FlyAway For a Few Bucks More

Our favorite way to hit LAX — when we don’t feel like plopping down $10/day (if we’re lucky) for parking or $65 for a taxi (don’t even mention the SuperShuttle, too many bad experiences) — has become the FlyAway bus at Union Station.

According to Zach Behrens over at LAist, that’s about to get a tad more pricey:

LA Board of Airport Commissioners today were scheduled to vote on increasing FlyAway fares a couple of dollars. Citing rising fuel costs, Van Nuys and Union Station routes increased from $4 to $6 and Westwood from $4 to $5 beginning Jan. 1, 2009. The board also voted a new discount fare of $4 for persons age 65 or over, disabled, or on Medicare (proof must be shown).

Hey, it’s still an economic alternative (just make sure someone drops you off at the station, or if you’re lucky enough to be Gold or Red Line adjacent, you know what to do — or suddenly it’s a lot less economic). For Blogger Preschooler, the bus ride is just as exciting (if not more so) than the plane ride. For me, it’s a chance to get a great glimpse of the city from a high vantage point on the 110, something I can’t normally do while driving.

Call It The "99.99 Cents Only Store"

As had been hinted at last month, the 99 Cents Only store is raising prices for the first time in its history.

The change will be minimal, however. According to the L.A. Times, prices are rising from 99 cents to 99.99 cents — in other words, a dollar.

That should put fans of the store at ease; much larger price increases had been rumored. The price increases take effect later this month.

The Times writes:

“We’ve absorbed it for as long as we can and as hard as we can, but we’ve reached a point where we can’t absorb it anymore, and we have to do something,” said Chief Executive Eric Schiffer. “This will give us plenty of breathing room.”

Based on last year’s sales, Schiffer estimated that the chain would take in an extra $12 million at the cash register.

Industry analyst Karen Short said changes like this were often essential.

“We’ve had a pretty abnormal inflationary period, and sticking to their strategy of 99 cents only becomes more challenging when prices are as volatile as they are,” said Short, an analyst with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co.

“Changing prices on items is not an attempt to move away from the strategy of helping the consumer. It’s out of necessity.”

The announcement was expected after the retailer — faced with fast-rising inflation, soaring food and fuel prices and a higher minimum wage — said last month that it was reevaluating its long-standing price strategy after two consecutive quarterly losses.

Founded in 1982 by Chairman David Gold, 99 Cents Only pioneered the single-price retail concept. The chain opened its first store in Los Angeles and has since expanded to 277 locations, mostly in California but also in Nevada, Arizona and Texas…

But capping prices at 99 cents plus tax had become a burden for the retailer, which had to adjust the size or quantity of many of its offerings — including milk and eggs — to keep them on store shelves. The strict price strategy also led to the inability to carry some high-demand items, such as butter, on a regular basis.

As much as I love the 99 Cents Only store, there are some things I’d still be leery to buy there — including 99 cent butter.

Somehow, the "$1.15 Only Store" Doesn’t Have the Same Ring

Shocking news last week from the L.A. Times, which reports that the 99 Cents Only chain is mulling a new pricing structure.

After years of promising “99 Cents Only,” the store — which has been struggling as of late — may soon become “99 Cents Frequently.” That’s more in line with the fake 99 (or “98″) cents stores that actually offer products of varying prices. And it’s a sign of these costly times:

Given the hard times many American consumers are facing, you’d think 99 Cents Only would be packing them in. The company told analysts on a conference call Thursday afternoon that although last quarter’s sales ($305 million) “grew slightly more slowly than anticipated,” same-store sales were strengthening toward the end of last quarter and “have continued strengthening” in the current quarter.

Still, one analyst on the call wanted to know whether the company would consider giving itself more pricing flexibility, presumably to improve the bottom line.

The retailer already charges less than 99 cents for some stuff. But what about charging, say, $1.09 or $1.29 for certain items? the analyst asked.

If you know the chain, you know that sounds like heresy. As its website proudly proclaims: “STILL nothing over 99 cents, ever!”

Yet CEO Eric Schiffer said the idea was “definitely on the table. That is something we’re looking at . . . in the future for us. We’re looking at doing some experiments. Obviously one way [is that] you can start selling things for $1.05, $1.09, $1.15 and other ways. You could have more of a break between your 99 cents price point and the next price point.”

That’s a risky strategy. The thrill of the 99 Cents Only store is picking up bizarre or crappy products that you normally wouldn’t buy — but are willing to give a shot for 99 cents. If they upped the quality of their fare, perhaps that would be one thing. But I’m guessing the quality wouldn’t change — just the price.

The Problem With Mervyn’s

What went wrong with department store Mervyn’s? The department store just filed for bankruptcy, and blogger Party Pauper has a theory why: Shopping there is just not fun:

Outside of cheap bras and Hello Kitty pajamas in adult sizes, there is little joy to be found in Mervyn’s. At the very least, there is nothing worthwhile about the Northridge outpost…

The cash registers were obscured by massive piles of wrinkled clothing and sales people were few and far between (it took a while to actually find a competent person to ring up my purchase). Then there were the customers. There is no return rack, let alone an attendant, in the dressing room, so people just toss unwanted items on the ground (including bikini bottoms, which is another issue altogether). Out in the ladies department, I saw one woman drive her kid’s stroller into a rack of clothes, knock over some shirts and continue on without so much as a glance back at the mess she made…

Mervyn’s is just one big reminder that you can’t afford Macy’s, let alone Barney’s. It’s a store without any dignity.

I’ve hit the Mervyn’s at the Glendale Galleria many times, and Party Pauper got it right. The place is a disaster — merchandise thrown everywhere, screaming kids, poorly designed displays. It’s indeed quite depressing.

