Higher prices for Christmas

uganda

uktim29 wrote: »

If they all go up it might be a wholesale price increase. You can't always assume that it's because of an event etc.

This is true uktim, you CAN'T assume that it's because of an event. But then nor can you assume it's not. Prejudice is the enemy of truth.

At the end of the day, supermarkets aren't charities and can charge what they like. Where they overcharge, we should simply shop elsewhere. They are often manipulative, putting prices up then dropping them with great fanfare and telling you how much money you're saving. You bar-room lawyers will be able to tell me if there is a law against this - I seem to remember something about the higher price having to have been charged for 6 months prior to the discount, but that was 30 years ago and may no longer apply (and I may have misunderstood it in any case). Very difficult to enforce anyway.

But otherwise you just have to swallow it, I'm afraid. I have noticed that many of the cheapest things are going up lately, hitting the poorest hardest, for example Morrisons basic chopped tomatoes, which used to be 19p are now 33p. But it's possible they were undercharging at 19p in the past. The bottom line though is that supermarkets are set up to make money - this means they will squeeze customers and suppliers if necessary to maximise their profits - the only thing we can do is avoid paying higher prices where we can by voting with our wallets.

Zippy123

Supply and Demand which is how Western economies work.

If you don't like it emigrate! North Korea might be nice this time of year!

luvvabargin

I suppose what it needs is more people to read and participate in sites like this, to let people know where the best and worst deals are... trouble is, who can be bothered to go to 3 different supermarkets to complete the weekly shop? - the extra time and fuel probably isn't worth it.

I do try to stock up on non-perishables (or long sell-by date things like beans) when there are super offers on, and although it means shelling out more cash at the time, when you think of it over a year you must be saving the money, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time!

uganda

You know Zippy is a good name, it's just a shame we haven't got access to your zip. It's true that Western economies work on a supply-and-demand basis, but that is not the whole story and one can trade in an honest and ethical way and still make profits, even within the confines of our system.

But if you think there is our way of doing business and North Korea's and nothing else, you are quite wrong. And if you were right, it wouldn't have to be that way - try going to a Western economy like Spain, it's not perfect but the way it works is considerably fairer than here. Prices are generally lower, some are higher, but it is a lower cost of living overall, and a forum such as this would be far less necessary.

Our supermarkets can pretty much charge what they like and calling it a rip-off is disingenuous. I know it can be difficult for some to shop elsewhere, but I really do urge everyone to do all they can. If we don't spread our spending around, we will have to blame ourselves if Tesco, for example, becomes too powerful. These forums can be used to warn of high prices and selling subterfuges. You will have to put up with snipers, who think that every savvy customer is a whinger, but remember you can ignore them if you can't be bothered to get drawn into their nonsense. But I do agree with the 'snipers' that you can't blame the supermarkets themselves, they will try to maximise their profits all they can and will try every scam there is as long as it's legal, but that's what businesses do. We have to at least try to get a step ahead of them as we are the only people who can regulate them in a free market.