At JUST ALMONDS we only sell the freshest and most current crop and our product is shipped straight from the ranch. Historically Almonds are sold and traded through many middlemen. Brokers, then wholesalers, then suppliers, then distributers, and finally to the consumer. As the almonds pass from one to the other, time and storage condition s affect the quality of the almond. By the time they reach the consumer, many of them are NOT the most recent years crop. As you can imagine, the longer the product sits, the lower the price becomes. That is when the large discount store buy the remaining product before it is unsellable at great discount. They will also mix the sizes and USDA quality standards and only label the type. For instance, you may see “Nonpareils” in the store, but most of the time, the store will not specify the size (23-25) or the Quality (U.S. No. 1 Supreme). So you are buying a mismatched assortment of different sizes, qualities, and many of the times, very old product.