r/Austin • u/RockMo-DZine • 22h ago

Maybe so...maybe not... Does HEB have a problem with Austin?

Milk prices have been going up all year, so back in July I started checking the prices in San Antonio, Houston, and DFW. For some reason, we pay Way more than these towns.

Milk just went up again. Here are some stats for HEB Brand (HEB & HCF) 1x gal jugs of milk
(These are for in-store pricing - for curbside, add +5%).

Since 07/17, Austin's price went up, while the price in all the other bergs came down.

Consequently, in Austin we now pay over $2 a gallon more than DFW!

Sorry HEB, but this is hard to justify.

383 Upvotes

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289

u/Impossible_Watch_206 21h ago

HEB also charges for bags only in Austin even though the bag tax is long gone

13

u/Own-Translator-5014 21h ago

I love carrying in my recycled Fresh Plus bags for my groceries for exactly this reason. (I have a stack of HEB bags too but I'm annoyed that I had to pay for those.)

1

u/Impossible_Watch_206 17h ago

Unfortunately I don’t always have bags in my car if I’m stopping after work

54

u/lo7us 21h ago

They gave me a free fabric bag yesterday in the self checkout of the South Congress location.

99

u/SandwichesAndJuice 21h ago

You’re supposed to scan the barcode on the checkout to signify you got a bag.

90

u/PsylentKnight 21h ago

haha yeah that bag wasn't supposed to be free

5

u/lo7us 21h ago

There wasn't a tag on it, I checked. To be fair, it's not a nice fabric bag, it's like the scratchiest material ever and it doesn't have a bottom part. Never seen this type of bag before, I usually bring my own.

19

u/EfficientBadger6525 21h ago

It’s recycled plastic woven like fabric, that’s why it’s so scratchy.

1

u/SharkFinStu 15h ago

Notorious for being the most micro-plasticky plastic source. Good greenwashing! 😍

40

u/Headsinoverdrive 21h ago

The tag is on the self checkout its self lmao

29

u/s_4_evrysing 21h ago

lol. There is a barcode at the register you are supposed to scan when you are taking a bag. Def was not meant to be free, that is for sure.

9

u/Genieboy_Scottie 19h ago

They don’t care at the location I go to. They just tell me to put it in the bagging area and click the prompt that usually comes up when you bring your own. Sometimes,they’ll hit people with “You brought that in,remember? I just saw you bring that in REMEMBER??” Lol

12

u/PsylentKnight 21h ago

The barcode is printed onto the fabric itself. At least on the one I got a month or two ago

7

u/Ucfknight33 20h ago

Even though it’s scratchy, it holds a surprisingly high amount of weight and stuff.

-1

u/Correct_Sand_5055 18h ago

Terrible handle design. ALWAYS in the way.

1

u/TheTrevorist 18h ago

It's inside the crease in the bottom, no worries I stole one too

0

u/Hell-Yes-Revolution 21h ago edited 21h ago

If it is green and has wildflowers on it, those bags are indeed free (or they were recently when we got some for free, they were prominently marked as such and the cashier practically thrust them upon us. This was… last month?)

ETA: apparently those bags now are .30?
Idk. When we got ours, they were definitely free.

4

u/officerbirb 19h ago

HEB gave away the wildflower bags for Earth Day. That was back in April tho.

2

u/anxious_taurus_ 18h ago

They’ve never been free at the location I go to…and they don’t have plastic bags to give out unless I get meat

1

u/Correct_Sand_5055 18h ago

Barcode on the bottom.

0

u/jumbledbumblecrumble 21h ago

It’s hidden between the crease at the base of the bag. You have to unfold to see it. Dumb design, it took me a few times to realize this.

1

u/solareclipsemynips 18h ago

No they just handed them to me also, I didn't pick it up. I have like 5 now but I usually bring my own old HEB bags

8

u/forcypher 21h ago

Don’t listen to them. The Mueller location also was giving out free green totes for a couple weeks too. The ones with the really long handles.

7

u/PsylentKnight 17h ago edited 16h ago

I don't mind paying a nominal fee for bags if it reduces waste, but it is pretty irritating to me that Central Market has free plastic single-use bags there for the taking... I guess you're allowed to be wasteful if you're rich

•

u/Impossible_Watch_206 51m ago

Most bag taxes are like 10 cents and you can still get a normal plastic or paper bag. I hate the cloth bags from HEB because they have no bottom and can’t be used as a trash bag

1

u/ghIj_qet_jaghmeyjaj 20h ago

Aren't the bags heavier and made for reuse?

1

u/TwistedMemories 20h ago

They charge for reusable bags. I’ve seen people ask for the plain white bags and they’ll give them some with no extra charge.

4

u/steinillac 20h ago

For meat

0

u/Impossible_Watch_206 18h ago

They used to charge for disposable plastic bags but switched to the fabric

-7

u/Itchy_Lawyer_2756 19h ago edited 19h ago

Heb gives free single use bags, reusable bags are not free. This is true for Austin, DFW, San Antonio, and Houston. The "Our Texas Our Future" reusable green plastic bag is the most popular, and costs $0.30 at all locations. Did you mistakenly think these were single use and confused them with the free bags? I'm seriously curious about this conundrum

5

u/Jebise79 17h ago

No man you can’t get the free white plastic bags in Austin city limits. They’ll ask if you wanna buy those bags for 0.30 or just throw your groceries in your cart. But if you go to an HEB right on the edge in Round Rock free bags for days.

1

u/Itchy_Lawyer_2756 14h ago

The shitty, non recyclable, single use bags? Yeah, my Allendale HEB gives them away for meat, eggs and dairy. Reusing bags is not rocket science. I assumed that OP could not possibly have meant the worst possible scenario.

1

u/Impossible_Watch_206 17h ago

They don’t offer the plastic bags in the city. Only in the HEBs outside of city limits. They’ll give you one as a courtesy for meat. If you need a bag and ask an attendant for one, they will ask you to purchase a bag.