99p Stores not as cheap as they appear

ianfreeman

fedupconsumer wrote: »

As for the value I bought a huge bottle of balsamic vinegar for 99 pence obviously and the same bottle was in saisbury's for £4.59...

*sigh* That's the whole point. It clearly wasn't the *same bottle* - it was cheap crap. If you want to eat rubbish that's entirely up to you, but do allow others of us to have some respect for our gobs.

OK, I'm fine when it comes to batteries and such like, but food is, to me at least, a tad different.

tiff

Surely vinegar is vinegar, balsamic or otherwise?

DrScotsman

ianfreeman wrote: »

*sigh* That's the whole point. It clearly wasn't the *same bottle* - it was cheap crap.

Uh, what? It's one thing suggesting that an unbranded product is worse than a branded one, but are you seriously suggesting that two identical looking products in the 99p store and Sainsbury's are different in any way? (besides the use by date). Are you really that much of a conspiracy theorist?

ianfreeman wrote: »

If you want to eat rubbish that's entirely up to you, but do allow others of us to have some respect for our gobs.

See above. Two bottles of exactly the same thing and you're saying one must be bad because it's cheaper. Never occur to you that you could still make a healthy profit off of 99p for vinegar?

ianfreeman wrote: »

OK, I'm fine when it comes to batteries and such like, but food is, to me at least, a tad different.

I find that ironic personally, I bought a pack of 16 value batteries from the pound shop instead of a pack of 4 Duracell. The value ones lasted 5 minutes in a toy car, and I think the Duracell would have lasted more than 20, making the value ones a false economy. I'm not suggesting Duracell are better because they're branded, but that value ones may not be better value. However that was ages ago, and I recognise I am kinda speculating, so if someone wants to tell me how to compare the value of batteries then be my guest, I am quite clueless on them (not that I see a reason to abandon my Maplin brand rechargeables)

fedupconsumer

"*sigh* That's the whole point. It clearly wasn't the *same bottle*"

Oh and you were with me when I bought it get a grip people know that the 99pence store does sell premium goods from time to time and this was one of those times. If you don't like the shop simple solution don't shop there and stop moaning and comparing the store to woolies is laughable.

"Surely vinegar is vinegar, balsamic or otherwise?"

Good point but there are different ingredients added to balsamic vinegars.

ianfreeman

fedupconsumer wrote: »

...the 99pence store does sell premium goods from time to time and this was one of those times...

Fair enough, apologies. I didn't understand how it could be *exactly* the same product - are you sure it wasn't a grey market version, made in Bulgaria - or Wigan ;-).

ianfreeman

DrScotsman wrote: »

Are you really that much of a conspiracy theorist?

Don't be daft! See my post above. I didn't understand (and still don't) how they could be *exactly* the same product.

Ben84

Branding is such a strange thing to me. I was until recently unaware just how much attention most people pay to branding, partly because it I have very little exposure to branding. I don't own a TV, I would struggle to even name a current TV programme. I obviously don't buy the TV guide either, which last I saw was full of adverts, and I don't read popular culture magazines because they're mostly about celebrities who are on the TV programmes I never watch. I read a few science magazines, which do have advertising, but mostly it's for cars or airlines, and I don't own a car and never fly either so pretty much totally ignore these.

If I'm going shopping I go to the market and buy lose fruit and vegetables, and Sainsburys/Co-op for other items where I usually buy their own brand things. Interestingly enough, most the expensive things I've bought in fancy packets have been disappointing. One time the supermarket was all out of in store bakery bread, which costs about £1 for a big loaf, so I had to buy Hovis for around £1.50 for the same size. My family were very impressed and enthused about it when they saw the packet, but personally I thought it was horrible, it tasted stale and vaguely of vinegar.

I just don't perceive branded as better. Experiences with branded things and non-branded items have varied too much to make any conclusions. I'm actually reluctant to use the term non-branded, because it makes the items feel like they're lacking something that the branded ones have, but branding is a totally intangible attribute that couldn't be identified from the product. There is no rational test anywhere in the world that could tell you if a chocolate bar or toilet cleaner was 'branded'. We can analyse the chemical ingredients very precisely, perhaps even tell you where its raw materials have come from due to forensic science detecting trace elements in the coca, which is quite remarkable when you think about it, but we can't tell you if it's branded. :rotfl:

vixarooni

I for one will stick with my branded goods apart from a few odds.

I believe you get what you pay for, but then i can tell the difference between food bought in marks and spencer to asda. Asda food doesnt taste as good as sainsburys food. There are a few exceptions...but on the whole the quality is superior in most other shops. If i have to pay a few extra pennies for better quality food i will, and if that means it is a brand than so be it. I think people are loosing sight of what i am getting at...some branded goods are better end of, some arent end of, but at the end of the day people do trust brands.

I would be interested to see what Aldi's market share percentage is, that shop is full of unbranded goods.

Oh and the cheap chocolate in sainsburys isnt bad, but lord there is no comparisson to galaxy - to whoever mentioned that one.

LittleMissAspie

I can rarely taste the difference between branded, supermarket, finest, value or whatever. I usually buy supermarket brand as I find some of the value products have added ingredients, presumably to bulk them out.

I will say though, Co-op fairtrade dark chocolate ftw

downshifter

vixarooni wrote: »

I believe you get what you pay for, but then i can tell the difference between food bought in marks and spencer to asda. Asda food doesnt taste as good as sainsburys food.

That's absolutely fine, it's down to our/your own individual taste buds.

vixarooni wrote: »

I think people are loosing sight of what i am getting at...some branded goods are better end of, some arent end of, but at the end of the day people do trust brands.

Misguided trust!! Just what the big names want to hear!! You can hear them laughing all the way to the bank.

vixarooni wrote: »

I would be interested to see what Aldi's market share percentage is, that shop is full of unbranded goods.

No it isn't. It's full of branded goods. They're just brands you haven't heard of, that's all.

Goodess what an exhausting thread! Back to the original comment, I can't comment on 99p shops as there aren't any where I shop, however I don't think Aldi, Netto or Lidl do represent best value any more. I've been in all of those recently and they seem to be jumping on the bandwagon and capitalising on the publicity and putting the prices up.