The Co-Op Moneysaving Tips Thread

NewCustomerOnly

OK Lets try something we all use - tinned tomatoes (lets go for the most basic no frills chopped tomato type so we can compare) How much are they where you live? I'll start

46p (Medium size co-op in village down south)

steviedeal wrote: »

All supermarkets operate tiered pricing.

For example, tesco express is more expensive than tesco extra, also stores in richer areas are more expensive than those in poorer areas.

It goes with range aswell, poorer areas have larger ranges of value, regular and large packs where richer areas have larger selections of premium and branded goods.

Co-op does have tiered pricing with band 1 stores being priced on par with tesco, asda etc... you have the smaller convinience stores that are priced acordingly, Remember that a small 3,000 sqft store in a village is more expensive to rent/buy, run, staff and get deliveries to than a massive 80,000 sqft store which sells in large quantities and is on cheap land usually close to motorways.

Someone posted above about the stores being more expensive when you look at the comparisions its literally pence. remembering that most people have to factor in fuel costs to the large supermarkets it can sometimes work out to be cheaper to go to the co-op or other local stores.

I shop a bit of everywhere, alot of talk about the co-op being "massivly overpriced" is a bit of a myth and lots of people compare the co-op selling heniz beans for 50p to tesco selling value beans for 5p (not real prices but just a example), compare like for like its not overly bad there, offers are good if not better than the big 4 (asda was doing 50p for ambrosia and napolina toms a few weeks ago whereas co-op was doing 2 tins of ambrisia for 85p or 2 tins of napolina toms for 85p) another example creme eggs 6 pack was £1.65 at tesco half price or £1.54 at co-op half price.

steviedeal

Value Tomatoes 400g tin 46p

Just a few prices, some are the same, some are the same but have offers that would make them cheaper and some are better, its a bit of a mixed bag same as the others. TBH anyone shopping in one supermarket is bonkers i use Tesco, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, local markets and local shops whoever i find is cheaper (including traveling costs involved.)

Warbies 800g £1.35 (Also this price at Tesco, Asda)
Hovis 800g £1.25 (Also this price at Tesco, Asda)
Milk 4 Pints £1.18 (Also this price at Tesco (excluding Creamfields which is £1), Same price at asda but do have a 2 for £2 offer also)
Weetabix 24 £2.17 (Same at Tesco, £2.18 at Asda)
Nescafe 200g £4 (on offer but usually £4.79) (£4 at Sainsburys & Asda (on offer usually £4.79) £4.79 at Tesco)
PG Tips 160s £3 (on offer usually £4.25) (£3 at Sainsburys, Asda & Tesco all on offer usually £4.25)
Coca Cola 2 litres £1.98 (£1.98 at Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda but also £3 for 3 at Asda)
Own Brand Fresh Regular 8 Sausages 454g £1 (£1.28 at Tesco, £1.28 at Asda, £1.09 at Sainsburys)
Own Brand Fresh Regular Bacon Pack 8 Slices £2.48 (10 Slices £2.48 Asda, 10 Slices £2.48 Sainsburys, 10 Slices £2.66 Tesco)

Walking into Asda last night doing some shopping and was shocked at how many "special offer" areas were not that. 1.25litre coke on a special offer end marked as a special offer £1.48 each (no multibuy) which as everyone knows is normal price, worst bit was customers are being duped as shelves were emptying and customers as i was there were picking it up.

NewCustomerOnly

Whoops - no more co op 'cheap' tinned tomatoes for me :

Tesco Value = 33p in Penzance big Tescos! (Bought ten to take home, that should last a bit til I check Dorset/Devon store prices!) Had them added to their Finest Puttanesca sauce with lots of veg - very morish!

JamesK10

My experience is that when Co-Op goes all-out on a good offer then they're either great or at least as good as the rest, but the rest of the time, if it's a smaller store that wasn't a Somerfield before, then prices stay high.

