Page 10 *** THE STARS AND STRIPESlettersCommissary pricing variations explained1 have been in Germany Tor over three years and myfamily and I have traveled extensively throughout Ger-many, so we have had quite a few opportunities to usedifferent commissaries.The ad in the Frankfurt Off-Duty reads, "Cm Smart,I Shop OB Base," but I wonder who the "smart" refersto, the consumer or the commissary manager*.Let me point out to you two,blatant examples ofprice differences. In 1985, family lize'AJM wishingpowder sold for $3,79 at the Frankfurt commissary, [nJanuary 1986. the same washing powder went to$7.41, Naturally I changed to a cheaper brand.In July 1986,1 visited the Baumholder commissaryto find the same Ajax powder selling for $3.79, Uponmy "return to Frankfurt 1 contacted the wmmutarymanager to find out why Baumholder was selling Ajaxfor jj,79 and Frankfurt was telling it for $7.41.Twospolitely_told ITaU.Baumhokfer was seUing frouToldstock. That 1 coutd believe, but I then pointed out,wewere talking about S-month-oId Hock because that was•bout howlong Frankfurt has had theprice increase.. ; He th'en told me that the Baumholder commissarywit so messed up that he bad to send personnel fromhis commissary to help them get straightened out, 1•iked Urn if that was the reason for Baumholder get-tiftf "Beit Commissary in USAREUR" leu than amonth earlier. I'm sure they had to go through sometype of inspection to get this award and I'm jure stocklevel was one of the criteria of the inspection. Ourconversation ended on that note. •Ifc months later and Baumholder is slill selling Amiat S3.79. not to mention that less than one month aftermy initial complaint Ajax went on sale at Frankfurt for$S,41 (originally $7.41), a savings of $2. At the sametime, the Rhein-Main commissary, which is only a fewminute* away, was selling Ajax at the regular price of$3,79.This time 1 did not even bother bringing it to haattention because I already knew his answer: Rhdn-Main is Air Force and we are Army. It's a pity thefinance offices don'i make this adjustment when theycut our checks.But now my latest discovery is with the Foodlands.About three weeks ago I visited the Rhein-Main WeeServe. A box of 64 New Ultra Light Pampers wastelling for $12.96, The same box was selling at Frank-furt for 120. Of course I paid the Frankfurt Foodlandmanager a visit and brought thjs to her attention; I alsopointed out that Pampers one size smaller, with 94 inthe box, were selling for the same $20. She did admitthat she never noticed the difference in the amount:she thought they all were 94 to a box, but she didpromise to look into it.Four days later 1 called to check on the price atFrankfurt, but as the saying goes in Europe, "The cus-tomer is always wrong.1' I was told that $20 was thecorrect price and that she would check with Rhein-Main. (decided to check with Rhein-Main myself and1 must admit I was wrong. The S12,96 was a sale price,but the original price was $ i 7,96, still $2.04 lower than .the Frankfurt price. JNot always am 1 this honest because sometimes 1tend to prey on people's ignorance. For two months 1bought Pampers at the Frankfurt Foodhnd. The boxesread Pampers 25 pounds and over 48 in a box $9. Atthe commissary, the box read Pampers 23 pounds andover 32 in a box $9.20.I believe that it is about time that something is doneto bring about some consistency in the pricing at com-missaries and Foodlands. I can tolerate some differ-ences in meal or produce that's bought locally. Butsuch a price difference is not right for products that areshipped Jrom the United States by the same manufac-turers to the same military, coming in at the same port.Come on, be for real. I think it's high time the menin uniform gel a fair deal.—AltheaEOlMnFrankfurtEDITOR'S NOTE —We received two replies to thisletter,The tint Ii from Col. Donald E. Gilbert, deputyyfliflfnqitqi>f Ha AAFES-Efflrope.:De» Comparison ShopperAAFES doe* bare • standard pricing pollwide. There arc times what you night see   warehouse, Its costto the cuflvmer is Ihe price at which il was delivered.As afexample, let us say thai during Week 1 StoreA aoflKlore B receive beans priced at SO cent* a can.Week 2 Store A and Stare B receive mores, priced at IS cents a can. By Week 3 Store A; sold all of Its 50-cent beans, so the commissaryleer puts his 75-eenl beans on the shelf. At Ihe samertfme, Store B still has 50-cent beans on Its shelresbecause It has not sold all of Ihem.Another reason prices may be different has to dowith the way In which special sale prices are offered.Sties representatives, visit individual stores lo offervoluntary price reductions (VPRj) and usually specifyan amount of product that may be sold at the specialprice. If a VPR has ended In one store and regularlypriced merchandise is back on Ihe shelf, but VPftmerchandise It still available In another store, youcould visit those two stores on the same day and finddifferent prices on the same product).The Ajax washing powder you found must have beenmlsprlced. We