ADD: LA Biz Observed notes that several Mervyn’s locations could be shut as a result of the Chapter 11. For the Glendale Galleria, that could be a good thing. Mervyn’s doors represent the Galleria’s only entrance on Brand — and anyone interested in hitting the Galleria from the street has to go through a Mervyn’s maze before finally hitting the mall. Now that the Americana has added tons of foot traffic to that part of Brand, the Galleria would be wise to construct a brand new mall opening there, coupled with new, smaller retail space, rather than attempt to find another department store to fill the void.

Carpool Lanes Take Their Toll

The LA Times’ Bottleneck Blog notes that toll lanes are one step closer to reality in Los Angeles County:

The California Transportation Commission just unanimously approved the plan in Los Angeles County to convert the carpool lanes on parts of the 10, 110 and possibly the 210 freeways to toll lanes.

The plan now goes to the state Legislature. What do you think? Would you pay extra for the opportunity to use the toll lanes?

Psst, President Bush, $4 Gas Is Real

It’s not just a hypothetical anymore… and it’s not just for premium any more, or just in pricey neighborhoods. Here’s $4.09/gallon regular unleaded gas at a run-of-the-mill 76 station in Van Nuys.

Remember When Gas Was Below $2? It Wasn’t That Long Ago

Yesterday <a href="
http://laist.com/2008/04/09/gas_prices_up_a.php ” target=”_blank”>LAist reminded us that $4 gas was on the horizon, and pointed to a GasBuddy chart of prices over the last several months.

I headed over to GasBuddy myself to see the price trend… and got a little nostalgic.

Until February 2004, gas was still under $2 (except for one or two brief jumps in 2003). Then, it spiked — and we’ve never seen gas prices leading with a “$1″ (other then a brief dip during the 2004 holidays) ever since.

Now, as we wonder whether gas will ever even dip under $3, it’s interesting to think that not too long ago we were griping about $2 gas. Nice and sneaky, Big Oil!

Remember When Gas Was Below $2? It Wasn’t That Long Ago

Yesterday <a href=”
http://laist.com/2008/04/09/gas_prices_up_a.php ” target=”_blank”>LAist reminded us that $4 gas was on the horizon, and pointed to a GasBuddy chart of prices over the last several months.

I headed over to GasBuddy myself to see the price trend… and got a little nostalgic.

Until February 2004, gas was still under $2 (except for one or two brief jumps in 2003). Then, it spiked — and we’ve never seen gas prices leading with a “$1″ (other then a brief dip during the 2004 holidays) ever since.

Now, as we wonder whether gas will ever even dip under $3, it’s interesting to think that not too long ago we were griping about $2 gas. Nice and sneaky, Big Oil!

End of the Year Tipping: Who? When? How Much?

It’s the question that no one seems to have an answer to this time of year: Who do you give an end-of-the-year tip to? The people who sent you those hint-hint cards (this year, that included the paper delivery guy and the lawn care crew). Does that mean the mail carrier doesn’t need one? And what about others?

I ask, because last year we never got around to tipping the newspaper carrier (we only subscribe to the weekend paper). This year, the paper was soaking wet most of the time. Coincidence?

Here’s a survey from Consumer Reports that breaks down how many people tipped service providers, and how much. I was surprised to see just 32% tipped their gardener/lawn care crew; meanwhile, 31% tipped the mail carrier and 47% tipped the newspaper carrier.

Here’s a stat that also surprised me: 62% said they tipped their child care provider. Does that mean the rest didn’t have kids? Or didn’t care that they were leaving their kids in the hands of someone bitter that they didn’t get a holiday tip?

The Cash or Charge Gas Dilemma

It’s funny, I meant to do a blog post about this a few days ago, but the L.A. Times actually beat me to it. If you haven’t noticed, an increasing number of gas stations are pricing gas slightly cheaper for motorists paying by cash. Some stations — particularly the Valero outlets — have even changed their signs to show side-by-side the cost of cash vs. credit.

I tend to get my gas via credit card because it’s easier — which means I usually avoid cash-only spots like Arco, even if it’s a few cents cheaper. But now that more gas stations I do frequent, like the Valero location on Virgil near Santa Monica Blvd. (hint: one of the consistently cheapest gas stations in Los Angeles), are offering discounts if you pay by cash, I may have to dig into my pocket anyway.

As the Los Angeles Times writes, gas stations pay a hefty fee for every credit card transaction — and they’re now trying to wean drivers off the plastic:

In 2006, motorists — whether they used cash, credit or debit cards — paid an average of 4.2 cents a gallon more because of credit card fees, said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Assn. of Convenience Stores, which represents outlets that sell about 80% of the nation’s fuel.

Fees have been a perennial sore point with all retailers. Complaints have grown louder because money collected through card fees has more than doubled since 2001, and rewards programs have convinced people to use their cards for everyday purchases.

For gas stations, soaring prices have magnified the percentage-based card costs and caused more and more customers to pay with plastic.

“What’s happened is a double-whammy,” said David Robertson, publisher of the Nilson Report, a credit industry newsletter.

Members of the convenience store group, which has sued credit card companies over the fees, paid $6.6 billion in credit card fees last year — and booked $4.8 billion in profits, Lenard said. “The credit card companies made more at our stores than our store owners,” he said, noting that most of the profit from gasoline goes to the refiners rather than service stations and convenience stores.

My main problem: Now that it costs nearly $40 to fill up the tank in my CRV (12 gallons), I gotta depend on my credit cards. I rarely carry that much money in my pockets. And paying all the fees to use the gas station ATM sorta defeats the purpose.

(Pic credit: L.A. Times)