Duane Reade Is Charging You, Like, $1 More Than Other Stores

(Photo via NY Daily Photo)

With approximately one per every two city blocks, Duane Reade's convenience cannot be denied. But are you slowly hemorrhaging money by shopping there over, say, CVS?

Nick at Scouting NY recently conducted a brief experiment, putting the pricetag of certain products sold there up against the same products' pricetags elsewhere. He was motivated by his belief that "everything is more expensive than it should be, but not too expensive that you’ll really take the time to think about shopping somewhere else."

The prices at two Duane Reades were compared to competitors in the same neighborhood, specifically CVS and Rite Aid, and from shampoo to Tylenol, Duane Reade always rang up at a slightly higher price. For example: four rolls of Scott toilet paper at Duane Reade on Kent Avenue costs $5.99, but at the nearby CVS it's $4.69, and at the nearby Rite Aid it's $4.99. (For comparison sake, we checked a non-drug store, and at Fairway it's $4.29—the lowest in all the city?)

In the end, the same nine products at two different Duane Reades would have cost around $10 more than at their nearby competitors. However, we do believe that Duane Reade does provide cheaper sushi than your local sushi restaurant.