Utah man goes to Lowe’s parking lot. Then he sees a truck selling 20 ribeyes for $39.99. Are they a ‘scam?’
A Utah man saw a strange deal in the Lowe’s parking lot. Curious, he ended up buying in, only to realize later that “Primehouse Direct steaks” may not have been worth the price.
TikToker The Sampler (@the.sampler_), a food-based social media creator who regularly tries deals in his area, walked up to a “steak” truck sitting outside of Lowe’s. Curious, he asked the company a few questions about the product they were selling. They had a “20 ribeyes for $39.99” deal that seemed too good to be true.
The Sampler’s video now has over 1.9 million views, and while he didn’t outright say whether the product was a scam, many viewers assured those watching that the meat wasn’t good quality. The company, Primehouse Direct, apparently has an infamous reputation for its “thin” steaks, which have fooled thousands of buyers.
The Sampler asks Prime House Direct a few questions
It’s hard to trust a truck sitting outside of a parking lot with a “20 for $39.99” steak deal. That’s one reason why when The Sampler approached, he was skeptical of the product. He had reason to believe that the steaks might just be made with meat glue, an enzyme that bonds meat together and is sometimes used to Frankenstein “steaks” together.
When he approached, though, he found that the man at the front counter was friendly. He ended up showing him a variety of different steaks and products.
“ [I] always see videos like on social media warning me about these kind of spots… [that] they’re made of meat glue,” The Sampler said while discussing the deal. The man at the front counter quickly disputed the claim, saying that the products don’t use meat glue to tie anything together and that they’re made of real beef.
Curious, the social media creator asked a few more questions while looking at the steaks themselves. They were admittedly a bit small but whole, which was something even the Primehouse Direct employee was willing to admit. Eventually, though, he revealed that he “rolled the dice and paid the price” to see whether the ribeyes were legit.
Prime House Direct—a scam?
Since his initial video, The Sampler hasn’t updated his audience as to how the steaks were. But, commenters told him almost immediately that he wouldn’t have a good experience with them. According to the TikToker’s fanbase and online reviewers, the steaks are thin and awful, with a rubbery texture that makes them hard to chew.
One person said, “I’ve fallen for it. Threw out 18 of the steaks. The first one was awful, tried a second, no thank you.”
Another commenter said, “they taste like cardboard.”
On other platforms, the steaks are notorious for not tasting good or having any flavor. One Redditor discussed their experience with one of Primehouse Direct’s products, saying, “The steaks were ‘thicker’ than the regular steaks but were still paper thin. When cooked they have a weird texture and the taste is [awful]. When you calculate the ounces received to the price paid you can get the same amount of meat from the grocery store for the same price and 10x better quality.”
A comprehensive review from a professional
Another person in that Reddit thread recommended a video by Maciej Zurawski (@grillin_with_dad on Instagram), who offered a comprehensive review. In Zurawski’s video, he reads the steak’s ingredients list, which shows that the steaks had a number of additives. The beef purveyors listed beef, water, rice starch, and plum juice concentrate as ingredients, alongside a number of chemical additives.
Zurawski bought the same deal as The Sampler: a $20 ribeye deal for $39.99. The package that Zurawski bought was only 4.375 pounds, which means he spent around $10 per pound. That’s slightly higher than the price per pound for a ribeye on the lower end, meaning that the “deal” wasn’t even that spectacular to begin with. The content creator pointed this out, saying that for that price, anyone can get a great choice ribeye.
Before he even tried the “steaks,” he knew something was off. They had a salty, non-beef smell to them that was weird and off-putting. They grilled extremely quickly, and Zurawski noticed that they didn’t have the “grilled beef flavor” he or others would expect when working with meat. Then, when he finally tried it, he noted that the steak was bland. There was almost no flavor to the meat. He tried another one of the “steaks” that had his all-purpose seasoning on it, and all he could taste was what he added.
Commenters point out that the deal is predatory
Commenters on his video pointed out how predatory the deal was, especially for those who might fall for it, thinking they’d get a good protein source. “Thank you for putting this out there,” Zurawski’s viewer said. “I have never fallen for this, but I know there are plenty of people out there trying to feed their families and they might think this is a great deal and waste their money!”
Primehouse Direct may truly not use meat glue, but the meat was bad enough for many people to consider a scam. For that reason, TikTokers and those online recommended that anyone who sees a Primehouse Direct truck stay away and just opt to grab a steak at the grocery store.
@the.sampler_ Scoping out the 20 Ribeyes for $39.99 deal in the Lowe’s parking lot #20ribeyes40bucks #funny #truck #fyp #pov ♬ original sound – The Sampler ?️
The Mary Sue reached out to The Sampler via TikTok direct message and Zurawski via Instagram direct message. We’ve also sent an email to Primehouse Direct for comment.
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