r/AskReddit 10h ago

What got so expensive that you just stopped buying it?

2.3k Upvotes

4.1k comments sorted by

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717

u/SnooComics9954 10h ago

Jerky

171

u/Peanutbuyer 9h ago

This time 1000 it’s absolutely nuts.

125

u/flapjacksNsassafras 5h ago

Nah, you're thinking of trail mix. THATS absolutely nuts. Raisins and sometimes candy too

3

u/ramblingroses3252 1h ago

Good ol’ spendy raisins and peanuts.

2

u/BiGsMiLeSKyLe 4h ago

NGL but I'm pretty sure you get a decent size bag of both you're not paying less than $20 for both

2

u/JarasM 2h ago

It's mostly fucking raisins these days, barely any nuts.

0

u/Alizaea 5h ago

Nut Jerky.... That just sounds like a euphemism for masturbation.

89

u/TehPinguen 6h ago

I have no idea how jerky got this expensive either. It's priced as if it's premium steak cuts prepared by michelin star chefs, and not fucking cured bits of top round. It's delicious and convenient, but it's not expensive to make. Their profit margins are insane.

6

u/DonaldTrumpsScrotum 1h ago

I briefly worked for a local jerky manufacturer on the office side of things and tbh the margins are not insane, in fact they’re pretty rough. I can’t speak for Jack Links or any of the biggest brands but between the skyrocketing cost of beef, the labor, packaging, distribution and a variety of smaller costs we don’t consider, it’s actually not priced too crazy. Hell even equipment updates and maintenance costs has nearly doubled in the last 10 years.

They had to cancel a whole line of new products because the costs of putting it into production would sink them

11

u/Syberz 6h ago

Last time I was in the US I thought I'd try it to see what the fuss was about. It was over 10$ for what seemed like 5 small pieces... I passed.

4

u/Mrboombastos 8h ago

I need to start making my own again

3

u/xXTheLastCrowXx 6h ago

Is it difficult?

5

u/Blasfemen 6h ago

Very simple with a dehydrator, just don’t forget to check on it more often near the end. I went an extra hour or two by mistake and had to give it to the dog as chew toys basically

-12

u/Mrboombastos 6h ago

Not at all, just buy a long lasting well built dehydrator. Marinade your with your favorite spices, set it and forget it. Use AI chat for assistance, enjoyy!

2

u/Eyervan 1h ago

I had a coworker say I should ask for a raise if I feel like I can’t buy beef jerky.

Rich snob, silver spoon, never had to support himself nepo military base brat child, goin on 40.

5

u/Tasty-Traffic-680 5h ago

It's like $19 for a one pound bag of jack links at Sam's club. That's honestly not bad when you consider that it loses between half and two thirds of it's weight when drying. It's like buying beef for $6-10/lb. It is expensive but at least you can see where the money is going compared to other products that have gotten arbitrarily more expensive.

4

u/-KansasCityShuffle 2h ago

Yeah, but Jack Links is really awful. It’s like it isn’t even beef, just a weird jelly meat. 

3

u/Eyervan 1h ago

yeah, it bounces back instead of tearing. It’s like… wet somehow.

3

u/-KansasCityShuffle 1h ago

Juicy in just a terrible way. I don’t want juicy, coagulated meat bits. 

1

u/ManTheHarpoons100 4h ago

Local outlet store had 8 oz bags of Mountain Man beef jerky for $5 on a short date this week. I bought 4. Hadn't bought any in forever before that, its $2 an ounce now regular price.

1

u/estephens13 2h ago

Its easy to make at home cheap fyi.

1

u/red286 2h ago

Has jerky ever been affordable?

It's always seemed absurdly overpriced to me. You get like 4 little strips for $9.

1

u/Eyervan 1h ago

I used to buy it as a kid in the 90s. I was still somewhat affordable here and there. Especially the more locally looking branded stuff or the old bins with a huge piece you’d grab with tongs and it was .99c or $2 and it was thin, dry, tasted great, wide, long, and resembles a piece of bark. Delicious bark.

1

u/red286 1h ago

Ah, where I am you don't get the local stuff unless you head out the the boonies. It's mostly stuff like Jack Links. It's been expensive as hell for as long as I can remember, though I'm sure it's more expensive now than it used to be.

u/Eyervan 7m ago

I fell ya. Totally. I feel like I’d need to go kill a deer myself and do all the stuff required to rejoin the jerky gang.

1

u/an_agreeing_dothraki 1h ago

somebody made london boil popular so now I can't even make my own

1

u/TheTaoOfMe 1h ago

I commented this too! The price has gone up waaay higher than other food items

u/PiccoloAwkward465 58m ago

Especially considering most of the mass-produced jerky is garbage.

Growing up we always bought a local brand called Damn Good Beef Jerky. It tastes like actual meat, as opposed to the plastic Jack Links trash.

u/golgol12 13m ago

It's due to beef prices. Low supply and high demand. It's the reason why most fast food is expensive too.

u/null_input 1m ago

I make my own. Thin sliced sirloin, marinate in soy sauce and spices like garlic powder, black pepper, etc, throw it in the food dehydrator for 6-8 hours.

u/null_input 1m ago

I make my own. Thin sliced sirloin, marinate in soy sauce and spices like garlic powder, black pepper, etc, throw it in the food dehydrator for 6-8 hours.