‘My dad was a victim’: Woman says her father spent $180 on the parking lot ribeyes
Skyrocketing grocery prices have many people scrambling to find ways to save money on food. They’re shopping sales, buying generic, and patronizing discount stores in an effort to make their dollars and cents stretch a little further at the grocery store.
Where consumers see economic headwinds, others see opportunity.
One woman says that her father recently fell prey to an opportunist capitalizing on his desire for the quintessential American pleasure of a juicy cut of steak.
In a TikTok with 1.7 million views, Savannah (@bored.banney) alleges that her dad “was a victim of the 20 for $40 ribeye parking lot steaks.”
She says he spent a total of $180.
If so, her father is the latest person to fall for the “deal.”
Steak savings or steak scam?
From 2020 to 2024, grocery prices have increased 25.8% across the board. The cost of meat went up 23.5% in that time period.
So it makes sense that people would be tempted by what sounds like a good deal: 20 ribeyes for $40. Even if it’s being sold by a stranger in a parking lot.
That’s what happened to Savannah’s father, she says.
The parking lot ribeyes do sound like a pretty good deal. Consider that Walmart is selling ribeyes for between $14 and $28 per pound. Assuming that most expect each ribeye to be 8 ounces, that would be about $4 per pound.
But that’s assuming a lot. Many have found that the deal is in fact too good to be true.
One TikToker looked into the 20 ribeyes for $40 and found they averaged about 3.5 ounces per steak. At that volume, $40 would buy about 4 pounds of meat and cost roughly $10 per pound. This could be a good deal, or it could be a ripoff. It really depends on the quality of the meat.
It’s not clear how many pounds of meat Savannah’s father ended up with or what the quality was. Some of the meat in the TikTok looks like it’s steak, if very thin and overall on the smaller side. Other meat in her video resembles hamburger.
In a comment on the post, she claims to have eaten one of the ribeyes.
“I ate half of one yesterday. It didn’t taste that bad, it was just really chewy and now my tummy hurts,” she says.
Savannah tries the steaks
Via Instagram direct message, Savannah told the Mary Sue she isn’t sure how many pounds of meat her dad received.
“I can say all of the meat was very thin sliced and I did try some of the ribeye and the flavor was good but the texture was very chewy,” she said.
She added that she plans to make a follow up video in which she’ll cook and review the steaks.
@bored.banney He spent $180 dollars total ? #20for40steaks #scam #meme #ribeyesteak #meat #fypシ ♬ Chopin Nocturne No. 2 Piano Mono – moshimo sound design
TikTok is filled with posts about the 20 ribeyes for $40 parking lot deal. People say the steaks are very small, cheap cuts. Many complain that the price is actually higher than it should be for the volume and quality.
On a post about the ribeyes, one person joked that the discount steaks aren’t beef at all.
“They selling packaged raccoon,” they jibed.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
