There’s something rotten about FreshDirect’s prices.
New York’s food-delivery giant charges residents of wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods more for products than it does to those in areas of Brooklyn and New Jersey, the company admitted to The Post.
The items all come from its facility in Long Island City, Queens, meaning it costs more money in gas and tolls to reach areas where they are charging less for food.
Prices are even cheaper in Newark, despite a minimum $39 truck toll on Hudson River crossings.
FreshDirect defended the pricing, saying it is no different than the way grocery stores across the city charge more in affluent areas.
“We use the same pricing practices as the large brick-and-mortar supermarket chains,” a FreshDirect spokesman said.
But those chains pay higher rent in wealthier areas.
The spokesman also said the lower prices are necessary to compete with cheaper supermarkets, but he did not explain the need to charge more in richer areas.
“Brick-and-mortar retailers often have different prices in different regions, and we try to remain competitive with them in the areas we serve,” he said.
The Post learned of the varying prices from a shopper who complained to a customer-service rep.
“Zone-pricing intent is to specify prices to customers based on their delivery address or zone,” the rep wrote in an e-mail. “Zone-pricing concept is introduced to compete with the prices of the local market.”
When asked for a breakdown of the zones, the rep refused, claiming the info is “proprietary.”
“But I can tell you that the pricing differences are directly related to your delivery address and the tax prices in your area,” he added.
FreshDirect does not factor in low-income residents of typically wealthy neighborhoods.
An Upper West Side zip code, for example, includes luxury buildings as well as the Frederick Douglass housing project.
The Post found several instances of pricing differences.
A 12-pack of 6-ounce cups of Stonyfield Farm nonfat yogurt goes for $4.99 in Newark and $7.20 on the Upper West Side.
A half-pound of rosemary ham went for $3.50 on the Upper West Side and $3 in the South Bronx and East New York, Brooklyn.
And a pack of Applegate Farms chicken-and-apple sausage went for $5.99 in the Upper West Side and $5.59 in East New York and the South Bronx.
“It’s not fair,” said Upper West Side mom Sabrina Rosen, 43. “I don’t think they need to do that, especially if the cost of delivery is the same here.”