That said, when buying their own brand Elmwood range on chicken and sausages, I've no complaints. Uncooked chicken which you have to completely prepare yourself is cheaper at the bigger stores but if you just want to shove the stuff in the oven and cook it and eat in 40mins, then the price of the coated meat is acceptable for that.

It's more frustrating when the offers are "zoned" ie either all food or all drink, and not a proper mixture eg only fizzy drinks one week and only fruit juice the next, but there's always some form of multi on booze that's a permanent offer. When it comes to reductions, you see the most of those at opening time at weekends at the ex-Somerfield anyway.

NewCustomerOnly

NewCustomerOnly wrote: »

Whoops - no more co op 'cheap' tinned tomatoes for me :

Tesco Value = 33p in Penzance big Tescos! (Bought ten to take home, that should last a bit til I check Dorset/Devon store prices!) Had them added to their Finest Puttanesca sauce with lots of veg - very morish!

Should've said :

46p !! Cheapest brand in village co-op (Yellow Label) Tinned tomatoes (also in Co op ex somerfields.)

as against

33p Tesco Penzance (big store) Blue striped Value brand.

JamesK10

Had a decent set of Winter-to-spring deals ending on Tuesday 28th Feb;

9-roll pack Triple Velvet, £2.55 - the big display has been taken down but the price will stay the same until next week so just get them from wherever they are now.

2 for £2 on Pepsi 2L bottles and BOGOF (I think) on 6-packs for the cans, they're around £3.39 approx. Coke are Buy two get one free and Sprite and other drinks (check shelf label) are two for £3.

Own-brand quality crisps (black bags), £1 each

Orange label reductions in store put the 2-pack of Elmwood Chicken Steaks down to £1.20/£1.30 down from £2, the quality sausages which were two for £3.50 also down to £1.20, their standard Elmwood sausages stay at £1 on a long-term offer and some beef was £1.50 but those were for fairly small cutlets.

Best of all, packets of 8 large coated Southern Fried Elmwood Chicken are half-price on the last day of the use-by date, £2.50 is a good deal but you'd have to want to cook eight pieces of chicken in one go so that's better for families.

That's only based on one Co-Op store, reductions in ex-Somerfields and larger food stores may vary, and best to go there first thing in the morning on the weekend to get the pick of any reductions, but it's just an example of what I said before, when the Co-op decides to compete they easily get into the price range of the big two.

Edwardia

steviedeal when I see the same brand on offer in multiple supermarkets I try to find out if the promotion is mentioned in The Grocer. Often it's the manufacturer offering a special price to increase sales volume rather than the supermarket doing anyone a favour by discounting

pinky2681

In my store i got some small boxes of chocolate reduced to 15p (should be £1.20) - down normal choco isle (cant remember the name but they were on topshelf thin white whith a bit of blue on - looked like posh chocolate selection)
Cheese bites (down biscuit isle near crackers) should be £1.20 reduced to 30p (they do chilli flavour too)
Huggies natural fit nappies half price (old packaging) on rtc section
Quality street big purple bars 16p

lyra

I'm a big co-op fan. There's two near my parents who do fantastic whoopsies, and I prefer shopping in my local one as the staff are so, so much nicer than the big Tesco near me!

Maybe we're just lucky, but the offers are usually good & their meat is very good quality.

mcallister1

Bonanza in my co-op today( Essex). There are a number of 2 for £6 , 2 for £3 , 2 for £5 offers on eat in meals and meat.
So today I got bacon chops in a mango glaze reduced to £1.75 each, with £1 off for 2 for £6, Salmon fillets with watercress sauce and mini chicken roast meals the same, and 2 breaded haddock fillets at £1.50 each with £1 off for 2 for £5. there was also meatballs on a similar offer, but even I couldn't fit that into my diet. All in the chiller. Total for 10 nice meals for 2- £12.
In fact- I'm off to check the other stores!