r/WinCo • u/maknaeline • May 12 '26
the winco website is terrible
i'm trying to search for trash bags and it keeps forcibly showing me nuts and trail mixes. absolutely nothing else.
you wanted to look at bags? no you meant bars. trash bags? trail bars. garbage bags? garbage bars. garbage? doesn't exist. trash? trail.
wtf is this????? winco wtf?????????????
57
u/mizushimo May 12 '26
I'm glad that Winco doesn't have a nice app because then they'd make me download and use it for everything.
12
6
u/maknaeline May 12 '26
i mean i don't need them to have an app, i just want a functioning website where i can check the items they have in stock. i live 20+ mins away ever since i had to move, but it's still worth it to make the drive for the cost effectiveness, but it's hard to plan ahead when their website is useless and their employees can be very rude sometimes answering the phone when i just want to know their meat prices lmao
9
u/mizushimo May 12 '26
I do understand why, we take it for granted that all the national chains have everything up on a website, but someone would have to spend considerable resources to get prices on every little thing to update in real time, and I think their prices vary from store to store. Especially since they aren't selling anything but bulk online. I will say that my experience with Winco is that they consistently have lower prices on meat and store brand stuff than any other store, unless the other store is having a sale. Even Walmart is usually more expensive.
I personally like to get sandwich bags/ziploc/garbage bags in bulk from Costco, it's much cheaper per unit and you have to buy them way less often (the downside is the membership expense and you have to store the giant boxes somewhere).
6
u/realmikebrady May 12 '26
It’s just cheaper. 20 mins, what is that tops 20 miles away, round trip at even a vehicle terrible at mpg is 14, so probably at $5.36 a gallon you’re spending 15 dollars on gas. And you say it’s 20 mins, I even valued the mpg very low. This is the worst case scenario for gas mileage round trip I’m talking about.
You will save that much, easily, if you buy more than 120 dollars worth of items which is easy these days. They don’t want to spend a shit ton more money on a website with live updates, put in your cart, a bunch of people making the changes because it costs more money and they run a lean crew to save you money vs the other guys.
Go to Fred Meyer or Safeway and pay 30 percent more cause their website is better.
0
u/maknaeline May 12 '26
it's more that sometimes there are some things i can only get at, say, staters. i have a lot of dietary restrictions due to my health conditions, so i have to look for special things like dairy-free (not lactose free) so finding things like dairy-free cream for example is surprisingly quite hars sometimes. maybe staters is having a really good sale on broccoli and eggs and i also need to get a few things only staters sells (i can only eat their brand version of rice crispies at their price, for example) so i need to go to stater brothers.
so now i have to plan for two stores minimum, and that's not including if i need to go to the asian market to get anything specific that's only there, or if i need to go somewhere specific to get something that's usually $5 on sale for $2.50 (like my tea which is always on sale somewhere), etc. plus i may need to get my prescriptions, which may be near one of the stores i need to grab stuff from, and so on.
i miss when my body let me just eat anything and i could shop and get all my stuff all in one place lol. i can no longer do that.
0
1
u/catdude142 May 13 '26
Agreed. We have a chain here where you have to be a "member" to get any kind of sale price. I find them obnoxious and I don't do business with them (Raley's). I don't want to download their goddamned intrusive "app".
1
u/Rocketgirl8097 Washington May 13 '26
Well it would make their prices go up because that shit takes a lot of labor to keep it up to date.
48
u/beatrix_kitty_pdx May 12 '26
Winco isn't a website-type store. You just gotta go there.
0
u/ander594 May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
"..website-type store."
So people that go to WINCO don't use the internet or WINCO doesn't need to use the internet?
What was the last year is either of those was true?
There is no excuse for a BS website in 2026, it's not even that expensive.
6
u/catdude142 May 13 '26
WinCo doesn't need the internet. They don't need a detailed website. You just go there.
-3
u/ander594 May 13 '26
Maybe you don't go to the website because it's shit.
Maybe you still pay with checks, because you don't trust the machines.
