Bulk Buying Question

cosmarchy · 26 November 2017 at 10:17PM

I'm thinking of buying bulk foods and so was doing some research regarding this. Since this is a product I do have, I decided to look at Quaker Porridge Oats as an example so I can get a comparison for the same product from multiple sources.

Now I am wondering whether it is worth buying bulk at all... For example take this product from 'britishfoodwholesalers' they are £2.04 each.
Even from here 'britishcornershop' they are £1.49 each but in the super market they are around 0.85p (depending on which super market you use).

Now this may sound like a stupid question but what have I missed? Why would anyone charge around £1 more than the supermarkets? That wouldn't make this a cost effective way of buying!!

Does anyone use anywhere online for bulk purchases?

tori.k · 26 November 2017 at 10:34PM

Just buy in bulk from the supermarket, like all shopping it pays to shop around sometimes it's worth buying by the tray from your local supermarket due to the bulk they purchase in the first place, other times from a wholesale supplier

tori.k · 26 November 2017 at 10:41PM

tori.k wrote: »

Just buy in bulk from the supermarket, like all shopping it pays to shop around sometimes it's worth buying by the tray from your local supermarket due to the bulk they purchase in the first place, other times from a wholesale supplier

I've used naturally good food for odd bits and approved foods but mostly but my bulk buys are mostly just things I regularly use that's on offer from the high Street stores

AndyCF · 26 November 2017 at 11:28PM

Occasionally I'll bulk buy but in my case its more a question of 'local availability' rather than anything else. If you would like a practical example there's one brand/type of soup I could not get locally without a long long walk and they get heavy! So I ended up speaking nicely to one local shop owner and having them get me a 'case' (12 tins) in. They won't do it anymore. There was no cost saving in this but it was better for me, in that it was 5 minutes walk instead of 30 each way.

Having said that I always make sure there's a few tins of soup available etc, there are quite ( complicated

) reasons but generally I work on the principle "if I can't leave the house for 3 day or so , do I have enough here"

The only other "non costing" consideration with bulk buy is their dates, will you be able to use all of them before they expire ?

NewShadow · 27 November 2017 at 1:01AM

I think you might be missing a fundamental step in bulk buying in that you either 1. do it at the right time and/or 2. don't care about the 'brand' as much as the product.

For example - if it's specifically Quaker Porridge Oats that you want and you know you get through a bag a month and you know it normally costs you 85p a bag then it makes sense to buy 2 bags if/when it's on buy one get one free - congratulations - that's bulk buying!

You save 85p and don't have to worry about lugging the bags home with you/running out for 2 months.

If the deal is rare (they're not predictably available on offer or it's a particularly good offer) you might see it's worth buying 6 bags and saving £2.55 - if you have the space to store them and you know you'll use them.

Alternatively - if it's the brand you don't care about - you might find a wholesaler sells 6kilo bags of generic rolled oats for £1.70.

Again you have to store the 6 month's worth but you've saved £3.40

Now given oats are cheap and fairly bulky - this isn't maybe the best thing to be looking at costings for as you're unlikely to find massive savings.

I know someone who buys a whole pig from a local farm. It's direct from the slaughter house - so can't be fresher - and butchered to their specifications - so they have exactly the cuts they need/want.

For their family it works out at about £2/kilo and lasts a full year.

Same principle I know people that buy cosco cheese in blocks the size of a toddler, or toilet roll by the pallet.

It's got to be something you know you'll use, that you like/want, and at a price that's worth the storage space you're giving up for it.

purpleybat · 27 November 2017 at 6:59PM

i had a job a while back with an amazing 7 hour contract so I never knew from one week to the next what I would be earning. therefore I now have what I call 'skint mentality' where if I have a few pounds spare or something is on offer i'll stock up on what I can keep, eg dried and tinned goods.
as mentioned earlier this only works if you have space to store things, I dated one bloke that looked in my bedside cupboard to find 20 tins of beans

now I have a regular income I do keep an eye out for stuff on offer, eg dads coffee, he gets it in a two month supply, it saves me money in the long run and I know he's not going to start downing pints of it purely cos he has it.
I think its worth looking online for offers on stuff. take your oats for example... do they go rancid or anything if past their date? if not it's worth looking at approved food site, now I've never had luck with them but I know others think they're fab.

Katieowl · 27 November 2017 at 8:55PM

Hi, I cook for a living and I have a Bookers account, as well as an account with a locally based wholesaler. Depends what you are looking for really. Nine time out of ten what you want will be cheaper in a supermarket. It all gets very confusing when you are chasing the best deals

I've just started a price book, I've jotted down all the things I use regularly with the prices (per g as well as pack price) in a note book I am carrying with me. That way if I think I've spotted a bargain I can double check. I often find things I need are cheaper on line, but you need to buy enough to get free delivery or it bumps the price back up.

cosmarchy · 27 November 2017 at 9:15PM

Thanks for your replies guys.

I was just surprised that on this one particular item it can sell for nearly double in the supermarkets when I was under the impression some websites were selling in bulk which everyone assumes is 'usually' discounted.

[Deleted User] · 27 November 2017 at 10:20PM

cosmarchy wrote: »

Thanks for your replies guys.

I was just surprised that on this one particular item it can sell for nearly double in the supermarkets when I was under the impression some websites were selling in bulk which everyone assumes is 'usually' discounted.

It is not the selling in bulk it is the buying in bulk where most discounts come from.

The bulk selling websites do not have the same purchasing power as supermarkets do and so the supermarkets can ask for bigger discounts from the suppliers to pass on to their customers.

krlyr · 29 November 2017 at 10:29PM

It's also worth considering the audience. British Food Wholesalers is an international wholesaler, their main audience will be people (e.g. expats) abroad wanting to buy British foods that aren't easily available. They are unlikely to be able to pop to Tesco or Sainsburys, and perhaps the brand isn't easily available in their own supermarkets. Therefore the website can demand a higher price - which it will then use to cover the higher costs of shipping internationally.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Bulk Buying Question

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free