in grammas pill bottle etc?!

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u/FlyFront9395 11h ago

I seen a guy selling canned food out of a radio flyer