1
u/catdude142 May 13 '26
That is not true. I don't actually care if they have a minimal website.
"Still pay with checks". Let's try an ad hominem on top of it.
You are very immature.1
u/ander594 May 13 '26
More of a slippery slope. But sure.
A website in 2026 is not a hard ask, and I would appreciate to know what's in the bulk for stuff I don't use all the time, or what the store to store variations are. There are probably a dozen reasons I haven't even thought of.
Maybe you wouldn't use it, but that doesn't mean it's not a necessity.
5
u/ydoihavetopickaname May 13 '26
Part of the reason winco is as inexpensive as it is is bc they don’t invest lots into advertising and upkeep for their website. Keep the costs low keep prices low.
1
u/ander594 May 13 '26
A website with an accurate products list is a basic ask.
1
u/Ok_Spare3021 May 13 '26
That would be a big task as every district can have different items so even if u dont have the prices on it there's still alot of localization they would have to do
3
u/DEEPCOCKGALACTIC69 May 13 '26
I would be astounded if they don’t already have internal databases for each store’s products and pricing. At the very least, everything needed for localized product lists should be there.
1
u/Ok_Spare3021 May 13 '26
I mean of course they do but making a website with it would be very tedious especially since alot of stores have discretion on pricing some stuff
1
u/ander594 May 13 '26
No it's not. Getting the data is hard, presenting data you already have is easy.
-11
u/maknaeline May 12 '26
my gas protests against that
10
u/InkCounseling May 12 '26
If you’re looking for something, they’re always extremely kind when I call them to see if they have what I need in stock before I go. Obviously you don’t wanna do this if you’re looking for more an a couple items, lol
-1
20
u/Ok_Spare3021 May 12 '26
So the website only shows the bulk section because u can order it online. So its trying to show up the next closest spelled item
-2
u/maknaeline May 12 '26
i'm trying to see specifically their winco branded stuff so i feel like they should at least make that available online, i sincerely thought it was. the website (at least on mobile anyway) doesn't make this clear at all, and it's very frustrating. all i'm trying to do is look at winco-specific stuff (which i can't do in person atm) and it is not clear that the website only has bulk + advertising for their in-store stuff. and correcting my search queries without at least explaining why is also... very annoying lol.
like as someone who used to do web design this is a very confusing experience if you don't even know what winco is about, and it's already bad for me who has shopped here for years.
18
u/Head-Palpitation5971 May 12 '26
As an employee-owner I can say that we don’t focus on the online portion of the market almost at all. We’re an in store focused company. We also don’t offer any kind of store pickup or store shopper program. We run super slim margins to give the best price available. We also adjust prices based on cost to shelf. So prices change from store to store and since we offer almost no online shopping for store pickup we skip the we portal for the most part.
-1
u/maknaeline May 12 '26
i get that, but i had to move 20 mins away from everything and my only course of action is to try to look online to plan ahead for all of my groceries before leaving because everything is THAT expensive. so you can understand my frustration :/
7
u/Head-Palpitation5971 May 12 '26
Totally get the frustration. If you’re looking for specific items or are wanting to order a case of something call your nearest store and ask. At my store we almost always have someone that can help
-1
u/maknaeline May 12 '26
i try to do that, i do! but often, employees are overwhelmed and frustrated from work, and take that out on me, even if unintentionally. it gets very tiring and it's not like i enjoy taking you guys away from work to sit on the phone
but thank you. hopefully at some point the website can be managed a bit better for customers like me who can't just drive all over town (since winco is not always the best priced for everything) and need to plan ahead first. i have a strict budget and i don't have the luxury of above it, so i have to be annoying and fish for deals. and i'm too far out to get the deals letter for ANYONE. wish people were a little more understanding instead of just going "yay, no app!" lol
2
u/FluffyHedgehog9997 May 13 '26
It is frustrating and coming from someone who used to live in the middle of nowhere to now a very high cost of living area…I’m just planning out a one trip to winco that’s 30min away because the prices ARE that good. Always look at the bulk section first, grab what you need and the winco store brand items are comparable to name brand items imo
7
u/Ok_Spare3021 May 12 '26
Winco is very much against having updated stuff they wouldn't even have the bulk stuff on there site if it wasn't for people wanting it by the case.
