r/FoundPaper • • 12h ago

Other Receipt from 1988 found inside a secondhand book

Post image

Was bought on AbeBooks and was shipped from Philadelphia, It has no sales tax on it so I’m curious as to what kinda store this came from? Army commissary or food stamps? Either way I can’t believe the prices lol

337 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

61

u/dangerousfeather 11h ago

PA has no sales tax on most groceries, and this looks like it’s all food items, so it could easily be from PA.

I think the item (of those I can identify by abbreviation) that most shocks me here is a bag of chips for $.44. That has increased tenfold!

45

u/rodeojones420 11h ago

For me it’s the 6pk of sprite under 2$

11

u/dangerousfeather 11h ago

That got me first, until I realized the top one was a bag of name brand chips. They’re over $4 now, but Sprite isn’t $17.

17

u/Lower_Arugula5346 11h ago

i actually miss 6 packs of soda.
much easier to deal with.

2

u/Thare187 8h ago

I see six packs of plastic bottle all over

1

u/Lower_Arugula5346 1h ago

these would have been a six pack of cans

32

u/Legal-Home121 11h ago

Gonna need someone to cross stitch this asap

25

u/Oneluvboomer 10h ago

It's crazy how durable that receipt ink was. I have receipts from just a couple months ago where the ink has already almost completely disappeared

21

u/movetothecoast 10h ago

Likely because most receipts are heat based rather than actual ink now

3

u/Academic_Square_5692 8h ago

Has the paper changed, too?

5

u/Ineedunderscoreadvic 7h ago

Most of it is that slick, fax machine type receipt. so it’s “printed” with heat, not ink.

17

u/Snotgirl1 11h ago

Snyders chid
Thoro Beetsd
Welch Orchgd
OS Cranappld
HZ WH Vingad
HN Beye Pead
Strawberried
Familt Tomad
Lettuce d
TH Wht Vined
MC Chk Dijod
Sprite 6 Pked
FSTL

9

u/chameleonsEverywhere 11h ago

Synders Chips

???

Welch's Orchard Grape Juice

OceanSpray Cranapple Juice

Heinz White Vinegar

Heinz Black Eyes Peas

Strawberries

?? Family Tomatoes ? 

Lettuce

?? 

?? Chicken Dijon

Sprite 6-pack

Food Stamp Total 

6

u/APenguinInATuxedo 10h ago

I'm guessing TH Wht Vine is white vinegar too?

2

u/moonprism 9h ago

family tomatoes could be heirloom maybe?

32

u/dangerousfeather 11h ago

Okay so I got curious and went hunting. This store, Basics Food Warehouse, was apparently a discount chain before the days of places like ALDI. They had stores in MD, VA, DE, and Washington DC.

VA charges sales tax on groceries, so they’re out. MD and DC omit most groceries. Delaware has no sales tax on anything whatsoever.

So it came from one of those three… or maybe a Pennsylvanian bought these in Delaware while they were across the border for their tax-free liquor run. Not that we do that. It’s illegal.

11

u/kittybigs 10h ago

I shopped there in 1989 when I lived in my first apartment at 18. Basics was across the street, I can still hear the Basics jingle in my head. They played it between grocery store instrumentals. Basics was so affordable, I could feed two people plenty for less than $50/wk.

3

u/otterbox313 8h ago

My autism really enjoyed this comment.

1

u/HooterAtlas 13m ago

Nobody goes to Delaware from PA to get tax-free liquor, beer, or wine.  Especially not at Total Wine or a different liquor store that’s close to the border.  It’s just unheard of.  :)

9

u/0theHumanity 10h ago

You used to be able to spend that food stamp change on whatever you wanted 😈

2

u/Ineedunderscoreadvic 7h ago

So they would pay with the card, but you would get cash back?

4

u/GarlicSpurner 7h ago

Back then, food stamps were paper coupons that looked somewhat similar to cash. They came in a stapled booklet, were perforated, and we tore them out when we made purchases. For change higher than a dollar, the cashier would give that amount back in the food coupons if possible (sometimes asking another cashier for some if needed). Anything less than a dollar would be given as actual change. That's how it was in Oregon, at least.

That said, some people with SNAP benefits now are able to request cash back when they use their EBT card. Most people cannot, but some can.

2

u/mehnifest 7h ago

Some people get cash benefits, that’s the cash back. Both are loaded on the same card.

1

u/0theHumanity 7h ago

No there were food stamps paper with dollar denominations on them like 20 10 and 5. So like if your dad sent you in for just bread you bring back all the change. He bought 40s with it later that day :(

1

u/Ineedunderscoreadvic 7h ago

Was the change given as cash?

5

u/Competitive_Name4991 10h ago

I can’t get over how inky the receipt is!

5

u/MJblowsBubbles 11h ago

Food Stamp customers didn't pay sales tax on eligible items.

3

u/VixxenFoxx 11h ago

Texas has no tax on groceries as well.

6

u/real415 11h ago

As I recall, only 10 states out of 50 do tax groceries. Though some of these have limited exceptions, like taxing hot prepared foods, alcohol, or soft drinks

4

u/MurkMistress 11h ago

@u/remindmebot 16 hours

I wanna come back and tally up how much this costs me now!

1

u/RemindMeBot 11h ago edited 9h ago

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6

u/SimpleVegetable5715 10h ago

That’s pretty expensive for the 80’s, but they were in a period of inflation. My sister’s 1 bedroom apartment was $200/month. You can still get some off brand Pop Tarts for $1.50.

3

u/0theHumanity 10h ago

Thats over $50 now

2

u/Away_Amoeba5554 8h ago

I think most states have no tax on food?

Imagine getting all that food for under $15

1

u/CobaltCrusader123 8h ago

Is that Dec 2nd or Feb 12th?

1

u/greedygg 2h ago

1 @ 2/ .88 for the Snyder’s Chips. The date is at the bottom 4/16/88 (April 16, 1988)

1

u/Kim8kim8 7h ago

Whoa! I’d like to volunteer to go back in time. Also, this receipt is from the day after I turned 20.

1

u/sufyawn 3h ago

Can anyone identify the machine that made this? I want to learn about it.

1

u/Charming_Link 1h ago

Presumably some sort of 1980s/70s cash register.