Makro what do you like?

Jessilu

We're going shopping at Makro for the first time in years tomorrow, (we usually do the trade shopping at Costco), What in your opinion is good value, or what would

you always prefer to buy at Makro and nowhere else? Food and non food items I'd like to know about if ya all don't mind givin' yer secrets away.

For example, what is the quality of the bedding?

Would you recommend their frozen sausages

Is there own brand stuff much good?

Any tips?:D

joop123

hi there

We went for the first time last week and were very disappointed...very few good deals imo, worth shopping around near to home rather than making the trip. Costco a better option if thats near by....

soteman

If you are a fan of Oxo gravy granules instead of Bisto, you can't buy it any longer in the supermarket. However, Makro sell it for £8.65 a kilo, in a big catering tub. Very tasty for stew and casserole, pies and roast dinners. :-)

Jessilu

Really Joop? I am really tired of Costco and was looking for a better/different variety tbh which is why we've decided to go back to Makro ...I'm sorry to hear that Thanks tho'.

Yep soteman, I can always use gravy granules

cjb02

if you are looking for alternatives to Costco, there are other cash and carry's

These are some local to me. (Yorkshire)
Batleys - I like these, do food mainly but also the odd hardware bits and bobs & pet food
http://www.batleys.co.uk/

Stax
http://www.staxtradecentres.co.uk/leeds-branch
Never got a card for these

Bookers
http://www.booker.co.uk/catalog/advertmenu.aspx?pg=offers
never got a card for these either

Bestways
http://www.bestway.co.uk/DepotLocator.aspx?view=383092
Cant get a card for these, strictly catering only.

JTF
http://www.jtf-wholesale.co.uk/
Love JTF, loads of all sorts, very good selections, food (not much food though), hardware, house wares etc...

just some suggestions.

CJB

Peartree

cjb02 wrote: »

if you are looking for alternatives to Costco, there are other cash and carry's

Stax
http://www.staxtradecentres.co.uk/leeds-branch
Never got a card for these

JTF
http://www.jtf-wholesale.co.uk/
Love JTF, loads of all sorts, very good selections, food (not much food though), hardware, house wares etc...

CJB

Stax are mainly DIY and household. They used to have a high minimum spend if I recall, something like £50, maybe changed now. More strict than the others on 'trade'. Haven't been for some time and don't know how they'd compare with all the others like JTF who are springing up. I'm not sure I'd be as keen to go now as I was 10 years ago when they had little competition for what they did.

JTF are great for household but don't really do food (they have wee bit but it is pricey). I have one very nearby and am a big fan - they do really nice plants from a local nursery in the summer.

I've just got another Makro card (having got mine taken off me soem years ago for not visiting enough - so beware on that one). I thought it had improved a lot and there was a good range of food items. I didn't think much of the non food.
Don't know what the quality of the food items are as haven't purchased yet but thought it might be worth a try, but, as I say, I was impressed by the range. I'd love to know what people feel is really good quality in the food.

However, all the above are a completely different ball-game to Costco - very much Lidl to their M&S or John Lewis! If I want really cheap stuff, I go to JTF - they have a lot of the same non-household items to Makro and they are the same price/cheaper. If I want top quality for a good value, I would always go to Costco. You certainly don't get the five year no quibble warranty on electrical items at Makro, nor do you get the top brands.

I find my local Makro a bit of a miserable experience and want to get out quickly. And you don't get the wonderfully mad American import items you get in Costco. Life size Xmas decorations!

I'm in pretty much the same situation as you are having recently rejoined. However, I'd be astounded if the answer to any of the questions you pose at the end is 'yes'. Perhaps you could post your experiences since you've probably been now?

Jessilu

Thanks Cjb, I'd never heard of any of those that you've listed and so when I researched I found that the majority of those you list are northern stores, and I am on the edge of London, but thank you very much for the input, muchly appreciated.

#Peartree, great explanation of the above for me, and helps a great deal.

Re my experience yesterday...hmmmm...start with the most positive I think..

Enfield store

Positives.....Relatively empty mid afternoon ( which surprised me but that could have simply been down to the torrential rain)

No long queues due to the above

Freezers set out in a more user friendly way than Costco and more aisle space between freezers!
Ability to buy large packs of exotic meats (crocodile, ostrich, bison etc) at prices that couldn't be beaten on the high street!

Far more variety of food in my opinion, than Costco!


Negatives....
Not very many things cheaper anymore than the high street, in fact many things actively more expensive particularly in the non-food dept! (as joop already pointed out)
Quality of most of the non food items quite poor & overpriced!

Lots of items were unpriced and people were constantly having to go and find a customer services person to help! Due to that, there was a few items on my list I didn't get, simply because I couldn't be bothered to keep trotting off to find someone to help!:mad:

I have to agree that it did feel like a bit of a miserable experience and probably was kept in check by so few customers, I don't think I'd be happy to visit if it was busy.

The overall feel of the store was grubby!

None of the food we bought has been tested yet so can't give any critique on that, but I would say that, when all is said & done, it's not somewhere I would return to in a hurry!

As an aside , I'm a non-smoker, but I've always noticed the long queues at the tobacco hut in Costco, but in the 2 hours we were there, we never saw one person at the tobacco hut in Makro. I have no idea if it's due to them not being price competitive enough, or simply that so many people don't smoke any more, but I thought it was worth a mention 'cos it came as a big surprise to me!

cjb02

this might interest you, a map I put together with lots of cash and carry's on.

click here

Jessilu

Wow! fantastico :T Thanks cjb, I've bookmarked that and I'll have a proper look at that tomorrow!:D