Some Target stores and nearly all Trader Joe's sell bananas by the quantity (19 cents each) instead of by the pound. I've always wondered if that is a good deal.

Recently I noticed that Trader Joe's sign saying that 19 cents each corresponds to about 48 to 50 cents a pound, which is a reasonable price. But when I dug a little deeper, I wasn't so sure.

If the average weight of a banana is about .25 pounds, that means that if Cub is selling bananas for 66 cents a pound, I can get 4 bananas for 66 cents, but for average sized bananas at Target or Trader Joe's is 76 cents (.19 x 4).

An employee at Trader Joe's was nice enough to tell me that they often advise customers to buy larger sized bananas to get their money's worth. That's admirable but I've never heard a cashier suggest that to a customer. So there's my finding: Buy only the largest bananas at Target or TJs to get your money's worth.

Why do some retailers sell bananas or other produce by the quantity instead of the pound? The lack of scales at the checkout.

Okay, so I didn't save anyone big bucks today, but I finally got to answer a question that's been bugging me for months. Was I the only one who wondered that? Did anyone else come to a different conclusion?