One Target store may have higher prices than another

Brooke shops at Target, and she’s noticed that prices at one store can differ from prices at another, sometimes significantly.

She wants to know: Why’s that?

I put the question to Target, and a spokeswoman explained that different stores in the chain have different fixed costs, such as the lease, taxes, staffing and security. This is common among most big retail chains.

That doesn’t mean all prices will vary among stores. The prices of discounted items featured in company advertising will usually be the same everywhere. But other prices of day-to-day goods could differ.

What to do? Well, one thought would be to avoid stores in fancier neighborhoods and instead head to more rough-and-tumble neighborhoods. They’ll usually have lower overhead, and that means lower prices.

For more, check out Tuesday’s Ask Laz video.

If you have a consumer question, email me at asklaz@latimes.com or contact me via Twitter @Davidlaz.