contacted the Frankfurt and Baurehold-er commissary officers about your specific case of find-ing different prices In family-size Ajax. According lostore records, during the period yon refer lo In yourletter the regular price qf this product was $*46 atboth stares and should not have been $7.41. TheBaumholder commissary had a VPR of 67 cents InJuly, October, and part of November, which broughtthe price down tn $3.79. When the VPR merchandisewas depleted, regularly priced merchandise WIN putout »t $4.46.Although our commissaries check prices daily foraccuracy, we make mistakes. Many of our commissa-ries stock more than 5,000 Items, and mistake* foundin pricing are usually nry snail- You may be Inter-ested to know that we are in the process of Implement-ing two computer systems (n (he European Commis-sary Region that should make the checking of priceseven more effective and efficient.We are glad that yon brought your concern to thecommissary management, although we agree with youthat the response wu Inappropriate. We bmc Instruct-ed our commissary management to provide clear ex-planations when customers question prices and tothoroughly check prices lo determine If they *re cor-rect.Thank you for your interest In Ihe commissary sys-tem and for giving us this opportunity lo explain pric-ing issues.• Financial management is wiser, they sayNever before has a newspaper ankle moveaffnc towriie H letter to the editor. 1 am referring lo tWrecentfront-page spread concerning the fall of the Jfliar andthe locafpawn shop. I have not been «blefD get thisarticle oul of my thoughts.The people mentioned in this article fa to run •nol walk to their nearest financial twining assist-ance office and ask for help in Idpiing effectivemoney management techniques, ThjHalf of the dollaris not the major culprit here. Th* people are ob-viously living beyond their meansTo the young man who had if 1,000 mark phonebill. I would like to say, "Exnllfn your financial situ-ation to your wife and tell fufnol lo call the Stalestinfrss it is an absolute ncccsfy,"In this case, an inexpciune tape recorder on bothends would satisfy the Jleed to hear loved-ones'voices. It cost 44 cents tymail a cassette to the States.Tapes can be sent alojf with pictures of the familyand everyone can laJC (urns Idling of their experi-ences in relation to IjK pictures,II really gives evpyone a sense of being there. Ourfamilies have kcp* in louch this way over the yearsand it really docs help the empty, homesick feelings.Unfortunately, many people in our society todayare not being taught at an early age lo manage moneyin their possession. This is a vicious cycle, The de-cline of the dollar is minima) in comparison to thecounileii numbers of people who arc living beyondtheir means.Think before you buy. "Do I/we rtally need that1900 ring or the 12,000 stereo system, or the $1,000TV and VCR system? Do I really need lo call theStales, considering that a I0-minuie talk will cost meabout $50 at today's exchange rate? Is it realty worthIhe agony it will cause me later?"Every base/post has a section dedicated to helpingpeople to learn money management skills. These sec-lions should be sought out by the people who arefrequenting Ihe local pawn shops on n regular basis.Let s keep the dollar s fall in perspective and notblame all of our money woes on our shrinking dollaroverseas. We need to look at our money managementbefore we cry "Wolf."—A concerned budget-balancerBltburg AB, GermanyI am so sick and tired of reading comments aboutmembers of the U.S. armed services suffering fromthe decline and erosion of the dollar.Pardon my expression, but. Bull! Military mem-bers gel quarters allowances and COLA, which goesup as the dollar goes down. They have access to thepost exchange and commissary, where they can buyAmerican goods with dollars.No one tells them they have to go out and spendmarks on the economy and/or buy high cost VCRs,cameras, etc. so they have to turn around and pawn"so they can pay their bills."It sounds very much like somebody is living overtheir head.Slop complaining! Start living with in your income.Start buying American!—Name withheldDarmstadt, GermanyYour recent article about pawn shops was an insultlo the many American soldiers and civilians whomanage their money, no matter how little they re-ceive.The interviews that your reporter conducted pre-sented some people who couldn't control their per-sonal finances and, worse yet, an NCO who "likes toparty" (is this an example tor the lower ranks?)Pawn shops arc legitimate businesses and they cer-tainly do offer a service to the public. But how aboutinterviews with a good cross section of the Americanclientele? There must be cases such as a soldier whosepay records aw messed up. or a temporary setbackbecause a non-com mand-sponsored dependent hasjoined the young soldier.1 ihink thai ihc way ihc siory was presented boththe pawn shop owners and the American customerswere made lo appear a link- sleazy. This simplywasn't called for.—Doug WilliamsHeidelberg