MSE News: Surge in supermarket bargain hunting

Edwardia

terra_ferma wrote: »

Not only there is a mini-scrum at the reduced section, but near closing time there is a small group of people following the shop assistant who is taking stuff there for final reductions (trying to , as things are taken off her hands before she gets there). Bread is particularly difficult to get as a few seconds after it's been reduced most of it is grabbed by a small number of people who have been waiting for it.

I wouldn't ever get involved in a rugby scrum as they have in Chavda (Mumsnet name for ASDA evidently). If they want it so badly I'm quite happy to leave them to it.

Stephen_Leak

I liken these to hyenas and vultures around a kill on the Serengeti. A couple of million years is just a tick on the evolutionary clock.

Cunfaro

Lynsey wrote: »

I think there was a "stigma" using coupons a while back and maybe still is for some.
But thanks to forums like MSE, savvy shoppers can save many, many hundreds of £'s.
I was a little nervous last year when I started "couponing", but now it's seems natural.
£5 and £10 notes etc are only printed pieces of paper with a monetary value ........................ exactly the same as printed coupons.

Lynsey

No.

It is thanks to MSE's Martin Lewis shouting his mouth off on TV that supermarkets now do NOT take coupons for items you have not bought.

Since Black Friday I have been out of pocket by thousands...

Lynsey

Cunfaro - I know Tesco did take coupons for non-bought items a while back, but well before I started couponing.
I'm happy for simple things like using 2 coupons when an item is on BOGOF or when the coupon scans for greater than the product price - both cases, extra money off the rest of my shopping.
Hoping Martin :money: keeps his mouth shut about this little "glitch". lol

Lynsey

gallygirl

Cunfaro wrote: »

No.

It is thanks to MSE's Martin Lewis shouting his mouth off on TV that supermarkets now do NOT take coupons for items you have not bought.

Since Black Friday I have been out of pocket by thousands...

Have you ever thought about what actually happens to these coupons? Tesco pass onto a coupon scanning house, they count them and the manufacturer is invoiced for the value of the coupons, plus a handling fee, say 2p, for each coupon. The manufacturers are paying for the ill redemption, not Tesco, and though I love coupons, I see it as fraudulent to deliberately use them against non-purchased items, and negligent of supermarkets to accept.

I once spoke a small manufacturer who had a 30% takeup of coupons but only a 1% increase in sales. Nearly bankrupted him. He found out eventually that the coupons had somehow been intercepted and mass redemptions put through outlets that did not even sell his product.

There's enough loopholes without resorting to cheating.

Edwardia

Cunfaro wrote: »

No.

It is thanks to MSE's Martin Lewis shouting his mouth off on TV that supermarkets now do NOT take coupons for items you have not bought.

Since Black Friday I have been out of pocket by thousands...

NO this is NOT true. When I was a kid my mother would cut out coupons as Sainsbury's would deduct from your shopping as long as they sold it. They haven't done that in YEARS

Middy

Some customers aren't bothered.

Currently at Sainsburys, we have some cereal on BOGOF - Shredded Wheat Bitesize and Jordan's Crunch.

A few times this week, I had customers buying just one box and explain that its on BOGOF and offer to get a colleague another box of the same or something else on the offer. They say 'I live alone'. Well, I live alone and do buy the full offer. I have about 15 unopened boxes of cereal at home - TBF, I have 6 boxes open at anyone time as I will get bored with eating the same cereal. Plus I have a Weetabix (though Aldi's own) with another cereal on top.

Edwardia

Middy.. serial cereal cruncher..

rufydoofyM

Edwardia wrote: »

That's what I thought, as I've not seen any reduced section scrums.

I don't know why other supermarkets don't get rid of reduced sections and keep reduced food in it's own sections. That way the bargains go to the people looking for that particular item not people trying to vacuum up all the bargains for restaurants for example.

Edwardia wrote: »

The reduced to clear section must be well hidden in my local Waitrose cos I haven't found it yet in 4 visits (normally get it delivered)

terra_ferma wrote: »

mine does a bit of both, they all all over the place, reduced section, usual shelves and even on shelves used for promotions only (when the item reduced is also on promotion).
Not only there is a mini-scrum at the reduced section, but near closing time there is a small group of people following the shop assistant who is taking stuff there for final reductions (trying to , as things are taken off her hands before she gets there).
Bread is particularly difficult to get as a few seconds after it's been reduced most of it is grabbed by a small number of people who have been waiting for it.

I love the reduced section and find it alot easier. It allows me to buy things I couldn't normally because at full price it would be out of the question. It saves me time because I go straight to the reduced meat, then veg, then chilled and finally the bakery. Next I scan the shelves for anything the reductions assistant has missed and ask if it can be reduced. Then I get what ever else I need. There is 1 couple I see often in both Sainsbobs and Waitrose who seem to mine sweep (30 +ready meals and anything with a sticker seems excessive to me) but most, me included do it out of necessity. I spend upto 90 mins each visit to Sainsbobs and an hour in Waitrose. I have got to know the staff and have a banter with some of the regular customers. I only shop at reduction time and its part of our survival. When in Waitrose I scan all the shelves for bargains and check the dates on items I want so I know which day to return for a probable bargain, especially if the item is on a multibuy offer. I have often appologised for stalking a member of staff with that wonderful sticker machine. We laugh, chat and I get the bargains. Thanks to all this I never pay more than half price for meat and fish, we only eat freerange or organic, fruit and veg is normally 75% off and I can afford a few cans of pop and chocolate for treats.
I used to get laughed at for my bargain hunting, but not now. As for the charity shops, I've noticed how the prices have risen and the choice has lessened. I used to get all our clothes from them but not so much now. I wait for the sales and take advantage of additional discounts as with Sainsbobs this week. Bargain hunting is not only a necessity but is my hobby. I hate bargain corner scrums and avoid Asda and Tesco like the plague.

rufydoofyM

Incidently I also share my bargains with my neighbour and often take things over to my mum who lives 6 miles out of town.
Last time I was in Waitrose they had a b1g1f on pizza express and they were reduced to 2.25 I picked up 2 knowing they would only work out at 25p each and shared this knowledge with the lady next to me who had just placed 1 in her basket. She looked at me as if I was mad and had crawled from under a rock, put the pizza back and replied that she'd let me try it first and walked off.