Supermarket tricks - watch out for these...

maman

pelirocco wrote: »

£3.75 per kilo for a joint of meat ?

Oh yes! Try pork shoulder, it's delicious slow-roasted and often even cheaper than that. Try Jamie Oliver's recipe.:drool:

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Another trick is that they frequently change the size of the packaging so we are not actually getting the amount that we were say 6 months ago

One of my favourites is the two boxes of clingfilm from Iceland that I have in the kitchen drawer. Both labelled 'Stronger and Longer' but one is 40m and the newer one is 35m:rotfl:. I keep meaning to take them in and show the manager, as if they'd care???

One of my latest irritations is the practice of labelling washing powder as 'number of washes'. A prime example of how essential it is to do price per kg.

What really makes me :mad: is the way supermarkets are treating Joe (and Josephine) Public like idiots and think we're too stupid/lazy to do anything about it. I really see evidence of the worm turning. Tesco got a wake up call, my Asda is half empty these days and I'm joining the hordes in Aldi and Lidl! I'm fortunate in that I'm not exactly short of money but I just hate being ripped off. It reminds me of the way banks assumed that people couldn't be bothered to change accounts but now they know that people will change/open accounts anywhere they get a good deal and vote with their feet if they're not happy.

Almo

anguk wrote: »

I hate the way the supermarkets control shoppers, they tell us they sell what we want but that's rubbish, we buy what they want us to buy, because many people have no other choice as there's no other independent shops around, the supermarkets have closed them all. In my small town there's a really poor quality butchers and a Greggs, I would love a decent butchers, a decent bakery and a decent grocers but they've all closed. If I want to buy something like flour or butter I have no choice but to go to the supermarket.

I hate the strangle-hold they have on this country. :mad:

I'm no lover of the supermarkets but they became what they are today because that was what people wanted. If the demand hadn't been there, supermarkets would not have gotten so powerful; they met/meet a need. I guess the convenience just became too attractive and people no longer wanted to go to the butcher, baker, greengrocer, hardware store, fishmonger, pharmacy etc. We have to take responsibility.

I empathise with you though, and don't mean to sound horrible, I am extremely fortunate to have an amazing market a 10 minute walk away (I live overseas) and can do pretty much my whole shop there, bar a few (not all) tinned items. Every time I go I think how fortunate I am.

I do wonder how powerful Aldi and Lidl will be a decade from now, will be interesting to see.

Alison_Funnell

Whilst I agree with you all about the issues of lack of clarity with prices and offers in supermarkets it is even scarier when you consider the recent media coverage of the lack of numeracy skills in the general population. Surely one of the most valuable we should be teaching in schools is how to budget and make a budget work. My DD was taught a lot of stuff at school that was of dubious credibility (Travel and Tourism anyone?) which I am sure could easily be replaced with more life essential skills.

It's not a simple they are the big evil SMs out to con us all, but if we as a nation are failing to educate our children to survive in the world we live, then we are assisting to perpetuate the problem.

I feel better for getting off my chest.

Tamsin_Temrin

Alison_Funnell wrote: »

Whilst I agree with you all about the issues of lack of clarity with prices and offers in supermarkets it is even scarier when you consider the recent media coverage of the lack of numeracy skills in the general population. Surely one of the most valuable we should be teaching in schools is how to budget and make a budget work. My DD was taught a lot of stuff at school that was of dubious credibility (Travel and Tourism anyone?) which I am sure could easily be replaced with more life essential skills.

It's not a simple they are the big evil SMs out to con us all, but if we as a nation are failing to educate our children to survive in the world we live, then we are assisting to perpetuate the problem.

I feel better for getting off my chest.

:(:( This thing with the kids isnt new. dh didnt know how to compare price per kilo and never gets how to work stuff out. Could only cook instant meals when I met him cos the instructions were on the pack, still cant iron. MIL believed in doing her duty to her family which didnt include them leaving home. Hes in his forties. Some of the stuff on superscrimpers (havent read the thread) applies to me, but there are plenty of 'not young' people on it. (Im not young).

even if you use mysupermarket.com, some prices for the same type of product is in 100g, some in kilos, and I hate the '20 washes' instead of weight because its hard to compare. Some sort of rules about having to package like for like would be great - but more red tape

Alison - this sort of stuff should be taught in schools, and maybe jobcentres etc. It is scary for me how much I dont know.

Boomdocker

As well as watching the unit price I think you need to have a good idea of the average price of an item so that when you see a 'deal' you can work out for yourself whether it is value or not.

We all know that supermarkets will artificially inflate a price and then soon after slash it to half price or something similar. A top tip I got from The Tightwad Gazette was to keep a notebook of average prices so you know what you are paying. It's too easy to be seduced by a shiny sign saying half price when in reality you could buy it cheaper in another store at a regular price at any time.

Of course there will be loss leading items on offer, they are not all bad, but you need to inform yourself so you can shop smart and make the a purchase at the best price you can.

FairyLight

maman wrote: »

One of my latest irritations is the practice of labelling washing powder as 'number of washes'. A prime example of how essential it is to do price per kg
.

Hehe OH and I are still using our '42 wash' box of Daz... 7 months after we bought it and it's still half full! And we do about 5 loads a week.. I don't think we could even fit the amount they recommend in the drawer of our machine lol.

juno

anguk wrote: »

Good idea but isn't it ridiculous that we would have to resort to something like that just to make sure we're getting the best price and they're not ripping us of?

I think the problem is people like us are in the minority, I think most people just walk round the aisles chucking what they want or need into the trolley. My guess is the supermarkets got rid of the scales in the fruit & veg aisle because not many people used them, most people just pick up the nearest pre-pack.

It seems to take so long now to do the shopping because I'm constantly checking or comparing prices, someone who has children with them or a few minutes after work just wouldn't have the time to check prices.

Complain. If enough people do they'll have to bring scales back. They tried to make the shop I work in lose our scales, but so many people weren't happy (and it only took 2 or 3 people) that they had to let us have them back.

wellblechstrumpf

Be careful when buying packed lettuce from LIDL. Sometimes their 100g price is wrong. So if you compare then work out for yourself what is the price per 100g. I contacted LIDL but they did not seem to bother about it. When I asked the shop assistant, he run away from me as I he did not understand what I was talking about.
Use your iphone or apps, for example, best value to work it out.

Edit: My Asda reduced the scales in the fruit/veg section to one. I am very unhappy about this.

Stephen_Leak

Pricing per unit is covered by the Weights & Measures Act 1985, The Price Marking Order 2004 ...

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/102/contents/made

... and enforced by your local Trading Standards office. Non-compliance is a criminal offence.

lally666young

Also mushrooms, buy them loose as they were 50p dearer in a box!!! So check the small print on anything. We do this all the time, much to my husbands annoyance. I love the way they always put the most expensive goods at eye level. So they think you will always go for this. But I think they are starting to realise people are scanning the shelves to look for bargains. When are supermarkets ever going to learn!!!