The big supermarket rip off (Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Ocado)

terra_ferma

Hello
I've been looking at prices for multi-packs, larger sizes etc to compare the cost, and I've noticed how devious the supermarkets are in trying to rip us off. We buy larger size items thinking we are saving money, but we are not.

Here's some examples I found using the comparison site mySupermarket:

Princes Tuna Chunks
4x185g £5.39
1x185g £1.00
3x185g £3.74

Ariel Excell Gel Bio
1.04l £8.00 equivalent to 78.2/100ml
666ml £4.35 equivalent to 65.3p/100ml

Tesco tinned new potatoes
567g 39p equivalent to 6.9p/100g
800g 62p equivalent to 7.8p/100g

Tesco tinned carrots
300g 31p equivalent to 10.3/100g
538g 63p equivalent to 11.7/100g

Asda Garden Peas
300g 25pequivalent to 8.3p/100g
550g 68p equivalent to 12.4p/100g

Weetabix
24 bisc. £1.50
48 bisc £3.32

This is my favourite:
Tuna Chunks in Brine 185g £1.30
but if you use bottled water instead of tap water, and you take the salt out:
[FONT=&quot]Tuna Chunks in Springwater 185g £1.38
(38% increase...., or 38p for a few drops of bottled water, must be using a very posh one!)

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moutard

hi terma
yes i have noticed this to...its th same with the tea bags and the dog food buying bigger is not always cheaper i now look at the price per kg or per pound i have found buying a few of the smaller one works out cheaper than buying the big ones
glad someone else noticed this to

linni

Crumpets 2 packs of 6 = £1.00 (Special Offer!)
1 pack of 12 = 70p

DrScotsman

When did x become a suitable replacement for "/" or "per" ? Especially when you use it to mean "times" in the same post.

VLT

Whenever I buy anything I now check the price per 100g as its easy to compare.
I've found this with Tesco coffee, cheaper to buy 3 x 100g than 1 x 300g!

terra_ferma

DrScotsman wrote: »

When did x become a suitable replacement for "/" or "per" ? Especially when you use it to mean "times" in the same post.

I will change it. Previous posters have understood what I meant, however you are clearly struggling with it.

kalaika

terra_ferma wrote: »

...I've noticed how devious the supermarkets are in trying to rip us off...

But don't the supermarket SELs give the pack price and show the price per kg/litre/etc? They do down my way, for example:



If there is multiple sizes of the same item then it may be a bit sneaky of them by not having the largest pack being the best value. However I don't consider it a rip off if they display the info but people choose not to look at it...

Dave101t

regarding the tuna, around once a month the 4 pack is half price so i stock up.
already have a years worth as its best before is around 2011 from today's purchases.

MrsBartolozzi

I do agree with Kalaika, the price per weight is usually on the shelf...BUT... there are several exceptions, often the price per 100g is not amended to take into account 50% extra free type offers (and certainly won't take into account bogof or 2 for £2 type offers either) and I have noticed that (and Tesco is the main offender here) the info is given in xp per 100g for most foods, but £x.xx per kg for the value ranges.
Now, I personally have no problem switching between the two ways, and I imagine most people who read it closely wouldn't either, but many busy people will only look at the £x value not the per100g/kg, and seeing a cheaper value will buy that one, not understanding it's not the cheapest. There are also some people for whom being faced with working out the difference between cost per 100g and kg is overwhelming and needlessly confusing.

lolarentt

The big french hypermarkets, Auchan, Carrefour etc, always have some sort of 'cheapest/best value' shelf tag (based on lowest volume price) where there is a multiplicity of sizes and brands - this is very useful for basic items and saves having to look at all the price/kilo labels and trying to work out if the special offers are in the unit pricing or not.

A good example of confusion here is Marmite - the very large size is never the cheapest by volume, it's usually the mid-size. However on my last purchase the very small one, 125 gm, worked out cheapest!

terra_ferma

kalaika wrote: »

But don't the supermarket SELs give the pack price and show the price per kg/litre/etc? They do down my way, for example:



If there is multiple sizes of the same item then it may be a bit sneaky of them by not having the largest pack being the best value. However I don't consider it a rip off if they display the info but people choose not to look at it...

My research was based on online shopping, which is what I'm more familiar with (although I've never been able to compare easily when shopping instore).

It's not always that easy to compare products. For example some Jaffa Cakes are priced per biscuits, others per 100g (same brand, same as the examples below).
Laundry tables: each or kg
Fabric Conditioner some 100ml, some 1l (and the fact that some less educated or older people are not familiar with the metric system should not mean they are not able to compare products!)

Online (and in the shops) the special offers are displayed separately from the normal product.

Yes if you have lots of time and a calculator you can compare every single product, but how many of us have got the time to do that? I'm not talking about being lazy and not bothered, but normal busy, hardworking people who can't spend hours comparing prices but have to make quick judgements.
Without mentioning people who because of poor skills or even an empairment are not able to work it out! (can't see my 80+ grandmother getting a good deal at her local supermarket.....)

PS Mrs Bartolozzi reminded me that in the stores very often offer prices don't show the cost per unit, so you simply cannot compare at all.