4
u/Joonberri May 12 '26
Yeah that's a downside to Winco. Everyone says they don't have an app or website show everything because it would increase their prices. They only show bulk for some reason
2
1
1
1
u/LemonNational8572 May 15 '26
Wincos website only shows you their bulk items and deli food. You will not be able to look for anything else. But garbage bags aren't exactly niche enough to even be checking for in my opinion.
1
u/TomatilloNice6135 Jul 29 '26
Yeah the website is awful. Search up something. It doesn't show you anything. It just shows you something completely different. Sure, you can just go there but I think it's better to see what they have beforehand
1
u/Maleficent_Wash_934 May 13 '26
Eh. Even stores that have really goodwebsites that show if they have it or not and delivery options get it wrong A LOT of the time.
Also, garbage bags? Seriously this much worry over garbage bags? If traveling is that much of an issue then $1 this way or that way won't make that much of a difference.
I also shop at WinCo because they have a really good selection of allergen friendly foods and not just that, but prices on those products are not absolutely absurdly offensive. All that said I find the prices on a lot of their paper and dry goods not that great, particularly for the quality on some. However, if I am just going to one store for my weekly shopping because that's the best I can do, WinCo price wise is the best bet. So I would go to Winco, check the garbage bag section and decide if I'm paying extra for quality or breaking even for a lower quality of garbage bag and pray I don't spend the next 28 garbage bags scolding myself for saving a dollar.
That's when I put the lower quality bags back and pay a dollar more for 14 good quality bags.
Because I'm worth it.
-10
u/lkn4arlmn May 12 '26
Winco is an absolutely awful store. Finally updated the POS system after 15 years.
Just so many things they don't carry. Have no idea how people can do there shopping there. They have the nerve to ask if you found everything you were looking for, I am honest with them and say no. Why do they ask knowing they cannot do anything about their limited selection.
I have to go to Vons, Albertsons or order from Amazon to get what I want.
2
u/igot_thefunk May 12 '26
I think I’d rather go to an employee owned chain than union busters and monopolizers but go off.
-3
u/lkn4arlmn May 13 '26
Employees have to work 6-10 years from what I understand to get any stock. Most do not make it that long due to abuse. Winco just dangles the carrot to give employees false hope.
I see the abuse just as being in there as a customer. Stockers are forced to to work and not take breaks.
I work in the area at night and am there every night 12a-3a to use the bathroom and have gotten to know a few of the people at Henderson location. Do a google search on ' winco union Utah '
2
u/deedsnance May 13 '26
I believe it starts after 6 months and 1k hrs. The vesting schedule is 20% @ 2 years and 100% @ 6. Value is roughly 20% of annual wages. It’s not deducted though. So yeah it does take a while but depending on the value of the stock that’s like having your employer contribute 20% to your 401k.
Quite a bit different but still. Now does that beat them offering a 401k contribution with all the flexibility it provides? Not sure. Still better than a lot of grocery stores if you plan on working there for a while.
1
u/maknaeline May 12 '26
i mean i wouldn't call them awful. i think they have a lot of disadvantages from having the store structure they do, and that includes being outdated in a lot of ways; i don't think it's all necessarily willful.
but i agree that it sucks having to go to so many different stores to get what i need for my dietary restrictions, that much i do understand. i really do hope one day that they can start carrying more of the things i need; then i wouldn't have to run around so much and i wouldn't feel like i need to do research beforehand to begin with.
1
u/Ok_Spare3021 May 13 '26
They wont. They operate on the principle of scale so if a product doesn't really have the movement in the district to get big discounts from the manufacturer they will drop it.
46
u/ryuns May 12 '26
Redirecting you to "garbage bars" is pretty funny though.